A second surface type is called a specular reflector. When we look at a shiny surface, such as polished metal or a glossy car finish, we see a highlight, or bright spot. Where this bright spot appears on the surface is a function of where the surface is seen from. This type of reflectance is view dependent.

At the microscopic level a specular reflecting surface is very smooth, and usually these microscopic surface elements are oriented in the same direction as the surface itself. Specular reflection is merely the mirror reflection of the light source in a surface. Thus it should come as no surprise that it is viewer dependent, since if you stood in front of a mirror and placed your finger over the refelection of a light, you would expect that you could reposition your head to look around your finger and see the light again. An ideal mirror is a purely specular reflector.

In order to model specular reflection we need to understand the physics of reflection.