The Art of Video Game Photography

A discussion about photography games, photo modes and the validity of video game photography as an artform.
Patreon: / eurothug4000
Twitter: / eurothug4000
Instagram: / eurothug4000
Huge thanks to Petri Levälahti for answering my questions for the vid!
/ berduu
www.berdu.org
Thanks to Pim, CorruptedSave and Dutchy for supplying voice!
/ @pimscrypt
/ @corruptedsave
/ @mythranir
Thanks to HeavyEyed and CorruptedSave for help with the script!
/ @heavyeyed
/ @corruptedsave
Outlast and Wind Waker footage supplied by HeavyEyed
Spiderman and Shadow of the Tomb Raider footage supplied by CorruptedSave
SOURCES
www.giantbomb....
Leonardo Sang
/ leopardsang
leosang.com
travelogue.spac...
www.gamescenes...
Eva and Franco Mattes
01001011101011...
en.wikipedia.o...
lifeofmo.blogsp...
www.academia.e...
Robert Overweg
www.shotbyrobe...
@SunhiLegend
/ sunhilegend
Cinematic Tools
cinetools.xyz/g...
Cindy Poremba
ingamephotogra...
MUSIC USED
Gran Turismo 4 - Replay Theater
Wii Play - Title
Super Monkey Ball 2 - Monkey Shot
Parasite Eve - Out of Phase
MGS3 - Sea Breeze
MGS Peace Walker - Love Detterence (Paz Acoustic Theme)
Gran Turismo 4 - GT Mode 3
Final Fantasy VIII - Breezy
Final Fantasy XIII - The Yaschas Massif
R4 Ridge Racer Type 4 - Garage Talk

[@johnblanco5837]

Honestly, one of the best gaming channels out there.

[@eurothug4000]

You’re too kind! Thank you :)

[@xxedgy_outsiderxx9978]

ikr i love when youtubers talk more about the non violent side of the games

[@GHANI_FAIZAN_7897]

Yes, and it was the truth. This channel is just beutyfull

[@DavetheTurnip]

Wow. I enjoy screenshotting when I play games but didn’t realize photo modes were so in-depth, and have the community pushing what they can do. Fascinating 😃

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you!

[@grahamxiii]

Me on game take hours just for get virtualphotography shoot 🤣

[@Just_a_Snake]

OH MY GOD I've been waiting for someone to talk about this, I love taking photos that can be enjoyed without the context of the game I'm taking them in. I think there is a huge potential for this stuff and I'm so glad you made this video.

[@ThorShaker]

I feel exactly the same! Thank you very much for this video.

[@MortalGlare]

For the algorithm! A wonderful video as always.

[@eurothug4000]

thank you so much! :)

[@iknaifnawif]

the second Umurangi Generation came on-screen I was way more into it, loved that game

[@eurothug4000]

It’s such a good game!!

[@TonyRedgrave-of9od]

Video game photography has become a new genre, creating art within that art.

[@joshy-noha]

I remember I once stumbled upon a post on an old gaming forum when I was a kid, that had picturesque photos of scenery from GTA San Andreas taken with the in-game camera, and I loved it. I started using the game's camera as well, and started taking pictures of cool horizons and lonely houses on the outskirts of town and they were all saved on the game folder. Also, one of my very first Facebook posts as a kid was an album of various cool game screenshots, from games I had at the time like Halo and Battlefield 1942 that had really nice maps, colors and backrounds. This video made me remember all of that, and I will probably go take more pictures on various games again. Keep up the amazing content!

[@wizawhat]

I was not expecting to be as engrossed in this as I was. Super interesting concept and you covered it really well!

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@timeloopplays]

I will always send this video to any "non-believers" of virtual photography, I've been a photographer for almost a decade and a VP for 2 years and this video puts words where I could not, like I personally would struggle to explain both worlds as you have. Thank you

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

On top of this being a beautiful video, you get a million brownie points for using the FF8 OST.

[@eurothug4000]

AYY THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@andrelucca3369]

I´m so happy that I found an essay-like video about this topic that I, literally, was introduced yesterday after getting addicted with Cyberpunk 2077´s Photo mode.I wanted more so here I am, knowing that exists an entire internet culture about Gaming Photography and I couldn´t be more excited. I loved the video and just seeing the titles of the others just makes me more and more excited about them, thanks for that. Hugs from Brazil

[@marigoldedits2638]

This was awesome. Thank you! As someone who's started using photomode to "film" things for edits and just love photography in general, this was brainfood. I definitely want to go play umurangi generation now.

