I’m an absolute sucker for taking in-game screenshots of my favorite games and even those I don’t particularly enjoy. And I’m not alone. Virtual photography has become quite the movement among us digital shutterbugs.
Read More: Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is One Of The Best-Looking Open-World Games Ever
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Thankfully, more developers are proactively offering useful screenshot toolsets to allow fans to snap creative shots. Considering how gorgeous Feudal Japan is in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, a built-in Photo Mode is a welcome sight. Here’s how to make the most out of the mechanic!
How to use photo mode
Whether you’re playing with a mouse and keyboard or a controller (the ideal way to play an Assassin’s Creed title, in my opinion), accessing the game’s Photo Mode is straightforward enough:
- Keyboard: On a keyboard, use F3 to access the game’s Photo Mode.
- Controller: Simultaneously click in the right and left analog sticks to activate Photo Mode in AC: Shadows.
Alternatively, if you’d instead snap a quick screenshot—HUD and all—you’ll be happy to know Ubisoft Connect offers a built-in screenshot tool: F12. Coincidentally, Steam also provides a built-in screenshot tool using the same hotkey: F12.
Photo mode settings to play with for gorgeous shots
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows offers a relatively extensive Photo Mode with plenty of room for artistic touches, like the FX Filters and Filters. I highly recommend playing with both, especially Sakura underneath the Filters and Black & White, Ink, and Red Dragon under the FX Filters. They make for genuinely unique and entertaining shots of your in-game antics. Bonus points if you can score an artistic screenshot during an assassination!
Camera
- Camera Roll
- Focal Length
- Cycle Grids
Lens
- Depth of Field
- Aperture
- Focal Distance
- Auto-Focus
- Grain
Filters
- FX Filters
- Filters
- Brightness
- Exposure
- Temperature
- Tint
- Saturation
- Contrast
Decorations
- Vignette
- Vignette Intensity
- Vignette Size
- Frame
- Stickers
- Sticker X-Axis
- Sticker Y-Axis
- Sticker Rotation
- Sticker Scale
Where to find saved screenshots
After taking screenshots, especially after using the game’s built-in Photo Mode, you can find your saved screenshots by visiting your Pictures folder on your computer. It’s located here: C:/Users/[your username]/Pictures/UbisoftConnect.
Editor’s amateur photography note:
It’s best practice for virtual photography to use either Steam’s built in screenshot key, F12, and/or the Xbox Game Bar, Win + G, when taking a screenshot on PC. In-game screenshot buttons are often fine, but sometimes they use less desirable jpg settings. Things can also get weird when using HDR and the shots taken with the Xbox Game Bar often avoids such issues.
Alternatively, if you’re playing the game on Steam, you can open Assassin’s Creed: Shadows in your Game Library, then scroll down and keep an eye on the right-hand bar, where you’ll note your screenshots. Go ahead and click one of those screenshots, then right-click and choose “Show On Disk,” Steam will automatically open up the directory folder for you on your computer.
Access the respective console’s media gallery on Xbox and PlayStation to find your saved screenshots.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC!
Order Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Amazon | CDKeys | Best Buy
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