OK, but I have to say I think you're dismissing the photo technique too lightly. Also, the photo isn't simply a background. If you use my environment sphere, it completely surrounds your props and figures. This means two very important things:

1) You can point the camera anywhere and you see the world.

2. Shiny things reflect that world.

Here is a render I did today. The 3D subject is the airplane. What you see behind it is a photo, but not composited in post. That would be nearly impossible, since the photo is a 360 degree panorama of the world around us.

How would you build that world without the photo?

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Renderosity forum reply notifications are wonky. If I read a follow-up in a thread, but I don't myself reply, then notifications no longer happen AT ALL on that thread. So if I seem to be ignoring a question, that's why. (Updated September 23, 2019)