Let’s break down the process to ensure you’re on the right path.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Open the Environment Texture:
   • In the Environment Texture node, click the Open button.
   • Browse and select the HDRI file (or any other environment texture) from your system.
     • HDRI (High Dynamic Range Image) files are commonly used because they provide realistic lighting and reflections.
2. Set Viewport to Rendered Mode:
   • Switch your viewport to Rendered mode to see the effect of the environment texture on your scene.
     • You can do this by going to the top right of your 3D viewport and clicking the Render Mode (the last sphere icon in the shading modes). This allows you to see the lighting effect from the environment texture in real-time.
3. Adjust the Environment Strength:
   • You can control how strong or bright the environment lighting is by adjusting the Strength value on the Background Shader.
     • Increase or decrease the strength based on how bright you want the environment light to be.
4. Rotate the Environment Texture (optional):
   • To rotate the environment texture and control how it appears in the background or affects reflections, you can add a Mapping node and a Texture Coordinate node:
     • Press Shift + A, go to Vector, and select Mapping.
     • Press Shift + A, go to Input, and select Texture Coordinate.
     • Connect the Generated output from the Texture Coordinate node to the Vector input of the Mapping node.
     • Then, connect the Vector output of the Mapping node to the Vector input of the Environment Texture.
     • Use the Rotation fields in the Mapping node to adjust the environment’s orientation.
5. Control Environment Visibility (optional):
   • If you want the environment texture to affect lighting but not appear in your final render, do the following:
     • Go to the Render Properties tab (camera icon) in the Properties panel.
     • Scroll down to Film and check the Transparent option. This will make the background invisible, but the lighting and reflections will still be influenced by the environment texture.
6. Test Render:
   • Once you’re happy with the setup, you can render the scene to see the final result by pressing F12 or going to the top menu: Render > Render Image.
7. Fine-tune lighting and reflections:
   • You can adjust how the environment texture interacts with the materials in your scene by tweaking material properties such as roughness, glossiness, or adding reflection control nodes.

Summary of Connections:

• Environment Texture -> Background Shader -> World Output.
• (Optional) Texture Coordinate -> Mapping -> Environment Texture (for rotation and position control).