Taking better screen shots

[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.

[KrispyNickyB]

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.

[AdnaanA]

Here is one of my techniques:


I zoom up to my sim/sims as much as I can, and click!
And, if I am in a house, walls up!

[Decima]

After reading through this thread I decided to capture the lives of the couple I was playing with. These are my favourite shots, there were some really nice ones from the wedding especially. 

Click for larger versions.

[ratchie]

I cannot offer any advice about the technical part of getting a good screenshot but it is a good idea to get to know how certain animations play out. Knowing just the right moment to press the pause button can get the best shots and can really add to a story.

Rachel

[Vanillin]

Well, pretty much everything has been said, but I'm gonna add some things that you might find interesting.
I find Sims 3's lightning unrealistic, so I downloaded some modes to reduce/change it. I'm not allowed to post links here, so I'll just give out the name of the lightning mode I use the most. It's called Outdoor Lighting Tweaks by dDefinder,* I think it's pretty gorgeous. There are of course many other modes to choose from, take your time and discover them. There are also various camera (tab) modes. They are really useful for both taking screenshots and recording videos, so I think you should take a look at them, too.
It is of course not necessary, but helpful nonetheless.
I'm looking forward to view your legacy journal/story.

*I didn't direct-link, so I think it's okay to give out the mod's name? I apologize if I violated the rules.

[amyrose]

I didn't direct-link, so I think it's okay to give out the mod's name? I apologize if I violated the rules.

The discussion of mods and linking to them are allowed on this forum. You haven't violated the rules

[Turoskel]

I have a question about hide headline effects, I managed to use it on this picture and it worked great, got rid of the plumbob and the reading bars.



Then I got a surprise proposal (have a mod that lets them do this autonomously) and I tried it here and only the plumbob went, I don't mind so much if it had kept the speech bubble but will it or should it also hide skill bars? that was for charisma and it's annoying as it crops up all the time in interactions.



This pic I was very happy with but it also had it, thankfully in a spot that could be cropped out, but down on one knee not so easy to crop without cutting her head off 



Getting a proposal off Dallas is very rare, my sim is a hopeless romantic and generally gets in first so i'm dissapointed that skill bar ruined the shot. I have a feeling i'm doing something wrong with that cheat though as it's not working all the time.

[samoht04]

If the bar and bubble had appeared before entering the cheat then it stays. The bubbles will be stopped after the one that had appeared but the bar will stay until the skilling interaction ends.