one nice thing about lighting in 3D is that you don't have to stick your lights only where the modeled lights are. if you find that there are objects not lit properly or enough, you can create lights that are linked to only improve the illumination of those objects. it does take a bit of tinkering (which i think is why people would rather just use hdri/mental ray or maxwell or indigo... they don't want to learn how to light), but in the end it's worth knowing how to do it.