Because it realistically looks like a blurry photo. We all have experience with bad photography.  So yes, in a cog sci-way, your brain associates it with previous experience.  That does not equal photorealism in any way beyond mimicking an old and slightly out of focus photo.

Don't go there with uncanny valley stuff with me please.  If your color one were more true to the physics of lenses and light waves, it would look like a real color photo and be (color) photorealistic. 

Tricking the brain to make something seem real is not the same thing as creating something true to reality, unless your goal was a blurry black and white.

my goal as an artist is to make you think and feel.    I want your imagination involved.  I'm not a statue,  I'm an idea. A song without moments of silence is noise.

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"To define Tao is to defile it" - Lao Tzu

Poetic... refraining from joking because I know you are serious.  Just please be careful with language that might imply other artists don't share that goal.

to define tao is to defile it -  I repeat,  not all art is the same, art is a form of expression -  some express it in a concept,  others express it in technique.

Contrary to popular belief,  kung fu is not a martial art,  cooking is it's own form of kung fu,  calligraphy is its own form of kung fu, philosophy is it's own form of kung fu.

why am I explaining this ?  Because when I critique your technique,  you defend your concept,  when I compliment your concept you credit your technique.  - sorry,  won't fly with me.  50 laps!

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"To define Tao is to defile it" - Lao Tzu

Shakes head.  Kung fu literally means great skill. Is there an off button that can be pushed when you start laying it on so thick?

These are really good.
Especially in the future, I will have to do studies on tears.

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It's all in the reflective maps.  And thank you so much.

You're getting closer with each iteration I think.

My "tells" for portrait CGI still hold true in my eyes:
1) the neckline of clothing models in general need far more realism.  I always wind up going to photoshop to post process it.   Here I can still see the edges are still too crisp and perfect, and I can still see the vertices on it, especially as it plunges down.  

2) the necklace prop/clothing totally let's you down.  The pendant looks like it should have significant weight, yet the chain looks like it floats above the skin at times with it's shadowing.  And I think the chain should be more taut, but unfortunately, it seems to try to traverse the contours above her collarbone in an unnatural manner.  In my eyes, it looks like it's totally breaking the laws of gravity and it is very distracting.

3) The hair is still too perfect.  Strands in the main mass of hair are still too uniform to my eye.  They don't feel like they come off the scalp naturally.  For instance, the part line in her style, the hair seems to grow off the scalp too horizontal.  Again, it's another thing I photoshop by making those hairs darker and come off vertically there.  And then I add far more wayward strands of hair in various shades in random places.

Thank you for posting, it really helps one train the eye to look for things and see what others are saying.

I'd also highly encourage taking a model photograph, and trying to replicate it in iClone/CC, and it immediately points out the stark contrasts in tool vs real world.

You are absolutely right, though I disagree with the point about the hair in the case of Drea..  Thank you so much for your post.