[@thisninja11]

I absolutely adored this video! Your channel is amazing! When the pandemic hit, my chances to go out and take some shots dropped, which left me really sad and wanting to do so some photography every day. When I started plying Control, and found out it has a photo mode, I have spent more time taking photos than playing the game haha. The brutalist architecture and the lighting that game has created captured me entirely, and I think I have a whole catalog of photos from every level/area of the map.

[@axdonat]

checking the view count and seeing only 13k is so strange, this is truly the underrated channel and i am so glad i found it. I keep sending it to my friends hoping that they'll fall in love as well

[@newtripleyplat9712]

This video reminds me of how I suddenly saw a realy nice view in uncharted 4 and spent like 30 min taking a picture. When I was done, I set it as my background picture and a friend said that it was really cool and felt proud of it

[@wolborg105]

Just found your channel. This is so validating omg I spend hours upon hours in photo modes. Editing in this is fantastic, instant subscribe

[@Cannotbetamed1]

Great video. I love what some people are doing with game photo modes even if I personally have no desire to do anything more time consuming then click a take screenshot button. I do love photography as a mechanic though.

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you! I’d love to see photography as a mechanic develop, I’m just super excited to see what’s to come :)

[@minkhantnaing4622]

Very nice content.This is the first video game content I watched without skipping a single sec.Very well presented.

[@alesstrem]

Long ago, when i was a kid on the 80's i knew somehow without understanding, how could captured those specific moments in a game like a mental picture. In the middle 90's games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill gave me many moments to press Pause and enjoy the beauty of the shots, while I was trying to figure out, how can I capture this moment? Then The Sims came and a friend an me started to create a story of some characters we had create in the game and give them chatting bubbles to make them interact and screenshot every single situation. I knew back then i wanted to capture beautiful images, so few years later i became a Filmmaker. And games like The Last of Us or Journey make me believe i wasn't the only one with that weird sensation when i was kid. Now there is a "career" as Videogame photographer.... Finally a dream came true.

[@KindRegardsNas]

this channel is on another level. Enjoying all this content. Keep it up!

[@BlackMacross]

Love this video, good to see this "art form" grow from Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim Screenarchery to photomodes in modern games! No hate, just love!

[@LetsCrashThisParade]

And one more comment for the day 😂 I get OBSESSED with ingame photography especially ever since Apider-Man PS4 and more recently The Last of Us 2. I do think that it holds legitimacy among real life photography because though we aren't creating the world's within - we do create how it's framed in photography (game or not.) And I think that's what it's about, what's in (and out of) frame; finding beauty in things that weren't necessarily made to be beautiful. And the fact that you can find distinguished looks from person to person like with the couple examples of gaming photographers you showed, proves that one can have vision in games beyond just what the developers planned for. In game photography can bring imagination and beauty to aspects of games that weren't there before. I also particularly love in game photography because I'm just a super stupidly anxious person - I used to do photography a bit with a big and clunky proper DSLR camera out in public, but I'd always get embarassed. I always feel self conscious taking real life photos and feel judged and feel like I'm being watched. What makes it worse is that a lot of the time if I were doing real life photography I'd typically prefer to shoot everyday normal things out in suburban streets and stuff like that - you know.. were a lot of people are.. And I HATE doing anything in front of anybody. So it's quite the problem lol. With ingame photography, there's no need to worry! Its all artificial, but still brings me that sense of creativity and achievement when I make something awesome

[@eurothug4000]

I totally agree!! Although you word it a lot better than I do! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, thank you!

[@LetsCrashThisParade]

@@eurothug4000 nah you said some of it yourself in the video plus you're the one that started the discussion haha. Just keep up the awesome work! I'll make sure to keep an eye out

[@SpencerYan]

