The new “Photoreal” display mode should be left to dedicated rendering or visualization software. SketchUp is fundamentally a modeling tool, and it shouldn’t stray into areas that compromise its core strengths. If you’re going to introduce photorealistic features, then modeling and rendering should both be supported at a professional level. Otherwise, it risks becoming a tool that does neither well.
Due to this issue, the creation of a site development proposal for a mountainous area was delayed by an entire day. In SketchUp 2024, this kind of problem simply could not occur, so it took considerable time to investigate using Copilot and web resources. Only after extensive trial and error did I discover that the “Photoreal” display mode disables shadow control—even after switching back to a traditional shading style. A full day of work was lost.