Taking better screen shots

[templesmom]

Is there a guide to helping you take better screen shots? I want to write a story but can't stand my screenshots and I end up not doing a story. I have trouble with getting the camera in the place I want and also getting close enough. I am sure the graphics level matters but I can't do much about that and still have my game run the way I want it to. Thanks in advance.

[Metropolis Man]

Look through the Dynasty stories and see the kinds of shots that players take. Pam is renowned for her screenshots so that's a good starting point. She's taught me a lot simply by me paying attention to how she does things.

If there's one piece of advice I would give it's get close. Fiddling with the camera can be a pain to get the exact angle and distance you want, but you do want to be pretty close. A Sims' expression isn't really obvious unless you're pretty close anyway—and good expressions really can make the difference between a so-so screenshot and a good screenshot.

The vast majority of screenshots on the forum are run-of-the mill screenshots...and I'll be the first to raise my hand in supplying many of those. So, get creative. Think of showing a Sim going into labor from different angles. And there's nothing wrong with staging set-ups. What I mean is creating special situations/placements just for the screenshot. Heck, the vast majority of my Dynasty photos are examples of that technique — i.e. moving Agnes' ice sculpture around like she's spying on the Sims.

EDIT: I went into my Dynasty game and took two screenshots — both of the same moment in time for my guitarist. The first screenshot below is your standard View My Sim angle — looking down on the action from a medium ranged distance. This is often the orientation I use when issuing commands to multiple Sims in a house because I can see everyone. But, the angle and distance for the screenshot turns this into a ho-hum photo — nothing special.



The photo below is a vast improvement because I got down on eye level and moved in closer to the action. But, honestly I still just rate this as "good" and not "really good" because of the lighting. The fact that this is taken at night with very little available light hides the Sims' expressions. Night shots are definitely good sometimes, especially if you're trying to convey emotion — like a romantic kiss, etc. But, a daytime shot will almost always be better than a nighttime shot because you can simply see more of what's going on.

[gerrr00]

You should also use tab.  From there you can get as close or whatever angle you want and it will look good.  You can still use the keyboard commands (`,1,2,3,4) to pause/play when you are in 'tab' view.  It does take some practice.  You can use the arrow keys, and < > keys to move around without the mouse.  I find better control using the keyboard over the mouse.   I think z and m are for zooming, I just use the wheel on my mouse for zoom though.  Good luck.

[templesmom]

Thanks both for the tips. I love the dynasty stories and Pams pictures, that is why I feel so not good about screen shots, but I guess I can't compare them to Pams or I'll never get a story started 
I'll try out the tab key, I knew there was something I wasn't utilizing.

[Efrosin]

I love the advice for screenshots--I definitely spend ages getting just the right angle-- but any recommendations for hosting a blog dedicated to the sims 3?  There's wordpress, blogger, livejournal... So far I'm thinking blogger is the LEAST complicated.

[wildredchild]

I love the advice for screenshots--I definitely spend ages getting just the right angle-- but any recommendations for hosting a blog dedicated to the sims 3?  There's wordpress, blogger, livejournal... So far I'm thinking blogger is the LEAST complicated.

My personal suggestion is whatever feels right for you.  If you find blogger to be the least complicated, then use that one.

[malteser60]

I'm not that great at taking screenshots as I still haven't mastered controlling the Point of View properly yet (hopeless with both the mouse and the keyboard). However one thing I do on most my screenshots that I'm going to upload is to adjust them in photoshop. I find the 'light' in most screenshots is too dull unless it's bright daylight, so I usually end up adjusting the levels in photoshop. Doing that will also help night shots.

[Pam]

One thing that I do a lot is pause the game when an important photo moment is coming.  For example, if Banana is about to have her first kiss, I pause the game and set up my camera to get a good screenshot.  I use the camera mouse controls on the left of the user interface panel.  I lower the camera so that it's on the same level as my Sim, then zoom in close.  Even if the shot doesn't look right when you first lower the camera, it will come properly into view when you zoom forward.  Often at this point, when I'm as close to my Sim as the zoom will allow, I use the tab key to open it up even more.  Z and X are the zoom keys when in tab mode.  In this mode, I can also center the shot exactly right and get even closer.  When I have the shot the way I want it, I push the P key to unpause the game.   And finally, I use the C key to snap the screenshots during the action.  I take several at a time so that I've got some choice for when I post.  So, for Banana's first kiss, I had 5 or 6 images to choose from.

