Rendering computes and displays a scene. Computations are based on pre-defined algorithms that take into account: the geometry of the objects (i.e., modeling), the materials applied to those objects (e.g., metal, marble, wood), the lighting, the point of view and, finally, the interactions between these elements (e.g., shadows, reflections, etc.).
A material determines the appearance of the surface of a simulated material. It is defined by one or more layers: the uniform level zero layer and a superposition of upper level layers. Upper level layers can be made up of textures or mappings.
Lighting is the propagation of rays of light coming from a natural or artificial light source.
The point of view is what is displayed in front of the user. The point of view is determined by the eye position, a target point (defining the sight direction), and a field of vision.
A camera is the instrument used to set the point of view.