Kitchen Render-Your thoughts please...

[snager]

Hello All,

I"m new to twilight after using shaderlight for a few years.

I have been tasked with making a render of a kitchen project to match a professional photo as closely as possible for web site and marketing purposes.

Attached please see first the photograph then the current render.

No post production has been done on the render. I'm hoping not much is suggested as I'm not real handy with photoshop.

The feeling here is that the render could be a bit lighter and more crisp.

Here are some of the settings used in twilight:
~ This was rendered on 'Easy 09 Progressive' left to run overnight.
~ Skylight portals have been applied to the windows.
~ In the camera tab the exposure level = 1.4.
~ Gamma adjustment = 1.0
~ I believe the 'Tone mapping filter' was on 'Simple' not 100% sure.
~ Camera F number = 'Pinhole'.
~ Lens focal length = 32.035
~ Recessed ceiling lights are all the same Light bulb size = 2.5. Strength = 2.0
~ Island pendent lights are all share Light bulb size = 5. Strength = 3.0
~ Foreground pendents over table all have Light bulb size = 5.0. Strength = 1.25
~ Recessed lights over the sink both have Light bulb size = 5.0. Strength = 1.25
~ A soft yellow color was selected for the lights.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have on how to enhance this render.

Images attached by admin

[Chris]

Welcome snager! Please just attach images directly as attachments to your post (see "Upload Attachment" below).

[Chris]

Your modeling looks great!

The two things that stand out:
The tile backsplash in your render is repeating really badly. You can probably find a better texture with less repetition.
The color of the lights in the reference image have a distinct rose color, where your rendered lights are more straight white.

[micahman5000]

Also it seems your eye level is a little low. It looks like its set to 3'-6" bases on the cabinet to the right. The picture outside doesn't look right. I find it very difficult to get a back ground picture to line up correctly. I would suggest that you make a field with trees in it or put shades on the windows to brighten up the space. Just make them light emitters and that should bring in allot of ambient light. Then you wouldn't need to worry about it. Also people can envision that kitchen in any environment when it is closed off with shades. The model looks good. Maybe add a dining room table in the empty room.

[Fletch]

It is a job well done so far. I agree with Chris about your tile texture.

See Realistic Lighting Color
from the Best Of Tips and Tricks - The Master List
Be careful of making the lights too powerful instead of adjusting exposure. A light of power(strength) "1" is approx. to a 100w incandescent.

Using High Pass Overlay Sharpening Technique on an image you have rendered that seems a little blurry can work miracles and make it 'crisp' in a heartbeat.

The model you have for the glasses on the table is too thick, making them dark/not look right.

Make sure you have followed the tutorial closely about using the Sky Portal.
Light through a window...
Your exterior photo is not nearly exposed enough. The original rendering, while well done, also does not have the exterior image exposed enough.
Interior Renderings - Exposure for Background Outside

[Jpalm]

Really nice!
I have a problem with the dishes and light above table being oblong.

[Fletch]

The biggest problem with the image is the interior lights are too bright, and not enough light coming through the windows.
I would put a large emitter plane outside the windows and make sure the glass is "Thin Glass No Shadow" in the windows.

[snager]

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions.

I'm considering calling this the final render.

I dimmed the lights quite a bit and applied more of a pinkish color to them to look more like the photo.

I reworked the tile and I'm happy with the result.

I swapped out the plates as suggested and tried softening them to eliminate some of the flats around the edges without much success. Not much I can do about the oblong appearance of the lights over the table... it's a perspective thing.

About the only thing I'm not too happy about is the glass in the window and door wall. It's set to 'Architectural Glass [No Shadow} I.R. = 1.52 - not sure where "Thin Glass No Shadow" is as suggested.
I feel there should be some reflection here but the look I'm getting is more like there is no glass at all.

More thoughts??

[Fletch]

This is a very nice image! You should be proud. It could use some post-pro now for "pop" but you said you wish to avoid post pro. I would at minimum try [Post Production - Secret 1]

I'm disappointed with the little amount of light coming from outside, there should be a lot more light coming from outside the window. I would place a large invisible emitter plane outside the window shining onto that side in order to get the outside "glow" coming from out there.
There are some "Illuminants" in a Library, try applying one of them if you don't feel comfortable with the Emitter Template.

You can increase the IOR of the glass to get more reflection. increase it to 1.8

You need to model the plate with more segments to the circle, or download some better plates from 3Dwarehouse. Smoothing smooths the geometry, but it can not add to the geometry.

[Fletch]

post pro: warmed up, popped contrast a bit, and straightened verticals