Lighting is definitely important.  Outdoor shots at night are the worst.  I only post those if it's something very important that I'm not controlling.

Another thing I'm trying to improve on for myself is to be more aware of the background when I'm taking screenshots.  I normally play with walls cut away, so the adjacent room is clearly visible.  When I'm taking a screenshot, I'm trying to remember to raise the walls more often.  Sometimes it's impossible because raised walls can also block the shot you're trying to take.  My living room in the Dynasty house is really quite lovely and with the walls raised it gives more realism to the shot. 

I like how Metro posted some examples of screenshots.  I'll add some later, as well, when I get into my game.

[Glic2000]

I'll mention the one thing that helped me a lot with my "camera work":   You can scroll the view by holding down the right mouse button and sliding the mouse.  I find this allows for much more subtle movements than scrolling the screen with other methods.  

Also, try taking photos at sunrise or sunset for really beautiful lighting conditions.  And if you're setting up a story, remember to take a few "establishing shots" (i.e. with the camera zoomed out far) to first capture the location where the action is going to take place.  

If you want to get fancy, try "framing" the action by taking it through a window or something (I'll post an example of that) or changing the angle so that it's looking up at the characters from below.  

On the blogging side of things, I found Wordpress to be very complex, so if you want simple, I would look elsewhere.  To be fair, I believe Wordpress is considered one of the best sites, it's just not that easy to learn.  

[Pam]

Alrighty then!  I've got some shots that will hopefully give a better idea of how I structure my screenshots in my Dreamweaver Dynasty story.  I've got Oliver Dreamweaver serenading his wife, Periwinkle.  The game is on pause.

First, this is the standard View My Sim angle and height, focused on Oliver.  Walls are cut away, which is how I normally play.



Same view, game is still paused.  I used the Tilt down arrow on the camera controls to get onto the same level as Oliver and Periwinkle.



Next, I used the Rotate camera control to get a better angle of Periwinkle.



Here I've zoomed in as far as I can using the Zoom camera controls.



In this shot, I've raised the walls.  It looks like a real room now.



This next one is with Tab mode enabled.  It let me get a little closer than the regular Zoom control.  I was careful to stay far enough out that you can still see Oliver's guitar.  Otherwise, you wouldn't realize that he's serenading her.



These last ones are taken with the game unpaused.  I'm just using the C key to capture one screenshot after another as Periwinkle does her thing. 









When I'm done, I've got 5 nice screenshots to choose from and surely one of them will be good for use in my story.  I hope this helps! 

[samoht04]

I haven't got many of those comparing photos but I do have a lot of close ups, maybe this will help seeing the angles.





I always like to have good backgrounds on my pictures, a bad background sometimes ruins the picture sometimes. So I like these pictures, The First one is Diana and Chris getting married at Sunset on their Home Lot in SV and the other is Diana standing at the edge of that hill So I get the town in the background.  

EDIT: I just looked back and my post has started a new page and In case you haven't seen, Pam has a little picture guide on the last page which is useful. 

[Swede1992]

The above picture is simply gorgeous samoht!

The lighting isn't always all that bad in the game. I had some cool picture on a ghost who kept his car in his inventory and drove off to his relatives during the night from the graveyard.

As you can see, it is at its darkest hour, but the ghost with the graveyard still in clear sight was almost the reason why I like the picture to begin with! It keeps the mood and you'll want it to be dark when there's a ghost nearby.

Also, I got a tip on how to take good pictures several years ago (was it in art class?). Anyway, this is a common feature of the good pictures earlier in this thread as well, but keep whatever it is you're trying to photograph and center attention around off centre relative to the picture. Somehow this creates a more genuine atmosphere and helps the observer unconsciously focus on the right thing (apparently humans scan off the edges first).

