Hello, Just wanted to refresh my blender knowledge so I tried to make a photorealistic rocket. But it really isnt.
I used to fly these! I think you need some fill light on the last shot. Those should be darker bars on the parachute ribbon, not black bars. One trick that you can use is to stick a sky-blue hemi at a 90 degree angle off to one side of your scene. Combine that with a sunlight to soften those shadows. You could also use an HDRI image to help light the scene.
There are some great lighting tuts over at CG Cookie.
Thanks. I have added some more environment lightning to the 3. image and textures after blown engine. Is it closer right now?