---
title: orthographicScale
framework: scenekit
role: symbol
role_heading: Instance Property
path: scenekit/scnlight/orthographicscale
---

# orthographicScale

The orthographic scale SceneKit uses when rendering the shadow map for a directional light.

## Declaration

```swift
var orthographicScale: CGFloat { get set }
```

## Discussion

Discussion SceneKit draws a shadow map image by rendering the scene from the point of view of the node containing the light. Directional lights ignore the position property of the node containing them because their light has a constant direction. Therefore, rendering a shadow map for a directional light requires an orthographic projection. Like the orthographicScale property of a camera object, this property specifies the extent of the scene “visible to” the light when rendering the shadow map. This property applies only if the light’s type property is directional.

## See Also

### Managing Shadows Cast by the Light

- [castsShadow](scenekit/scnlight/castsshadow.md)
- [shadowRadius](scenekit/scnlight/shadowradius.md)
- [shadowColor](scenekit/scnlight/shadowcolor.md)
- [shadowMapSize](scenekit/scnlight/shadowmapsize.md)
- [shadowSampleCount](scenekit/scnlight/shadowsamplecount.md)
- [shadowMode](scenekit/scnlight/shadowmode.md)
- [SCNShadowMode](scenekit/scnshadowmode.md)
- [shadowBias](scenekit/scnlight/shadowbias.md)
- [zFar](scenekit/scnlight/zfar.md)
- [zNear](scenekit/scnlight/znear.md)