An interesting choice in subjects, and excellent presentation and writing as usual! This topic is pretty close to me as someone who's long been interested in what some describe as "video game tourism", of which I personally consider virtual photography to be a closely-related experience/discipline. I'm not much of a photographer myself but I love shooting videos of landscapes and nature walks; there are particular challenges unique to each (in a similar manner to the quote you featured about the particular nuances of setting up and shooting photos in virtual vs physical spaces) but I find that the overall philosophy tends to be pretty similar, and I think your essay here has done a wonderful job covering that in a way that seems broad enough to feel inclusive, while preserving the sense of beauty and wonder which serves as the essence I think of all of these separate approaches. I'm glad to hear that, in learning more about photography for this video itself, you were able to develop a greater appreciation for the finer, often unseen details in games. That's the exact kind of stuff I personally feel, ironically enough, is most human in any work: the functionally superfluous details that were carved by a human hand (well, whether physically or in Substance Painter lmao) purely for their own sake. By drawing more attention to and appreciation for those kinds of details -- which exist in nearly every game from something as overtly artistic in its aspirations as, say, Red Dead Redemption 2 to even the most commercially-minded of games like Modern Warfare -- I think as a whole we can begin to reclaim the deeply human and individual elements of works, which is important at every level of course but which I think has particular resonance when discussing the present fatigue with AAA in a lot of circles. I also find your framing of Ghost of Tsushima as such a strong focal point of this essay to be pretty interesting, and I'm glad to discover (well, to one's surprise I suppose) that you covered it with nuance and grace! I went into Ghost expecting it to be the exact kind of game I usually love -- a beautiful Ubisoft-style open world with hyperrealistic graphics and a focus on sprawl over density -- but I actually felt rather disappointed by it in that regards. As others have mentioned in the comments, and which you alluded to in the video, I found the overall sense of beauty and contemplation a bit too cloying and even cynical to a degree. The intense and very explicit focus around the game's obvious beauty -- in everything from the marketing (and for Ghost, I'd actually count most of the photo hashtags as a kind of very deliberately cultivated and constructed viral marketing phenomenon) to the in-game mechanics and framing, some of which you touched upon briefly with the vistas, but which I'd also include the haikus and stuff in -- felt like it was drawing way too much attention to the artificial nature of, well, the game's presentation of nature; and that constantly disrupted my sense of immersion, for lack of a better description, within the attempted experience of sublimity. "Masturbatory" is probably too strong of a negative to use but it definitely felt somewhere in between that and a kind of gleeful self-indulgence. Usually I'm more than willing to forgive that, but Ghost never really felt to me like it achieved or even aspired to anything beyond that, so I'm personally inclined to read it as probably a bit more cynical in its intent and execution alike. In any case -- keep on keeping on! Looking forward to your next video as usual...

[@eurothug4000]

Just wanna say I’m totally floored by your comment and how I wish I had your mind and writing skill SHSHSHHSHSHS I’m definitely having the same experience as you in terms of GoT, in the sense that the beauty never feels naturally occurring but rather perfectly crafted. Which in turn makes the environment feel slightly less enjoyable in a way? Like for a photo mode it’s great, but playing the game felt like an afterthought weirdly. Anyway, thank you so much for your comment! I really enjoy these discussions and you put some of the same sentiments I had into words perfectly! (something I struggle with a lot 😭)

[@Brown2099]

Really enjoyable video, thanks for the entertainment! Also made me want a photo mode for The Witcher 3 on console :)

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@KittyConnie5]

You have such a soothing voice in addition to your great content!

[@les9528]

i freaking loved this video, thank you ♡

[@fakajuu9519]

Absolutely my favourite development in game features.

[@Ronphyxia]

You just earned a new subscriber. Feels like I found a gem of a channel 💎

[@Bobthepetferret]

This was an excellent video. I've always praised the idea of photo modes, but not because I'm particularly great at taking shots myself, but just because I enjoy seeing the awesome shots people share online. It always brightens up my timelines when I see this stuff so I definitely feel it's one of the better aspects of modern gaming. I'm really not surprised Gran Turismo was one of the first to do this though, since those games are basically car porn :p

[@eurothug4000]

I think with all the capabilities of photo modes today I think it’s super easy to get good shots! So I’m sure you’re more than capable ;) you should give it a go! And thank you so much for watching!

[@ariesdemiurge]

Ah, Second Life Photography. The satisfaction of learning how to paint realistic hair, and the excruciating pain of painting out artifacts in one package! ... I had to redraw a friend's fingers twice because their hands kept clipping during shoots.

[@wmka]

Most recent I played: 11:11 Memories Retold

[@kufl1]

Nice. Been watching since your abzu video :]

[@eurothug4000]

wow thank you so much for sticking around! Really appreciate the support :)

[@hexchewie]

This video kept reminding me of the photo mode in gravity rush 2

[@hexchewie]

Oh shit your banner. Didnt expect that

[@SoloAction666]

I needed this.

