IMO Photoreal is just an artform, somewhat popular especially in the professional advertising, moviemaking and gaming business. Some hobbyist have some preferences there too, for various personal reasons. I happen to be one of them, sometimes. Unfortunately, Poser is not very good at it, and not meant for it as well. That can be frustrating, especially for those who think they can turn Poser into a virtual physics lab. Whether that's either bad luck or an extra opportunity, who knows?

The most serious statement on this comes from JoePublic in his post above: " I've found my happy spot ...". That's what counts. 

And you can take a peek in the gallery, especially the image-top 20. No photorealism at all (this week at least). Top 1 and 2 are from C'yve, not even in 3D. 

Above all, a real artist wants to be unique and doesn''t group think, and preferrably avoids groups at all.  

And oh, IOM the movement is not towards more realism, but towards better story-telling.
An image can tell a thousand words, but one needs to have something to tell first. C'yve is my hero. Paul Francis, Roland58, etc

and No, phorealism is not the hardest to achieve, given the amount of images floating around. With the proper tools, anyone can.
C'ves 2D drawings are the hardest to achive. Like the drawings (and little poems) by Dick Bruna.  

have fun 

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Usually I'm wrong. But to be effective and efficient, I don't need to be correct or accurate.

visit www.aRtBeeWeb.nl (works) or Missing Manuals (tutorials & reviews) - both need an update though