Some tips and tricks to make your photo experiments pop.
Cyberpunk 2077 is brilliant fodder for the screenshot obsessed. I count myself among this snappy legion, and every few minutes I have to stop and fiddle with the excellent photo mode, pointing the camera at a random NPC with a bold sense of style, a fog-shrouded megatower and, time after time, a neon-lit alley in the rain.
The photo mode is already pretty flexible, and the variety of poses are especially helpful when you're putting on a photoshoot, but it stops short of telling you when something looks a bit crap, lamentably. But thankfully you can up your screenshot game even more with some tips from a pro.
Petri Levälahti is a professional in-game photographer at DICE and manages to capture some unbelievable shots just using in-game tools. His Twitter is packed with striking scenes from the likes of The Witcher 3, GTA 5 and, most recently, Cyberpunk 2077. He's also shared a few tricks that you can use to get your screenshots looking just as good.
Cyberpunk 2077 photomode tips. pic.twitter.com/u64mIUt76TDecember 21, 2020
Using the muzzle flash to create a new light source is inspired, and the flash is large and dramatic enough to have a huge impact on the scene. I love that, even with all the enhancements the photo mode provides, it's this DIY trick that ends up being one of the most helpful.
Creating save files for cool locations is smart, too. Since the file thumbnail is the last thing you were looking at, you can create a library of neat spots that you can just hop back to immediately. I found some Valentino graffiti last night that I loved, but I was in the middle of a mission that I was extremely into, so I just created a save to come back to later.
Levälahti says he doesn't play around with filters much, whereas I like to abuse them as often as I can. We all have our vices. I'm going through an 'everything must be dark and red' phase at the moment, spewing out countless ominous pics; I'll only subject you to one of them, don't worry.
The screenshot I'm most attached to, though, isn't even a very good one. I didn't really think about the colours or the lighting, instead putting all my energy into getting the pose right. Panam's one of my faves, and the fact that you can only romance her as male V is a tragedy. Now my V has unrequited love to deal with on top of the whole Johnny Silverhand living in her head issue.
Meanwhile, Chris has been busy trying to impress Panam, too:
Andy Kelly has also been known to take a very good screenshot, so check out his gallery of the faces of Night City. And his atmospheric tour of Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the best video journeys through Night City, so give that a watch too.
While we're on the topic of Night City tours, I've been wondering where the most popular photo spot is located, because there's bound to be one place that gets the most attention. Night City definitely has a bunch of places that, in the real world, would be like catnip to Instagram influencers. I suspect Afterlife, with its extreme lighting, is a busy place, and I've seen plenty of screenshots of seedy, neon Jig Jig Street. If you've got an RTX card, it's one of the best places to see it working its magic.
Where have you lot been hanging out with your cameras? And, if you've got any good snaps, drop in some links.
