Meet the Photo-Mode Consultant Focused on Upgrading Your Screenshot Tools
“You don't have to have a studio. You don't have to have professional models. With just 70 Euro, you can have access to virtually all the tools. It's totally amazing.”
Posted 7 months ago
Video games, especially those with open worlds, aren’t exactly humble when it comes to showing off what they’ve got. And when a team of artists has crafted every inch of that jaw-dropping vista, you can hardly blame them for wanting as many eyes on it as possible. Games are gluttons for attention. But even then, the images that’ll stick longest with us are usually the ones we’ve had a hand in taking. Sharing snaps is a staple of our real lives; it’s no surprise that we look to do the same in our virtual ones.
©Ludovic "Shinobi" Helme / Rockstar Games
Photo modes have therefore become increasingly common in major releases, but they remain a relatively new phenomenon. And like the medium they inhabit, they’re still evolving. Which features make the cut and how fine a control is granted over that in-game lens changes from release to release. Too little freedom breeds frustration, but too much and players may intentionally or inadvertently break the game itself.
One man looking to fine-tune that balance is Ludovic “Shinobi” Helme. As one of the most prominent online virtual photographers – those dedicated to producing high-quality and artistic in-game screenshots – his stunning captures have drawn the attention of players and developers alike. As a result, he’s become possibly the world’s first and only photo-mode consultant.
It’s an unusual role that’s seen Helme work with studios including Arkane, trialing and providing feedback for the photo mode of time-twisting, ‘60s-inspired shooter Deathloop. But his love of snagging screenshots harks back much further, to days spent scaling skill trees in online worlds.
“Before I even knew about virtual photography as a concept, I was playing MMORPGs like Aion, Terra Online, and Guild Wars 2,” says Helme. “Every time I would get bored with my XP grind and leveling, I would stop playing the game and just take pictures of my characters.”
In 2013, that interest shifted to a new focus: the dramatic and action-packed sci-fi third-person shooter, Warframe. Through it, he discovered far more than just a fleeting passion.
©Ludovic “Shinobi” Helme / Digital Extremes
“I was what they call a founder, backing the game early on,” Helme says. “At some point they made this capture tool, which is basically a photo mode. So I started to use this for pictures, and then I created my Twitter [now X] account to share them with [the developer]. When I did this, I found the virtual photography community. There’s so much more to it today, but [it was] pretty active already.”
©Ludovic “Shinobi” Helme / Neowiz
Virtual photographers are a collaborative and communicative bunch. Those involved share and discuss each other’s work, while competitions themed around specific games are a regular occurrence. Recent years have also seen formal recognition arise in the yearly Virtual Photography Awards and 2024’s Photo Mode Awards.
Part of the appeal is how anyone can get involved, even without photographic experience or knowledge. Helme’s interest stemmed from taking traditional snapshots of Japan after relocating his life there. But video games allowed him to play with tools and perspectives far beyond what was possible in person.
“You don't have to have a drone, you don't have to have a light system,” Helme explains. “You don't have to have a studio. You don't have to have professional models. With just 70 Euro or whatever games cost these days, you can have access to virtually all the tools. It's totally amazing.”
Whether used solely for spur-of-the-moment snaps or to carefully curate a cinematic composition, photo modes offer the chance to toy with an expansive suite of settings. Ones whose real-life counterparts can prove prohibitively expensive. But as Helme’s virtual photography interest and experience grew, so too did his frustrations with the options available. The biggest issue? Restricted camera movement.
“I often say that photo mode is a different game mode,” says Helme. You're not playing the game anymore, you're playing the photographer. So you need to be free in your movement and to be able to go left, right, up, down, forwards, or backwards, etc.
©Ludovic “Shinobi” Helme / Arkane
"When you enter the photo mode, you want to go check the room or check anywhere around you. You don't want to have to move your character 10 meters and then reopen the photo mode, check around the character, and then move it again. It's really tiring and really frustrating.”
In order to achieve their ideal shots, most virtual photographers have to rely on third-party tools. Frans Bouma’s Unreal Engine Unlocker is an essential component in the budding in-game artist’s kit. But that dependence is also a restriction. The best shots require a PC capable of running games on higher settings. Console camera lovers have only the tools a developer provides. So, in Helme’s view, why not ensure they’re as good as can possibly be?
