Preparation will either make or break an image. Even if your intention is to create a story revolving around the images you are rendering, you need to assemble your stage without distracting errors.  Unfortunately, this takes time, effort, and experimentation.  Regardless of which rendering engine you use, you need to learn how to use the Material Room efficiently to correct and/or enhance the textures to give you the best images possible.  I spend my time refining and tweaking materials and textures to get the results that satisfy my curiosity.  Below is an example of an image that I spent time refining.

He will be part of a bigger picture, but I am taking my time to get everything the way I am envisioning.