[@HedonisticApe999]

You're very underrated!

[@eurothug4000]

thank you! :)

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

More gamers and photographers should watch this video.

[@alphakid9000]

Great stuff

[@hosseinshaygani6415]

Thanks to Supereyepatchwolf I find this channel. I'm going through the videos one by one and these are great.

[@Furore2323]

Please forgive me if you mentioned it, but I want to recommend 'Beyond Good And Evil'. You play a photojournalist, and the camera is a vital tool for gameplay and narrative.

[@Furore2323]

I mean, it's limited bcs age. But it's a good time.

[@eurothug4000]

I haven’t personally played it but I’ll be sure to check it out!

[@estd.bruwer2778]

🔥

[@jayfolk]

Photogenic fancy.

[@jonathanwilson7949]

This video convinced me to buy RDR2.

[@kenanKTV]

Dropped a like so itll get pushed more! awesome v-essay 👌

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you so much!! 😭😭

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Great video, really nicely edited! I *love* photo mode. As something of an amateur _stereoscopic_ photographer, photo mode lends itself REALLY well to making 3D stereo photos from games! So I'm always a little sad when a beautiful looking game doesn't have photo mode!

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you!!! And same, I was one of the people begging for Death Stranding to have a photo mode 😂😭

[@TheShadowhawk442]

That was a great Video! I never thought about abusing certain InGame Moments like Smokebombs or Low-Health Effects to create more interesting photos. I will try that out in the future. Some really helpful tips there. I will also try to take more photos of weird looking Glitches in Games, because of the possible Imagery you can achieve with those. I have one Photo in AC: Origins where a giant Boat started to fly in the Sky, it looked weird and i really liked it, but this Video gave me the idea to actually use the opportunity if such moments happen to create something really bizarre.

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you! I’m glad this video helped! Making it definitely made me think of more ways to spice up my in-game photography too :)

[@shkhrvarshney]

Oh I got that one too. The flying Dutchman lmao. I got it in AC: Black Flag

[@sanelchanel5820]

7:53 This is absolutely stunning 🔥 it inspires me to take some photos like this on my own!

[@Darkfry]

I don't have an eye for aesthetics much but even I can appreciate the sheer eye candy that came from photo modes and the stuff you've mentioned, I really do believe that games like Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima will inspire many photography careers. Great video as always!

[@eurothug4000]

Thanks so much!!!

[@gmg9010]

Out of all the people that Razbuten has recommended I’d say you are my favorite you’re topics are really interesting and your voice is so calming

[@EldenRinging]

Thank you, what a great video! I'm super new to this, I'm just like 50 snaps in, but to me, "Horizon Forbidden West" has been an unexpected creative revelation in the past days and weeks. To find a hobby within the hobby feels amazing and each and every shot I take that I deem good fills me with joy and pride! ✌️ Also: Virtual photography is as artistic as animated movies are, I would argue. ❤️

[@johnd5149]

Personally, I’m more interested in photography for games that don’t go for that triple-A realistic look. Breath of the Wild would be fantastic with a photo mode, and Super Mario Odyssey’s is pretty sweet. I’m curious to see a low-poly photography game that makes up for its lack of graphical fidelity with expansive creativity in terms of composition and whatever else

[@johngreen8344]

So far, the only game I have for my Switch is Breath Of The Wild. Without an SD card, the limit for photos on the system is 1000. I exhausted that limit in the first three hours. BOTW is far too beautiful for its own good, in the best of ways. The problem now is having to agonise over which photos to get rid of, when something special happens. In a way, it gave me an incentive to hold off taking photos of every sunset I could find, but I fear what’ll happen when I get more games to fight for space in the album.

[@fridgegremlin5496]

I pretty much taught myself photography through FFXIV’s vanilla photo mode, No Man’s Sky, Ghost of Tsushima, and many other games. I’ve fallen in love with the subject matter of assets people don’t really look at, like drying racks, baskets, or teapots. They’re often lovingly placed, and I can’t bring myself to just ignore that.