To take samoht's pictures as an example: The below pictures illustrates the idea quite well; if the girl had been in the centre of the picture, she'd occupy the whole picture and the picture would be quite bland. It may at first seem just fine, but if you think about it, you get a better depth perception and a 3d image (in your mind) of the pictured object if it's off centre. Portraits normally have the head tilted or the person just so slightly to the side for that very reason. It's not always true, but it's a great rule of thumb.

What makes samoht's above picture work though is that the picture actually has got 2 centres of attention; a couple is always two people and you won't focus on the couple as a whole. What you focus on is each one individually, but perhaps subconsciously. You get the same effect as the below picture since both of the sims involved is off centre, but the action may still be in the centre.

[Efrosin]

Lighting is definitely important.  Outdoor shots at night are the worst.  I only post those if it's something very important that I'm not controlling.

Another thing I'm trying to improve on for myself is to be more aware of the background when I'm taking screenshots.  I normally play with walls cut away, so the adjacent room is clearly visible.  When I'm taking a screenshot, I'm trying to remember to raise the walls more often.  Sometimes it's impossible because raised walls can also block the shot you're trying to take.  My living room in the Dynasty house is really quite lovely and with the walls raised it gives more realism to the shot. 

Pam, I do the same things as you mentioned--and do you ever fuss with the lighting?  I'm a stickler for outdoor lighting, atmosphere lighting, whatever.  For example, my inventor's 'den' has wall lamps that let off cyan light, but the lights near the inventing station and the time machine are red.  It makes for an awesome atmosphere; I'll have to get some good ones to share.

Ahh!  Backgrounds!  I'm insane about them.  It's probably why I like China so much; they didn't do too bad of a job on the architecture for once, and it's just so pretty.  And of course the ANGLE has to be right, so you get the right composition...  I think I'm letting my artsy-design sentiments bleed into my screenshot-taking!

[Saltypaws]

Here is another angle on a ghost and somewhat closer, I did get really close and even scared myself, lol.



I have had such good luck with photobucket.

[malteser60]

Also, I got a tip on how to take good pictures several years ago (was it in art class?). Anyway, this is a common feature of the good pictures earlier in this thread as well, but keep whatever it is you're trying to photograph and center attention around off centre relative to the picture. Somehow this creates a more genuine atmosphere and helps the observer unconsciously focus on the right thing (apparently humans scan off the edges first).

It's known as the rule of thirds. Basically you imagine 4 lines crossing the picture each a third away from the edge. Then you try and make your point of focus along where the lines intersect. What will also help is if you can have items in the picture that will also lead your eye to the point of focus. So for examply you want to take a general shot of a centrepiece in a park you have created. A good shot will be to have the centrepiece (say it's a statue with nice plant arrangement around it) following the rule, so it will be say off centre on the left of the screenshot, and have the path leading to the statue coming from the right of the screenshot snaking it's way across the screenshot to the centrepiece. That way the path is leading your eye to the centrepiece, it balances out the overall picture, and it makes it look interesting.

For more tips just look at any photography site online (I'm only an amateur photographer but I love it!).

[Ausette]

Fantastic advice, and great screenshots everyone! I've just got one little thing to add to that though: observe your game, and make sure you capture moments when they occur. Often, if my Sims are performing interactions or they've got an amazing background behind them, slowing the game right down, zooming right in and pausing the game to look at the angles presents really great scenarios for screenshots. If it's a once-in-a-lifetime shot like a funny glitch or another unique setup, don't be shy about setting up lights or moving objects out of the way to get that perfect picture. The Sims never ceases to amaze me in this regard, I'm always stumbling upon little things to photograph. It's all about slowing down to look.

Really, you'll be surprised.

[templesmom]

Thanks all, I can't wait to get back home and try all this out.

[Esther1981]

Salty, how did you scare yourself? Lol that pic cracked me up! You did get really close! I love all these screenshots! Right now, they are all I got so keep em coming! 

