You do have some points here. I just did some tests and it seems the glowing spot glitch disappears if you go into the light settings and turn off multiple importance sampling (though I have no idea what the impact of that would be in a complex scene).
I think I have found some better settings:
glass: remove visibility for diffuse and shadow
emissive mesh: remove visibility for diffuse and shadow
light object: remove visibility for camera, glossy and transmission
Also, you can get less noise by deactivating reflective caustics in the render settings, as the emissive and glass will still create them together.
Here is my test blend file. Everything works in that small scene, but I would have to test it in some more complex scenarios.
Aside from the scale issues mentioned earlier, one thing that bugs me is the lighting is inconsistent. The light coming in the windows is so bright, but you still have lamps casting light/shadows. In a brightly lit room in the middle of the day, it seems unlikely that a lamp would cast light on the wall.
Also - it’s fine if everything isn’t lit well, because everything isn’t lit well in real life!
One other thing that bothers me is just the color scheme. The floor is horribly orange and bright compared to the other colors. Given the modern look of the rest of the furnishings, I’d try a rather dark stained flooring or a light gray perhaps. I also disagree with the person who said the floor is too shiny - it’s not shiny enough. Most wood floors are highly polished but yours looks rather matte.
For the table, I can’t tell what material it’s supposed to be made of. Is it wood veneer? Or a plastic-type of veneer? Same with the cabinets under the television.
The couch cushions look thick and soft. I feel like if you sat on them you’d sink down really far, almost to the floor.
Really great start here, but the truth is that getting a setup that looks realistic takes a loooong time (for me I feel like I’m about halfway there but it’s taken years to get it close…) The scale of your furniture is off - also to be 100% honest the furniture itself is too perfect and lacks details to make it seem believable. Like the log coffee table, looks very fake and too round. Also , the diagonal flooring doesn’t seem realistic as I think it should still be perpendicular rather than at a 45 degree angle… I think part of getting the best render is not being afraid to use/buy other people’s models to improve your render. It would take an insane amount of time to model and materialize all the furniture you would need for a good render. Second, I would recommend working on small details like light fixtures, switches, electrical outlets, and doors/windows to get the base of the interior perfect first, and then start introducing lighting and furniture.
Lastly, to brighten up the image, I think point lighting helps a lot. If you turn off the glossy visibility it can help you illuminate the whole scene without interfering much. Good luck and keep working hard! The only guarantee of success is your fortitude - keep trying and you will get there!
Another thing that I see in a lot of renders like these is that "every light is white." In the real world, no light is ever actually “$FFFFFF.” There are readily-available “color-temperature tables” which will suggest other RGB light-color values, and these can make a dramatic difference even in their subtlety. For instance, shadows in areas illuminated by outdoor light are often very slightly blue, this blue coming from the blue of the sky. These are subliminal details, but they do make a difference.
Interior photographs are illuminated by strobes in so-called “light boxes,” and the color-temperature of these strobes is also known. Furthermore, photographers often then attach “gels” in front of the strobes to provide a different color-cast to the light. The gels are simply pieces of plastic that are almost transparent, but not quite. (RGB tables for various gel-sets are also available online.) “Think like a real-world studio photographer.” Read some of the guide-books that such people still use.
Some of us are really like trying to capture the un-staged scene’s lighting first before adding lightboxes and stuff. I like photos/renders that look like what I actually see.
