From BB's page, go and get the Environment sphere. Enclosing your scene will give IDL rays something to bounce off of. Sure you can render without an environment sphere, but it will take much longer. At least in my experience it has taken longer when I forgot to load the sphere. I don't reccomend using the sphere 'naked'. Follow one of the links on BB's page for some good free images for your sphere. Images from philohome work well. Some will say to use a HDR image on the sphere. One of BB's favorites is dodger2 (you can find that from the links on his page). I prefer not to use HDR. Also look around his site for the Brightness meter. This is a very handy prop because it will visually tell you if your lights are too blown out. It load roughtly next to the Head of a V4 sized figure. When you're satisfied with your light level using this prop, it can then be moved out of camera range for your final render.

"A lonely climber walks a tightrope to where dreams are born and never die!" - Billy Thorpe, song: Edge of Madness, album: East of Eden's Gate

Weapons of choice:

Poser Pro 2012, SR2, Paintshop Pro 8