As games have gotten better and better looking, video games have leaned into digital photography. Almost every big release has a photo mode now, and Xbox and Playstation consoles are set up to allow you to easily access and share any photo you take.
For years, I’ve been a bit of a grinch on this. The only use I’ve gotten out of the screenshot button is the annoyance that comes from accidentally pressing it. While I see cool screenshots from games on the internet, I never felt like I had the ability to make those myself, and pausing games to try and get the perfect shot didn’t seem worth the effort. I didn’t want to disrupt my gameplay experience either.
As I continue to pour hours into Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, my mind had changed completely on this. I feel compelled to take picture after picture while exploring this fantastic open world. This, in turn, has taught me that using photo mode in video games offers a lot of the same value that taking pictures in real life does.
Rebirth Guides You To Photo Mode
One thing Rebirth does that not many open world games do is guide you into its photo mode through that open world. While some games might have a spot where you take pictures with an in-game camera, Rebirth has specific icons on its map that show you when there is a perfect opportunity for a shot. In order to “clear” the objective, you have to actually open up the game’s photo mode to take a picture. Of course, all of these spots are absolutely stunning.
By “forcing” me to enter photo mode to clear an objective, suddenly, I realized that even I could potentially take some cool shots in this game. This opened up a world of possibilities for me. I started out taking shots whenever I stumbled upon an especially pretty or epic view. Then I started realizing that it was fun to take some action shots as well. After all these years, I finally understood why so many people were increasingly making digital photography a hobby.
Photography On Easy Mode
Like just about anyone with a smartphone, I like to take the occasional picture when the moment is right, but almost no shot I have ever taken while on a hike or on a trip has ever struck me as particularly awesome or grandiose.
Taking great photographs in real life requires both expensive equipment and know-how. Even if you happen to have cameras worth thousands of dollars, it doesn’t mean much without knowing about the kind of lighting and angles you need as well. Even then, bad conditions can ruin a great shot. Sometimes, you need a drone to really get a great shot.
With photo mode in video games, photography is on easy mode. While there are people who are very good at this and have a lot of practice at it, almost anyone can jump into photo mode and take an awesome picture on their first try. Once you have even a half-decent visual on screen, you can play around with the camera and find the absolute best possible angle, lighting, and background. You can also quickly add filters, and then boom, you have a better picture than any you have ever taken in real life. It’s easy to fall in love with photography when it’s that easy to take photos that you love to look at.
Savor The Memories
Taking photos in Rebirth has made me reflect on my relationship with photography in general. Even though I am a bad photographer, there are still plenty of times I decide to go ahead and take a picture. I do it so I can try and relive that moment years down the line. A picture is a memory aid that can transport you to that exact place and help you remember what you saw and how you felt in that very instant.
I am absolutely loving playing Rebirth right now. It makes me smile just thinking about dozens of different moments I’ve encountered in the short amount of time that I’ve played. So, in that respect, why wouldn’t I want the same benefit with a video game that I love this much? Hopefully, with way more photos than I’ve ever had for a game, it will be way easier for me to remember exactly how I felt playing this special game many years down the line.
I can’t think of a better benefit to using photo mode. I’m now officially a photo mode guy.
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