In our daily work, we often use HDRI to illuminate a scene. Maybe because it is simple or the given time (money) does not allow a "complex" lightsetup.
Using a dome-light... plug in the HDR map... tweak the camera is fast, but in this case I wanted to play with the light and create a specific atmosphere. So I created different light sources and adjusted the settings as needed.
Because I took the time to set up the whole scene, there is no reason to take as many shots as I want. No need of postproduction! All the images are straight out of MAX, without any adjustment.
To find the mood I want, I used a simple blockout of the scene, allowing me to do fast interactive renderings.
