The Process

The beginning stages of creating visual effects all starts with good setup, what i mean by this is before shooting the shot with a camera you have to get a really good collection of reference. The first this is to take picture of the light source and where its coming from and all so take pictures of the set. This will help you to recreate the light in 3d later on and be able to see how to match the shadows with CG elements and live action elements. The next step would to be get HDR panoramic pictures of the set, the best way to do this is to use a chrome ball what will allow you to capture a wide angle shot of the scene. You can also use a grey ball what will allow you to the how the shadows are being casted and how long they are and if there dark or light.