I am a noob when it comes to AI, dable a bit with it, but do not have the patients to redo again and again. It is just not my workflow I guess. Images emerge "organic" . I get a character, envision ( mostly) her in a situation. Create the situation, realise the pic is to " empty, so I add props and stuff etc. Like you I do multiple renders, to see if this or that light, pose, camerangle works better..
But the image grows as I am working on it. AI is to "abstract".
But impressed by what you guys do, I know how difficult it can be.