Using a digital camera, its easy and doesn't break the bank to take a lot of digital site photos. The photos themselves don't have to be high quality and they are already formatted to be manipulated with a program like Photoshop. No scanning required.
Form Z creates digital 3D models. Using models, parts reflections and textures that are computer generated can create a pretty real looking little model. Using form Z to create different views and control lighting is especially helpful for this exercise. Views and lighting can also be adjusted last minute without having to make a photographic setup.
The digital camera means lots of model photos cheaply. No processing, no scanning. Its a more direct rout to Photoshop. Many photos can be taken varying the conditions and position of the model such that a good set of photos can be taken.
Photoshop is the tool that allows us to bring this all together. Using layers we can overlap things, using the masks and the magic wand we can selectively delete pieces of each layer.