Now I know what the Gamma Correction will do when I play around with it, I'll adjust the settings and see what different results I come up with. Changing the 2.2 in the Render settings window to 1 got me a result I'm very happy with, but there is always room for improvement.

My approach to lighting is still very very basic and amateurish, but with the GC adjustments, I know my lighting will need tweaking because I'm getting different results.

You have referred to information left by Bagginsbill - do you have a link where I could find this information so I can have a read?