Totally agree about the lighting.
It has been one of the things I have been really struggling with during the LPL as well.
I think the “King Théoden” could be as good, if not better painted than mine. The one bit you can see clearly is stunning, “the hand painted flag”.
The white back ground also seems to outshine the darker models.
I also think the original photography is better then mine with the detail that you can see a lot crisper.