Point Light Shadows?

Greetings,

Can someone please correct my assumptions on shadow mapping?
1 - I need a unique depth & Render TOP for each light I want to cast shadows - played around and this seems to be the case
2 - Point light shadows - I can get these to work in certain conditions, though it appears that the point light needs to be ‘aimed’ properly since it becomes the POV for the shadow renderer.
If #2 is true, is there any alternate method or work-arounds in generating predictable shadows using point lights?

many thanks,
Paul