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Everyone has a camera in their phone at the very least, but not all of us get to go to fantastical places to use them. In the world of video games, however, you can be a virtual photographer who creates stunning images.
Even if you’re already a dab hand at photos in real life, there are a few things I’ve learned about taking “photos” in games that have helped improve my results, and hopefully they’ll improve yours too.
1Real Photography Tips Still Apply!
Everything you know abouttaking better photos in real lifealso applies to virtual photography. Which means if you don’t know how to take good photos with a real camera, you can use the same resources to get better at both. Photography is both a deep and wide subject, and I’ve only dabbled in things likemacrophotographyand the fundamentals of taking good photos, but it’s all helped me in the virtual world.
2Make Use of Cropping and Framing Tools
Games are presented to us in a more-or-less unchanging frame, the most common being the 16:9 widescreen format. When you take a screenshot in a game, it’s going to end up as a 16:9 image. However, the framing and aspect ratio of a photo is important to the final product! So you should absolutely crop and reframe the image to reflect the vibe and subject matter you think works best for it.
Some games already have cropping tools built into their photo modes, but even if a game doesn’t, you can just open it up in something like MS Paint and crop to your heart’s content there.
3Switch to Ultra Graphics for Photos
While most people should probablysteer clear of ultra settingsduring normal gameplay, if you’re specifically trying to take the best photos in a game, it makes sense to max things out to get the best image quality and detail possible. After all, you only need one frame per second to make things work. Some games may even automatically bump up the quality for their photo modes, such asCyberpunk 2077, which gives you the option of using its heaviest path-tracing setting in photo mode only, so that it doesn’t affect the performance of normal gameplay.
4Try to Capture Action
While there’s nothing wrong with a nice portrait of a character staring off into the distance, or wonderful virtual landscapes, it can all be a bit boring. So one great way to spice up your virtual photos is to pause in the midst of the action. This way you can capure dynamic scenes, and even appreciate the game’s action in a way that’s not really possible while you’re actively playing it.
5Use Pose and Expression Modifiers
Speaking of making shots more interesting, many games with dedicated photo modes let you modify characters in the scene. For example, you might have the option to change the player character’s facial expression, body pose, weapon, and so on. It might be possible to remove enemies, or remove the player character, or move characters around.
This is a great way to create interesting photos that maybe even tell a story. It’s not representative of what’s happening in the game at that moment, but not all virtual photography has to be gonzo, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of staging!
6No Photo Mode? No Problem!
Not every modern game has a photo mode, and older games definitely don’t! However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try taking photos in them! You can use mods to add photo mode tools to some games, or to let you pause and freely move the camera. You can also use mods to remove the game UI, and if course any photo editing software can be used to crop, filter, and otherwise spice up your screenshots of older games!