[samoht04]

The Tab button also lets you bring in more of a room which I managed with this photo, without using tab only the bed and the desk was easily taken but the zoomed out in Tab let me get a whole room perspective -



Unfortuanatly the lights always turn up in Tab mode...

[Saltypaws]

Salty, how did you scare yourself? Lol that pic cracked me up! You did get really close! I love all these screenshots! Right now, they are all I got so keep em coming! 

Using tab, I got even closer than that screenshot and the eyes were like, right up to the screen, reminded me of a halloween email I got one year.

[Esther1981]

Using tab, I got even closer than that screenshot and the eyes were like, right up to the screen, reminded me of a halloween email I got one year.

Lol yea I can see how that would be freaky! AHHHHHH! .

[CJ Silver]

I tried to use tab to take shots of my basements, but the game suddenly glitches and all the walls go down and when I leave Cameraman mode, the game bumps me back to the surface, so I can't use Tab there.

I'll remember these things in future.

[samoht04]

I had the Ultimate picture (In my own opinion  )of my sim completing her Metamorphis into a vampire then some Celebrity walked onto the Lot and another Sim thought of that celebrity! It is so annoying sometimes! 



I also have some close ups of Vampires over in the Vampire thread on Page 1 and Page 4. 

[wildredchild]

To stop that in the future Thomas enter the cheat code HideHeadlinEffects on.  Then you don't have to worry about those thought bubbles anymore.

[samoht04]

Ooh, Thank you Wildred! 

[AmeliaAnne]

And now - to go play World Adventures and use these tips to get some great shots!! Thank you!

[applejackkxo]

My graphics are pretty bad...but I do like to take screenshots when I see an opportunity. 

Here are a few of my sim Gardenia from the Garden of Eatin' Challenge:

Here she is catching a prized Deathfish:





And her she is enjoying an apparently very delicious apple:





Both of these shots were taken at nighttime at the graveyard. For my fellow mac users (I know there's only a few out there) a good tip for nighttime shots is to open them with preview go to Tools->Adjust Color and then bump up the exposure and brightness a little...it helps you picture not look so dark, and pops your sim out of the picture a little. For daytime shots, I like to mess with the temperature and contrast a little as well

[Lilygirl]

That's a good tip, applejack! I'll try an remember that for my next set of Dynasty pics.

[Leto85]

@TemplesMom: I don't know if this was advised to you already, but with the Tab key you will also be able to place the camera at interesting spots you see for example in (good) movies too. Like when a sim istaking something from the fridge or putting something in the microwave you could photograph that from out the fridbe or microwave. It will cost you a little practise with shipping that camera around but eventually you will succeed.
Also you could deside to uplick your pictures in a photo editing program like Photoshop to give it some more accent.
Lighting setup is also very importent, mostly during the night, as light from lamps during bright daylight will not add much.
Try for a simple basic setup with a back light to seperate your sim from it's background, a front light (the lamps position will vary from situation to situation) and a lamp from above, which will function as a heli.
I have learned using those setups in 3D animation but originally it came from movies, therefore from photos.
Try it, you will be surprised how much your pictures will improve.
Sadly, we have no lamps in TS3 who can cast shadows, as that also would be very important.

[Katluvr]

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the great information in this thread.  I have been inspired by Pam's Dreamweaver dynasty to try a legacy.  Your advice and examples of screenshots have helped me catch some amazing moments in the life of my sims - I used some highlights in my signature.   I really love trying to find just the right screenshot to advance the story.  I hope some of you will take the time to read and comment. 

[samoht04]

Don't know if everyone knows this but I just found out you can move in Tabbed View, just use the Arrow Keys to 'walk' around. 

[samoht04]

I have another tip regarding lighting your screenshots.  It's a tip that I think is amazing for adding effect yet it is really simple, some of you may notice that some of my pictures end up with a yellow/gold colour tint on them, that isn't my graphics or me editing them it is the lights in the rooms. Default Lights are White in the game but I switch mine to the Flame colour, the first image is of a White Lighting.



The second image is with a flame lighting, see the difference?



The flame seems to give a more natural lighting that the White light. I prefer it but I guess it depends on what you want your image to show. 

