By default, all lights are automatically added to each render layer. To override this behavior, open the Render Setup editor and disable Options > Include all lights in each render layer by default.
To add specific lights to a render layer, you can do the following:
- Right-click the layer and select Create Collection, then set the Collection Filter to Lights, and add the lights you want to the collection.
- Create a light override for the light you want to add. This creates a collection with the light that you are overriding, and therefore includes it in your layer.
You can disable this option at any time, in a new scene or in any legacy scene. When this option is disabled, only lights that are explicitly included via the methods outlined above are included in each layer.
This setting is saved with your preferences in the option variable renderSetup_includeAllLights, and persists upon restarting Maya.
You can also control this option by setting the environment variable MAYA_RENDER_SETUP_INCLUDE_ALL_LIGHTS. A value of 0 disables the option, and a value of 1 enables it. The environment variable takes precedence over the preference. Once the environment variable is set, the menu option is greyed out and follows the value of the environment variable.
