How to master the art of in-game photography

1.2.2024

By Mik Bromley, Contributor

In-game photography, virtual photography, screenshot art—call it what you will, but capturing artistic images of video games has been around longer than you might realize, and it involves way more than just pressing “Prnt Scrn” at the right time.

Originally an industry-serving technique required to create images for promotional material, game capture was once the reserve of people with access to development tools and debug cameras.

That’s all changed with the recent rise of in-game photo modes though. By giving players direct access to creative photographic tools that mimic the use of a real-world camera, in-game photography has emerged as an accessible digital art form that lets people engage even more with the games they love and create some truly captivating original images.

But what if you don’t know where to begin? This guide is going to walk you through everything you need to know to get started, and hopefully inspire you to capture a few shots of your own.
 

Photo mode

The first thing you’re going to need to do is get yourself into a photo mode. Not all games have one, but for those that do, photo mode is usually accessed via the pause menu or a convenient shortcut button that helps you catch the perfect moment.

Once open, a photo mode basically freezes the in-game action but lets you freely move a virtual camera around to explore and compose a unique shot. It will also typically put a menu on-screen that includes essential camera controls like field of view, depth of field, lighting effects, and more.

One thing you may notice right away is that different photo modes use different types of camera movement. Some stick to an orbital camera that is always centered on the character (like in a third-person game) while others give you complete freedom to move and look in any direction.

In either case, think about when and where you enter photo mode to ensure that the camera can reach your desired subject.
 

Field of view

The field of view (FOV) is essentially the area within the frame that can be seen by the camera. It’s often one of the first settings that you will come across in an in-game photo mode.

Sometimes FOV is given literally as a viewing angle in degrees. A larger angle means the camera can see more of its surroundings, while a smaller angle or narrower FOV creates an effect similar to zooming in.

In some cases, FOV may be changed using more camera-oriented settings such as Focal Length or Zoom. Though the actual numbers will be different in these cases, tweaking these settings will still affect the camera’s FOV in a similar way. A shorter zoom or focal length (typically given in mm) results in a wider FOV, and vice versa.

Try using wide angles to create a dynamic look with an exaggerated sense of perspective, or zoom in to compress the scene and remove clutter for more intimate shots.
 

Focus and depth of field

Focus and depth of field go hand-in-hand, and getting them right is crucial to making subjects stand out and directing the viewer’s interest to the right part of your shot. Any objects that are in-focus will appear crisp and sharp in the image, while anything out-of-focus will be soft and blurry.

This is usually controlled with a Focus Distance slider that allows manual adjustment of exactly where the plane of focus lies, though sometimes there’s an Auto Focus feature that can do the job for you.

You don’t always want everything in focus though, and this is where depth of field comes in. The term “Depth of Field” refers to how much of the image on either side of the focus plane actually appears sharp, or in “acceptable focus.”

A large depth of field keeps more of the image in focus. This can be useful for landscape shots, or when you need to maintain focus on multiple objects that are different distances from the camera. A shallow depth of field, meanwhile, will defocus objects in front of and behind the point of focus, creating blur and bokeh on both the foreground and background.

Complicating matters slightly, you might find depth of field is controlled by a setting called Aperture or F-Stop, which is just a simulation of the camera lens settings that real-world photographers use. In short, use a wider aperture with a smaller f-stop (like f/1.8) to create a shallow depth of field. This will create a more defocused blur that is perfect for helping your subject stand out from its surroundings.
 

Exposure and lighting

Photography is all about working with light, even when it’s virtual, so getting the right lighting in your shot is always important. Simple settings like Exposure and Brightness will let you make a shot brighter or darker, but they can’t do anything to change the way light actually falls on a subject.

To do that, you’re going to need to pay attention to sources of light in the game itself and think about how they can be used to illuminate a character or add interest to a scene. Standing closer to a light source means that it shines more brightly, and its relative position determines the direction of the light—and crucially, the way that shadows fall across your character.

In certain photo modes you may find advanced lighting options such as Time of Day, which are great for altering the direction and drama of the natural in-game light. Some even let you tweak three-point studio lighting setups for the ultimate creative control.
 

Filters and overlays

Not everything in a photo mode has to be quite as technical as studio lighting rigs. It’s very common to find a whole host of color filters and rendering effects that can alter the look of an image with straightforward preset styles. Even better when these come with an Intensity option that lets you tweak how much a style is applied so it can be used more subtly.

Frames that change the aspect ratio or add a graphical surround also feature in most photo modes, and it’s not unusual to find stickers and logos that sit over your photo too. Feel free to play around and experiment with features like this, not least because some games will include some very unique effects that work really well with their art style.

This is a digital art form, after all. There are no rules about what you can and cannot do.
 

Character options

There’s nothing to say that characters need to be the subject of a shot at all. Many of the stunningly detailed environments out there are well worth photographing all on their own.

When you are focusing on a character though, be sure to look out for a few options that will help get the best out of them. Most often, this comes in the form of preset poses and facial expressions that you can freely cycle through while the actual action is frozen. These can help you find more ways to engage with the character beyond idle stances and in-game animations, especially if used cleverly with the surroundings.

In some more advanced photo modes, character poses may even include the ability to reposition the model within the scene, bend and turn certain body parts, and change the direction of their gaze so they’re always looking where you want.

Getting a portrait subject to look directly at the camera is a great way to engage the viewer, while keeping a character focused intently on their enemy will make combat shots feel more intense.
 

Principles in practice

Putting all of that into practice then, here’s a shot that I took in Lords of the Fallen, developed by CI Games:

I knew that I wanted a combat shot here, so the first challenge was getting the timing right, especially as I also wanted to make use of the light spilling in from behind the tree on the left.

After catching the right moment, I narrowed the field of view to remove surrounding distractions from the frame and added a little camera roll to emphasize the action. Using the manual settings, the camera focus was placed between the characters and the aperture adjusted to f/2.8 to keep them both sharp while also adding some defocused blur to the background.

Some slight tweaks to the color saturation and contrast helped get the look I wanted, and a small amount of film grain along with a faint vignette added to the atmosphere.
 

Capture and share

With a shot fully composed and all settings chosen, don’t forget to actually capture a screenshot to keep a copy of it—yes, this part really is a simple screenshot—and consider sharing it for others to see.

Although some people prefer to keep their work to themselves, there are some very active and friendly in-game photography communities on social media and across the internet, and it can be very rewarding and inspiring to get involved. You might even catch the eye of the studios who worked on the game you’re photographing, or possibly win some pretty cool prizes in a photo mode contest.

The games (and photo modes) featured in this article include DEATHLOOP, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor, God of War, Death Stranding, and more, and you can find all of them on the Epic Games Store.