[Hosfac]

The flame lighting doesn't reflect as harshly off of everything, either.

That's a very good tip, actually.

[Esther1981]

That's awesome Thomas!

[Allie0563]

This is a great thread...but is it posted somewhere on actually how to take screen shots?  The mechanics of it?  Or is it just something you have to read the instructions and figure out?  I've never taken screen shots and have no clue how to go about it.

[Phyre]

This is a great thread...but is it posted somewhere on actually how to take screen shots?  The mechanics of it?  Or is it just something you have to read the instructions and figure out?  I've never taken screen shots and have no clue how to go about it.

Just press 'c'; easy as that! The game will put the screenshots you make in your My Documents/EA/The Sims 3/Screenshots folder.

Some people claim screenshots using the game's own screenshot mechanism causes everything to come out too dark. Personally I've never had any problems with that. If you do, you could always try 'print screen' and then pasting the image. However, that's a lot of work, so I'd see how you like the screenshots the game produces for you first!

[samoht04]

The best way to do it is press C on the Keyboard or click the camera icon on the UI. The only pictures I ever find dark are the ones taken at night and have poor lighting.

[Allie0563]

Oh wow...thanks guys...I thought it would be some complicated mess and I had myself intimidated by it for nothing!  I'll try tonight!

[SimPenguin]

Hi - I've been having the devil of a time taking screencaptures (not in-game photos) of spaces with two-story, vaulted ceilings.  I'm kind of keen on two-story vaulted spaces, so most of my properties have them.  I have seen other peoples screencaptures out on the web where they don't have the problem I am having, so I think it's just my lack of knowledge that's the problem.   

Two issues:

When I try and screen capture my Sims on the first floor, looking up, anything that is in the vaulted footprint shows open to the sky.  I've tried centering in on the Sim and then hitting the up-one-floor button - This adds the second floor, but I also go up one level with it.  The instant I try and recenter on my Sim, the game pulls us all back down to floor one and the second floor drops again.  Screencapture example:
The second issue is in the opposite direction:  When I try and screencapture looking down, from floor two to one, I get the whole room and anything that is placed in the open area, but almost everything that is placed under the floor footprint disappears! 
Screencapture example:   
In this example, you can see the table and chairs in the open area, but you can't see the rows of bookshelves and other items against the wall on the first floor (under the balcony).  This problem also happens when I try and take exterior shots of my houses from a higher floor - Almost every object placed in the house on a floor other than the floor you are currently hovering on disappears behind the windows!   Screencapture example:
I would be grateful if someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong in the first instance to fix the first problem.  The second issue most likely has to do with whatever limitations my computer's memory or graphic's card may have, but if I'm wrong and you have any insight on how to fix this, please help me!

[Leto85]

@SimPenguin: Welcome to the forum!
Your first issue had given me a lot of troubles while making movies and it seems there was no solution to get around the problem.
But... fortuniatly there is! All you need to do is go up to the floor one level, as you said in your example, but after that you need to hit the Tab key in order to go to another sort of live mode, with completely free camera angles. Than take your photo. This should work. Good luck.

With your second problem there is a button in the Options panel that alouds you to show objects on lower floors. Try to look there. I'm not quite sure right away where it is exactly but you should look under options.

[SimPenguin]

Thank you so much, Leto!  Wow, those two things have been giving me such grief!  It will be the weekend before I can test this out, but will report back then.

[SimPenguin]

Thank you so much Leto85!  I had a chance to play around with your tips this weekend and wow, they worked great.  The setting fixed my objects-on-other-floors issue and I sure wish I had known about the tab-camera function from the start.  Not only does it take care of the multi-floor issue, it also just looks awesome when taking caps.  The light and angles are so much better than just the regular in game perspective.  It also explains where people where creating those distorted angle shots I've seen around.   

For anyone coming in looking for this same tip, I would only add that you need to know the shortcut keys for maneuvering around once you are in tab-camera mode.  I had not learned these before now and it took a while to figure out why the tab-camera wasn't working any better than the in-game version, until I realized that there must be quick keys and went out and found a list. 

