AbstractWe introduce an approach for measurement of the directional distribution of light scattered during reflection and transmission (i.e. scattering distribution function, SDF) which is based on evaluation of photometric and colorimetric images rather than on mechanical scanning or conventional conoscopic imaging. Planar and cylindrical samples are illuminated by either point light sources or by linear lamps and the lateral distributions of luminance and chromaticity resulting from scattering are recorded by an advanced imaging colorimeter. The SDFs can be used for evaluation of a range of appearance characteristics (e.g. gloss, sheen, luster, clarity, haze, etc.), their chromaticity components can be applied for characterization of media that change color with direction of illumination and observation.