[@MrHammers]

Amazing essay as always, top notch stuff

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you! 😭❤️

[@Lukz243]

I've been playing dragon quest XI S on the Switch and I gotta tell when I saw it had a photo mode I got wondering "But why, even though I've been enjoying the experience so far? Is there some kind of usefulness to it besides being a way to tangentiate the experience to oneself?. Watching your video made me want to explore better the photo modes in games that are available

[@eurothug4000]

I’m glad I could offer a new perspective! Thank you for watching :)

[@secretscarlet8249]

Was reeled in from the Bayonetta vid, and found that more well-researched, art appreciation vids. Subscribed. Also, playing Breezy and Yaschas Massif over a peaceful Ghost of Tsushima clip was great. Which reminds me of FFXV, where the auto-pics taken are sometimes awkward, but still cool. It actually respects ratios and photographic rules. Will you please cover that topic? Pictures captured by AI?

[@lephoquebleu8302]

Had this video in my Watch Later playlist since September, glad I finally watched it, liked and subscribeeeed now, I want to replay Spidey and Death Stranding hehe PS : That acoustic Love Deterrence still hurts, damn

[@gabehere]

Your voice is so soothing, and you make the topics so much more endearing to explore! What a find! Thanks to SuperEyepatchWolf for letting me find you!

[@jessehunter362]

endless ocean and endless ocean blue world are my favorite video games with photography! The grading of the photography is fairly controlled, but you had to spend time looking for the particular subject, and it really drew you into the environment and the movements of the fish, which- while limited by today’s standards, being respectively 2007 and 2010 games for the wii, still holds a great deal of beauty for me. It’s not a photography game, really, but having a first-person photography mechanic really helped it

[@Tentacle]

Whilst you briefly touched upon it with the inclusion of GT, sports games often have free-cams implemented for players that may wish to photograph and archive certain achievements or replays. I think I still have a few pictures saved from FIFA 2010 via my EA account funny enough. Good luck with future content.

[@CodeNameAlison]

I don’t know if you check comments on old videos but this is one of my favorite videos. Great job

[@NickolaiBoulton]

Severely impressed with the sheer quality of this video, thank you for making something so robust and pristine

[@eurothug4000]

thank you!! this means a lot! 😭

[@KhaosKontroller]

Great to see VP love on KZbin as well! I've been honing my skills with it since 2017 and it's one of my favourite parts of gaming nowadays. I get pretty sad when a beautiful game doesn't have a photo mode.

[@olliereynoldsr]

just came after supereyepatchwolf said to check out your channel and holy fuck he was right, your videos are incredibly high quality, imma be binging all ur videos tonight, keep up the great work

[@WorstAvenger]

I know you made this a while ago but I just want to compliment you on the quality of this video, subscribed!

[@ComiskeyProjects]

I had this idea for doing a video on game photography, but never had the confidence to dive into it fearing I couldnt do the topic justice. Keep up the amazing work your channel deserves so much more lovs and subscribers

[@sunemycose]

I think a lot of video game photography relies too much on either the graphical fidelity of the game (with little research in terms of composition/color, etc) or on the vistas that are already created by developpers, which they are only reproducing with very little invention. It's very interesting to see what you can do with older games like the PS2 era gta games, which although they are outdated, offer an insane potential.

[@benjamancini]

Came here thanks to Super Eyepatch Wolf! And now I need to buy Umurangi Generation.

[@rioticgamer3663]

Oh, wow! Didn't expect my post at 8:12 to be here, this totally caught me by surprise 😅 Thank you so much, earned a sub as well!

[@eurothug4000]

haha I was wondering if the people whose shots I showed would ever watch the vid! thank you for watching 😁

[@rioticgamer3663]

@@eurothug4000 Very much welcome 😊

[@El_Pato]

Slender the arrival was a great looking game and I probably took like 50 pictures of it lol but most of them are gone so yeah very sad😢

[@conheaton1111]

Thank you so much for this video! I haven't seen anything on this subject done so well, and it made me want to hop right back into Ghost of Tsushima and get snapping. Also I just happened to look at the works of Petri, so it's a weird coincidence to see him mentioned here!

[@BeyondGamesJV]

Really nice video ! This is so refreshing to see some new topics covered and you're good at it;) Keep up the good work, You have an awesome channel =D

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you so much! You’re so kind :)

[@Zoltiboi]

Whenever I see photo mode in a game (like in Hellblade), I think to myself "meh, other aspects of the game are just too good for me to mess around with this tool", but I think I finally understand the beauty of video game photography now.. I'm so hyped to try it out the next time I play a game that has photo mode.Thank you for this insightful video!