Thanks again! 

[VampirePlasma]

After eading this wonderful tips I decided to try them out, I would have posted it yesterday but forgot.

Bridgeport


Her expression.


I wonder why she is glowing?

Sorry about the bad quality.

[TheChronicR]

I love that pic of Bridgeport at nighttime, Vamp! My Sims sometimes glow too, don't know why.

And thanks everyone for the tips, they are great.

[samoht04]

It is to do with the lighting and reflection, some skin tones reflect better than others in whatever setting it is, I'd say that White Lighting is the most common cause of that. Which is why I prefer Flame Lighting because it is softer, blends better and looks warmer and more natural. I'd done a comparison above of a Kitchen with White or Flame Lighting., Here.

I love that City Scene, BP is at it's best at night, can't see the pollution as much then. 

[Sportsfan]

It is to do with the lighting and reflection, some skin tones reflect better than others in whatever setting it is, I'd say that White Lighting is the most common cause of that. Which is why I prefer Flame Lighting because it is softer, blends better and looks warmer and more natural. I'd done a comparison above of a Kitchen with White or Flame Lighting., Here.

I love that City Scene, BP is at it's best at night, can't see the pollution as much then.  

Your right. With the flame lighting the colors show up better. How do you turn that on?

[TheChronicR]

Your right. Wight the flame lighting the colors show up better. How do you turn that on?

You have to click on one of the lights in your Sim's home, and an option to "Set Color" will turn up. Choose the "Flame" option in the sub-pie menu. Then choose whether to activate it for that light, room only or the whole lot.

[MissPlumbBob]

Thanks for the TAB tip. That should help my screenshots tremendously.

[Serena Darrin]

I have a somewhat related question: I'm thinking of starting up a second story, and I'm wondering, for those of you who are posting multiple stories, how do you keep your screenshots sorted out?

Thanks!

[Sportsfan]

Make separate folders for every chapter and name them.

[TheChronicR]

Make separate folders for every chapter and name them.

Yes, exactly. That way it'll be all organized.

[Serena Darrin]

I already do that for my dynasty; I' guess I'll just have to start subfolders for another story.

Thanks!

[TerranRich]

Thanks for the Tab tip... I never knew you could do that. 

[AbrahamC]

Using Techniques I found in this thread I now have my all time Fave screen shot of my current family.

For my "just for fun" games I almost always have a gay couple. At the moment they have a daughter and thought it would be better for her if they could work out their problems. I will let you guess who was the cheater. This is them in the midst of their re-bonding.

[Pam]

Using Techniques I found in this thread I now have my all time Fave screen shot of my current family.

Welcome to our Forum, AbrahamC.

I noticed that you added your screenshot by attaching the file to your post.  Actually, the preferred method of using screenshots on the Forum is to host them either on a site like Photobucket or our own Gallery, and then use the image tags to insert it into your post.  The attaching of files is for items in our Swap Shop.  Our Gallery is free for members.  You can find information and instructions here.

[AbrahamC]

Thanks Pam (Its feels nice to actually get acknowledged by someone who's posts I have been reading for some time!)

And thanks for pointing out the Image policy. I hadn't stumbled across this yet.

[CowgirlBlues]

I even have folders divided up into more Sub folders, based on characters, time of day, individual story events, etc. 
For example, my story "Billy Roy's Lodge and Show Jumping Camp" has a folder called "Billy Roy Story" and then contains folders such as "Character Portraits", "Lodge Visitors", "The Meteor Event", "Beach Picnic", "Perfect Jumps", "Meeting Cheri Montalvo". So I have all my main characters, locations, and important events organized.

[Leto85]

I even have folders divided up into more Sub folders, based on characters, time of day, individual story events, etc. 
For example, my story "Billy Roy's Lodge and Show Jumping Camp" has a folder called "Billy Roy Story" and then contains folders such as "Character Portraits", "Lodge Visitors", "The Meteor Event", "Beach Picnic", "Perfect Jumps", "Meeting Cheri Montalvo". So I have all my main characters, locations, and important events organized.

