Lighting

Lighting an objects on Maya is pretty much straight forward, after creating a lights, select any lights options. I chose the directional lights and ambient lights, because it gives more looks on to it. A

After selecting the light, you click on 3 balls next to the checker (Gold, Blue, Brown)
Click the lights then go to "Attribution" Editor tab. then click shadows, go to Depth Map Shadow Attributes and click the check box.

Put the resolution up if pixilated, Go to Render Setting to change anything that needed. Click Render the image then you're done. That's the basic Lighting and rendering.

There are other lighting tools that you can use, but it mostly good for city landscape, Day and Night.
I prefer using this for that. To do that I'd go to Render Setting, making sure it set to "Mental Ray" choose indirect lighting.

Where it says "Environment" You have two option so click physical sun and sky for example.
Maya automatically do it, for you, close the render. Option if the light isn't strong enough, you can "multiplier" to "two" the Haze will give a fog light appearance. You change Ground Colour. You can also change Night colour to Blue. Also create "Directional Light" as a sun, have the camera selected, go to view-camera selected. Go then to attribute editor, you should now see "Environmental Shader and Lens Shader" it shows that it controlling the camera.