1) Take photo`s for back plate and ref 2) Model the object 3) create some proxy models for stuff in photo (eg floor) 4) Line up object in photo (not sure how) 5) Match the lighting (not sure how) 6) Use render layers to create realism 7) Comp together hey man, seems like you liked the sound of the course. I think you have the order wrong tho. 4 should come after 3 and you should have a 2.1) create and match camera to backplate. you can do this pretty easily if you are taking the photo yourself, as you will know (or can find out) the focal length. so create a camera and adjust the focal length to match. then dolly the camera until you think it lines up. Look at my wip for the comp, it might give you some ideas as to how to match the camera. as for lighting, i would shy away from final gather if thats what you are thinking. try to light it manually. Final gather is not bad, its just not used as much as you might think. It causes a lot of artifacts in your lighting. You do not need a chrome ball and an 8mm lens to make an hdri. What would be a good cheat would be to take a photo with as wide a lens as you have. if you dont have a tripod then just take one. but if you do, take one at the fstop you need to. Then take 2 up an exposure and 2 down. (hope that made sense. been at the pub) if you dont have a tripod, take a photo and create the duplicate exposures in photoshop. then use the "merge to hdri" button and it will create an hdri. you can use this as a reflection environment. can't think straight so will review this tomorrow. too many beers. night.