That's pretty handy! You should write a little guide on that. Not everybody is that organized, you know.
Okey, I am, but still.

[Daemo]

[spoiler]
[/spoiler]

I don't know why, but I am drawn to this photo.   I personally think this photo is brilliant and I feel as if I want to give it some kind of award.

[Ausette]

Aw, thanks Daemo! I still play that Sim, she's very expressive. Personally my favourite pic on this thread is Samoht's wedding screenshot on the first page.

[samoht04]

Aw, thanks Daemo! I still play that Sim, she's very expressive. Personally my favourite pic on this thread is Samoht's wedding screenshot on the first page.

The one of Diana and Chris? I liked that one as well. Pitty I failed that Dynasty.  Sunsets are the best time to take pictures in game, especially if you want a romantic picture. 

[Saltypaws]

After trying to get better screenshots of two sims in the elevator, I think I finally got some decent shots.  I guess it is all in the timing.





I love the expressions you can capture, like they are almost real.

[Dreamweaver]

Tab key really is your best friend for kid pics. You can get down to their level and get some really cute shots.

[Marfaud]

Thanks for all this great advice.   I will try the Tab functions.

I wanted to add, I usually leave edge scrolling on, it's under options.   It allows me much greater freedom of movement.  It's been handy for centering and honing in on the screenshots.

Probably the Tab will be great for fine adjustments.

Thanks,

Marfy.

[NickyDuvyrda]

Something I'm discovering is the use of a multi-touch trackpad. I do own a Mac. I'm starting by going into tab mode to get the distance and angle right with arrow keys. Now I'm discovering I can move things by just a hair using the multi-touch fears on my trackpad. Hope this may help someone!

[Lisey]

Taking photos in Sims 3 is basically a hobby of mine. Used to take tons of photos in Sims 2...too. Hope I don't sound too much like an echo, but here are some tips I've picked up over the years:

-First, walls up. I suppose this is more of a roleplay thing, like do you want your photos to be obviously from a game or not? I'm obsessed with making sure that walls and ceilings are up. It's not always easy to take photos with walls up, though. Certain houses are really bad for it - houses that are too small will make it impossible for you to see your Sim beyond the wall, and houses with large rooms will expose the ceiling. If you build your own homes, just try to be aware of stuff like that. If you're like me, like to decorate but not build, then you'll learn quickly what houses are good for photos and what are living nightmares. Unfortunately, the only way to really learn is trial and error and becoming familiar with the houses. One of my favorite houses, Loft Aloft in Twinbrook, is a terror to take photos with the walls up.

-As others have said, zoom in. But don't just try to zoom in - try to angle the Sims in the center as much as possible. And try to get their faces as much as possible. Sims make amazing expressions, which you will miss if you take mostly profile shots.

-Take a lot of different shots from a lot of different angles. Photos look different in the game than they do later in your screenshots folder. Some of my favorite pictures (when I took them, at least) have turned out to be duds, while pictures that I thought wouldn't work turned out great. Even the highest-performing Sims games tend to have some clothing glitches, such as hair poking through a shirt or something, and you're more likely to get a shot without that effect if you take a bunch as opposed to just one or two.  I delete about 3/4s of the pictures I take.

-Pause frequently. 'Nuff said.

Despite being so into Sims photos, I didn't know about the Tab key... Spent like a million years using edge scroll. Will have to start using it from now on!

[JohnKellyFan]

This was just the advice I was looking for :-), thank you all! I recently took up legacy-ing (can you say that, lol), never tried it before, but the pictures sucked :-(. Maybe I'll start all over again, and practice taking photos.

[BACKDROPsilhouette]

When I take a screenshot, I have to ask myself: does this picture/can this moment tell a story? If it does, I think of it as a success.
But yes, Tab to get in close, Q and E while in tab mode moves the camera up and down, Z and X zoom in and out (or you can use your scroll).

This was a second child from an Immortal Dynasty coming home from boarding school.



This is a character's first day in Union Cove.



This is just two sims trying to get to know each other.



And this is me finding amusement in how Sims lay down.