[I've been meaning to make this post for so long, but I just kept putting it off.]
I read numerous blogs posts from Betrand, Ronen, and others, and part of what makes lighting for close-up shots look good is that they often choose camera angles AFTER everything has been modeled and shaded. What is missing from that observation is that their interior close-up shots are being rendered from within an interior space - that sounds redundant, but implies that the shadows cast onto other objects represent an architectural space, i.e. shadows from windows, crossbeams, furniture, etc. These types of shadows help contribute to the storytelling of a shot, mood, etc. and more importantly, these shadows (indirect shading) cannot be replicated using only an HDRI.
Where can I download a variety of interior floor plans? I would like to try lighting product shots staged within an empty floor plan so that I can at least capture some indirect shading from light propagating through an architectural interior, since an HDRI of an interior would not contribute any shadowing, even if it does capture lighting, tone, etc.