Working on mastering lighting in 3Ds max. Seems photometric lights placed around the object like a halo is very crucial. Playing/learning graphics meets a “balancing the use of both sides of ones brain” goal in me.
See below images. First shows the setup l now have in 3ds max. Next was the original render using mental ray. Then better lighting, then came photometric lights placed at a reasonable distance above the curve of the beamer [bmw].
3dmax_car_setup

bmw_light001a_400

bmw_light001_400

bmw_light002_400