Why is a long camera distance important?
- A long-range camera isn't just useful for capturing sweeping environmental images
- Virtual Photographers will also use the distance to take highly detailed close-ups
- Using an extreme zoom allows the character to hold focus while the background blurs into obscurity
©Ludovic “Shinobi” Helme / Cold Symmetry
Forging an official connection with game studios, however, is no small feat. Virtual photography still isn’t recognized by many teams or publishers as a category of content creation. Thankfully, Helme’s first chance came thanks to a smaller studio willing to go the extra mile. When soulslike Mortal Shell ran an open beta, Helme shared several shots captured within it. The developers at Cold Symmetry took note, and before long Helme was in direct contact with one of the studio heads.
“I sent him a DM on Discord saying, ‘Hey, congrats with the launch announcement and all the best, and if you want to make a photo mode, maybe I can help,’” Helme recalls. “He answered me saying, ‘Man, I'm such a fan of your work. We need to make this happen right away.’ He made a Discord group with three of the four founders, myself, and two other developers. And he said, ‘yeah, let's talk about the photo mode.’”
A few NDAs later, Helme was providing feedback on a daily basis. He created lists of photo modes to draw from and let the team know what to avoid or was a waste of time. Helme notes that it was a learning process on both sides, and one that benefited him immensely when it came to his future partnership with Arkane and Deathloop. What didn’t change, however, was the spontaneous nature of the initial connection.
“Dinga Bakaba, the game director, put a message on [X] saying, ‘Before the end of the year, if you have something to say, send me a DM and I will answer you,’” says Helme. “I sent him a message saying, ‘Hey, your game is cool. Will you make a photo mode? Because I can help!’ It happened that they were just starting to think about it, and he brought me in instantly. It was perfect timing.”
©Ludovic "Shinobi" Helme / Bethesda
As Helme soon discovered, the remit of a photo-mode consultant goes beyond lenses and focal ranges. As part of his feedback on Deathloop, he had to convince the team to make all character outfits available in the photo mode – even those unlocked through online play.
“When I work on a photo mode, I always keep in mind that [it] has something else that real cameras will never have: specific features from the game,” Helme says. “So of course camera distance and camera movement are very important. But I also want to find something that I can use in combination with my camera tools – the character position, making funny poses, or just the outfits. Things I cannot do with just camera tools.
“Filters, stamps, things like this. I personally don't use them as a photographer, but it's what I call the grammar of the photo mode. You need to have them because it's not only virtual photographers that will use [it].”
The Best Photo Modes for Beginners
Interested in giving virtual photography a go? Ludovic "Shinobi" Helme recommends starting with a game you love, but also highlights these games as fantastic options in which to shoot your first shot:
Where photo modes are concerned, there’s a lot more to consider than just the click of a lens. Pushed to offer a single suggestion to any developers considering one, Helme’s top priorities are clear: camera freedom and distance.
“Some people will argue that if you go too far, you will have problem of texture loading or you will reveal enemy positions,” Helme says, “and I hear this, because the game and photo mode are two different modes. As a virtual photographer, I feel outraged when the camera is so close to the character, but if I was a game director who thinks about the positioning of every enemy, the element of surprise, or anything like this, of course I don't want people to get spoiled or have a way of cheating.
“But, I think it's necessary for creativity and for people to produce the best shots they can. If you limit something [too much], you will have what I call dead or unborn shots – when you enter the photo mode and you want to take a picture, but you can't because the camera won't bring you to that place or won't let you get the composition. The more restrictive your camera is, the more unborn shots you will have.”
Ludovic "Shinobi" Helme
As their hobby grows, virtual photographers are receiving increasing attention from different industry sources. Helme’s captures have been featured in Edge magazine, and he knows other in-game photographers who’ve since been hired by studios as capture artists. But behind the lens, this is a community composed of hobbyists. For his part, Helme seems happy to play the go-between, working with any studios that are willing to ensure as many people as possible have the tools required to get involved.
Our thanks to Ludovic “Shinobi” Helme for taking the time to speak with us. You can view more of his screenshots on his website.