Sample Modeling excerpt...
All objects in the scene were poorly named. Objects should be descriptive in their naming. This facilitates the selecting and displaying of objects, especially when more than one user works with the scene. This becomes even more important when selecting objects in the numerous interfaces besides the viewports, i.e., the Material Editor, the Curve Editor, the Select Objects dialog box, etc. A tremendous amount of time can be saved on a project by having objects named correctly. The left image below shows a portion of the Select Objects dialog box from this scene and the image on the right shows a portion from a scene where objects were named properly. In the scene on the right, the user will always know which object they have selected and will always be able to quickly select a desired object.

Sample Materials excerpt...
Fresnel reflections are used in several different refractive materials but inappropriate IOR values were used. Proper fresnel reflections can only be achieved with IOR values greater than 1.0 and less than 2.0, so values such as 5.0 used in this scene can produce strange results. I recommend only using values between 1.0 and 2.0. Several materials were used with excessively low glossiness values. Blurry reflections and refractions can drastically increase render times with lower glossiness values increasing the render times. Low values such as 0.18 should be avoided in most situations.

Sample Lighting excerpt...
Each VRaySun contained a Shadow Subdivs value of 25, which is usually far more than is necessary in most scenes. This value controls the quality of the shadows primarily by controlling the noise within the shadows. The default value of 8 usually works well in most scenes and should only be increased to a Max value of 20 if noise appears. Doubling this value could easily double the time it takes to render a light's shadows. Remember that this setting, like almost all Subdivs settings in V-Ray, is tied directly to the QMC Sampler rollout.

Sample Rendering excerpt...
The QMC Sampler Noise threshold value is one of the most important settings in V-Ray. It directly controls almost every Subdivs value in the program so this value should be adjusted with caution. It was changed from the default value of 0.01 to 0.003, which should only have been done if noise was present with the larger value. Decreasing this value can drastically increase rendering times. Values near 0.005 are acceptable but you should always ensure to disable the Use QMC sampler thresh value when using the Adaptive QMC image sampler, so that you don't adjust the sampler quality when adjusting the noise threshold.

Sample Camera excerpt...
This scene contained numerous standard cameras and vray physical cameras. It is impossible to tell which was used to produce the final rendering but I highly, highly recommend not using the vray physical camera unless you are an advanced V-Ray user with a strong background in photography. This is a great feature but unless you know exactly what you are doing and have a strong photography background, you will find it extremely difficult to achieve good results. In addition, the physical camera has exposure control built into it so the vray sun multiplier value of 0.15 used in this scene would usually be inadequate.

Sample Composition excerpt...
All vegetation in this rendering was added outside of the rendered image. The vegetation is clearly image based and lacks realism. There are no real shadows on the terrain or on the vegetation itself. I recommend always using 3D vegetation in Max for the foreground areas, and if desired, 2D vegetation can be used in the background, but should also be part of the actual 3D scene. The people in this scene have the exact same problem as the trees. I recommend using 3D people if they are far enough away from the camera and RPC people if they are close to the camera. Also, there are probably too many people surrounding the building than what you would see in real life. This is accentuated by the fact that there are no people standing on any of the balconies nor on the opposite sides of the streets. I would reduce the number in front of the building and add some in other places.