Jamie Cardoso posts a great read from a 3D World article (3D World magazine (i.e. issue 141) with tips, and a course of action for achieving photorealistic 3D renderings and where the common mistakes may arise when doing so. – great stuff! Read the article here.
“Although lighting, rendering parameters, composition, camera, post production, etc, are great contributors in the process of producing appealing and photorealistic images; textures and shaders are ultimately one of the most important aspects of the entire process..”