[@eurothug4000]

Haha that's what I used to think too! I'm glad I could offer a different perspective! :)

[@strontiumblog]

This is amazing, thank you for making a wonderful video on a fascinating topic! I always wondered how art and history would be different if cameras had existed 1000s of years ago, and games like Assassin’s Creed and Ghost of Tsushima provide a great insight.

[@ieatatsonic]

very lovely. I really appreciate the "End of the Virtual World" series, as it really captivates me with scenes that can't be done in real life but feel natural due to the photographer being an observer in that virtual world and not the creator. My favorite game of all time, The Witness, has some beautiful scenery that has made me want to take pictures of it, I wish the game had its own photo mode now.

[@eurothug4000]

thank you! I absolutely love The Witness’ art style, a photo mode would be amazing!

[@BlighHedges]

I have played around with photo mode in a few games so far, but this video really opened up how much more I can push the medium. Thankyou for that :) really enjoyed it.

[@eurothug4000]

thank you! :)

[@ericvargas5362]

great video! in my degree of visual arts, ive done my final presentation about this subject and made an entire photo exibition with GTAV photos taken by the ingame cellphone camera, as i think i should get a lot more atention and respect among visual arts

[@eurothug4000]

wow that sounds amazing! it definitely deserves way more respect, in-game photography can be incredibly impressive and is valid as an art form no matter what!

[@jprgaming8]

Spectacular video. I love capturing gaming moments in Photo Mode.

[@eurothug4000]

thank you!! :)

[@thewanderingartists]

I've spent 100 hours in death stranding, and reached Episode 8 but I spent about 30 hours taking photos. It's a wonderful game

[@driver3080]

I really love your vidoes! I loved the Death Stranding vids so much and omg youre just one of the best gaming channels hands down! Death Stranding is my fav game too :D

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you so much! :)

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

Same. Love the game and her vid as well

[@bamboofighting4576]

Great video. I generally enjoy photography games and some photo modes in open world games for similar reasons, though I've lately been wondering if their application in some games, where they don't fit the time period or setting (Tsushima for example) can work as a detriment to the game's world, damaging the immersion as a resident of the world by turning you into a tourist simply visiting the world, stopping to take photos of the pretty scenes for Twitter and Instagram rather than existing within them. It's why I rarely take photos on holiday, yet have succumbed to the trap of doing it in games far too often. I do need to check out that photography game you mentioned here that I've forgotten the name of already though, aha, looks really cool.

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you! That's a really interesting perspective, I haven't thought about that! (it's Umurangi Generation ;) I highly recommend it!)

[@bamboofighting4576]

@@eurothug4000 oh btw, have you seen some the Final Fantasy XIV photography people are producing? Some of it is really nice, and it's a real beautiful world for it.

[@AndyDay]

What an awesome video. Thank you. You explored Flight Simulator much? Check out the work of Eric Adams (ericadams321 on Instagram) and see his story highlights "FlightSim"

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you! I haven’t had the chance, it came out once I was halfway through editing this video annoyingly! I’ve seen some amazing shots online :)

[@JohannesVIII]

I think I finally understand the appeal of photo mode now. May actually give it a try thanks to you

[@eurothug4000]

you should definitely give it a go! :) it’s fun messing around with the different options!

[@sleepinbelle9627]

No Man's Sky is one of my favourite games to play photographer in. I love finding weird creatures or interesting world generation and trying to frame photos around it, trying to get a decent shot of the sea oxen that live on this burning planet where there's fire in the ocean.

[@DerLaberheld]

Just as it is the case with real world photography, photo modes in video games can be distracting from the moment itself and its authenticity in freezing and staging it for the perfect yet artificial shot. In Red Dead 2 I found myself disrupting the flow of the gameplay more often than even I myself enjoyed at times, because the game was just too beautiful to let it slip by. That gets especially dangerous in one time cut scenes, that would require my attention instead of waiting for the right moment to pause and take a picture. On the other hand, a game actually waits for me until Ive found the optimal light and angle, while life continues without me. Actually just graphic fidelity alone has gotten me to view reality differently. After admiring reflections on wet surfaces and detailed textures of dirt and gravel in games, I can appreciate the incredible richness of detail in the real world, where before Id have shrugged at the decorated houses and flourishing parks. And, like you said, photo modes even increase that awareness, in games as well as in the real world. Even more so, because its a virtual world treated like reality, which is my favourite idea presented in this video. Thank you for this once again very well developed and presented take on a once again very interesting and fresh topic. I wish you the best and am looking forward to what you think about next.

