As someone said, there is a lot of free or moderately priced external renders nowadays. You can not only save out in 32 bit and manipulate different exposures and postadjust light and shadows there is also multipass that render different parts of the picture seperatly, ready for compositing. Its a whole new world. Combined with Photoshop it has no limitations.

I am a little perplexed that these possibilities are not used more.

"only a hint of a hand-created element can activate a surface, instill passion and energy into a medium, and reassure the recipient that human understanding and insight are the foundation for the message.” Josh Chen