I'm very new to vue and testing it for a new project we've got coming down the road... I've done a few simpler test scenes and they've generally looked 'photoreal'...but i cant, for some reason, get this one to look like that..... can anyone give me any atmosphere tips, etc to help me get this looking more real? thanks very much.

Hmmmm...
Well, several of the shapes are very geometrical/mechanical, unlike in the real world. Using materials with more bumpiness and then displacement might help. Like on the vertical poles. See how razor sharp those edges are?

Then your POV (straight on) also emphasizes the mechanical look. More slant to the lighting and not so flat might help. Maybe using the spectral atmosphere "aerial perspective" (smog like) and better clouds?

Distant hill look bare between the trees - maybe some bushes and/or ground cover. Also for the terrain,, exposing some rock or soil at the water line and adding a "wet" layer just above the water might help. A wet layer on the foreground float logs might also help.

The foreground deck surface is obviously tiles. Real decking would be more random and less repetitious. The 2 center float log ends are identical, should rotate one.

Using soft shadows, rather than your hard edged ones adds realism (at the cost of long render times).

Some of your surfaces lack dirt and wear/tear: inflatable boat, bobber, decking. Those need some material customization in the Function Editor.

Last, but not least, photograph or find online a photo of a similar environment and study that.

HTH
 

As jc said - materials on your rubber boat, bobber, and decking need more work - wear and tear. I would also work on the row boat, shed, and two signs at the end of the dock (and the planking on the upper sign too which is grey and grainy like an old plank, but doesn't have any cracks). Anything that spends some time in the water (or very near it) and sun shows quite a bit of wear and tear.

Personally, I don't have any problems with hard shadows on a sunny day, but it's a matter of taste and sometimes I'll soften them because I think they look better.

The logs also would never be so perfectly round, and could use some cracks running up and down and moss and algae near the water. Your log ends look great, just need to rotate them as mentioned by jc and add a little moss/algae at the waterline.

Your one hill on the left side has too smooth a silhouette among the trees

Other than that up your render quality and you'll be close

I like your scene : )  Hope you'll show us how it turns out

Your materials need more detail.  The place looks too clean for a "Keep Out" area.  The rest of the scene needs to match the age of the sign's lettering.

Then the lighting needs to enforce the tone for the scene. 

I suggest some haze. Where I live (Ottawa Canada) you can notice some haze after less than a kilometer. That actually bothered me more than the textures.

I also like the scene. I hope the project is a Role Playing Game for the PC, in which case I'll probably buy it.

Well apart from all the above.....I'm impressed with the amount of detail you DO have. I particularly like the ends of the logs.

All of the above definatly needs more dirt , 3 logs at front need changing mybe bump them all up differently to each other... and as someone mentioned rotate some of them. Great scene love the water and trees

Forgot to mention one thing.
Been thinking some about what characteristics make reality seem real. You already have one of those, which is more visual content then a viewer can grasp at first glance.
 
In general, I think that doesn't necessarily mean you need a lot of stuff, or clutter, but only the feeling of overwhelming detail - for example from complex materials.

Quote - Been thinking some about what characteristics make reality seem real.

A mix between creating the most photoreal image as possible and hiding any CG give-aways.  Using photos for the material is a common trick.

very easy way to make much more realisti cmaterials, is to use my "dirt map" material :)
it's a mixed material, you copy/paste opriginal mat into the other half of the mixed material, bingo! instant dirt ;)

I use it in nearly all my pics, it helps a ton. You can also cary ti's oclours for say, sun baked and worn etc

http://www.silverblades-suitcase.com/vue_mats/vue_materials.htm

The atmosphere could certainly use some work, but I don't don't think that's what is holding back this image from realism. It's the textures. Some of the wood textures need to updated, preferably to photo textures. As mentioned above, some of the objects being too primitive is also detracting from the potential realism of this piece.