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you for sharing! I’m very happy you enjoyed the video :)

[@IconicBoar097]

awesome video and great subject as always you out do yourself with every video and just keep making better and better content maria :D

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you so much!! ☺️

[@ibbandflow]

Overweg's use of glitches kind of reminds me of Kristoffer Zetterstrand, the guy who did Minecraft's paintings. Glitches in general are probably my favorite unique aspect of virtual photography as a medium. When I'm playing Umurangi Generation, I find that my favorite photos that I takemouth or hair. To me, that's about as unique as a video game photo can be.

[@eurothug4000]

I agree, there’s just something so surreal about glitches in game worlds! They can often be a fleeting moment too so catching those photos at the right time can be difficult!

[@Primzed2]

I've been pretty much hooked on photo modes since Uncharted 4, your vids are such high quality keep up the great work!

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you so much!

[@khalidwaleed2362]

Wow, I didn't think the topic would be this deep

[@tellemsteve-dave4276]

This channel needs more subscribers. Once I'm able to, I'll be supporting you on Patreon.

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you! But you don’t need to, I appreciate that you watch and enjoy the vids! ☺️

[@matthewsant4439]

Found your channel a year ago with the animal love letter to animal crossing. Super underrated channel, keep up the good work.

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you for your support!

[@EbonPhantasma]

Love this video so much. I've never been the best with photography but this really helped me think about ways I can take better shots.

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you so much!

[@LambHoot]

yo that peace walker music 👌🔥 This is a really great video, the profiles on the couple of artists was really neat. These photo modes are sick and I admit I’ve been using them a lot recently (in tlou2 especially), but I remember seeing a gdc talk by the designer of Prompto’s ai photographer and it was so cool to see how many tools they had and how it was all automatic. It’s super cool when the designers find ways to integrate the photos into the story/gameplay, like in FFXV where it showed the photo locations on your map, or in the other photography games you demonstrated. Damn, really cool topic for an essay! 🙏

[@eurothug4000]

thank you so much!! I literally cannot help incorporating Kojima into my vids somehow shshshhs Damn I totally forgot about the automatic photos in FFXV, there are so many more things I wish I included in this vid 😭The topic is wayyyy bigger than I initially thought so I’m actually hoping I see a lot more discussions about this sort of thing!

[@JCofDI]

Great video! After stumbling onto Dead End Thrills years ago, I dabbled in built-in photo modes myself without being aware of the wider community or all the tools available. Even 3 years later this video has been a great guide down the rabbit hole. Thank you!

[@rosaria8384]

When I started Genshin Impact in 2020, I wanted to bring it to a more artistic form through snapshots, even though its photo mode is severely limited. For two years I've been taking pics of Genshin, Forza Horizon, and other games I find to be interesting. Virtual Photography is really powerful.

[@KoeSeer]

I've been doing this "video game photography" since I got my hands on TES4: Oblivion. The world was so immersive you can't help but use console command to free camera yourself. Since then, I've been screenshotting games from Fallout 3, Skyrim, Warframe, World of Tanks, even Genshin. But funny enough I just heard this term last week.

[@mogul188]

Ghost of tsushima has set the bar for photomode in my opinion

[@eurothug4000]

the animated backgrounds are a game changer!

[@chancethrash]

I finally got into video game photography with Control! I'm gonna pick up death Stranding and GOT and really snap some pics 😔👌

[@eurothug4000]

HELL YEAH share them pics pls 🥺

[@chancethrash]

@@eurothug4000 I GOT U SOON HOMIE

[@InjusticeJosh]

Very nice video. I love what Petri said about using in-game effects to create a better picture. It’s such a good idea idk how I never thought of it having used so many different photo modes. Also liked what Robert said about taking advantage of glitches. 10:55 Also wow. I’ve never said this about a game screenshot but those look real. Like posters or something. Even more impressive that it came from Spider-Man.

[@Lyoh_]

Great video! I'm glad you tackled this subject

[@eurothug4000]

Thank you!

[@tinatalksgaming]

This is such an amazing video! So glad YT decided to show me this! Incredibly well done! Can't wait to check out more on this channel. Seeing a lot I'm interested it! Amazing job w this one!

[@sailorPinata]

we need more exhibitions with screenshots from games. I suggest we should even normalize framing them and displaying them on our walls in our homes, just like any other trip photographies.