Hi all,

So ok, this is something a lot of us screenie-takers know well, but some of the newer members may not know so well. So, we at the "Dr Charlie's Institute of Most Things" picked up on this to compile a list of criteria which should be used when trying to attain the best type of shot.

What do I need to get a good shot?

You need to set the shot up right. Jakemaster said in one of his recent posts that Quote:


He is right. If you don't have a high-end system, make the best use of what you do have. Even if it isn't a very crisp, or outstanding shot, it should still be looked at as a good shot (unless of course it truly is awful ). Why should it be viewed as a good shot? You can learn from it. Evaluate it, see what you can do better. If you think nothing is wrong, get a friend to evaluate, and see what they think.

You say setup is the key.....what things do I need to set up?

Quite a few things, really, but the smallest tweaks in setup can go a long way. 5 minutes in the time of day, the slightest movement of the aircraft etc. Below is a list of a few things you should look at setting up:

• Angle on camera
• Aircraft used
• Time of day
• Weather / Lighting
• Location

The angle on the camera plays a large part in getting the shot right. All of the above play a large part for that matter. If you use a plain and boring angle (say, a 90^o angle from the aircraft in the pic), perhaps it won't be as good as a pic fromthe nose, looking back up at the aircraft. You may say "Good angles can only be attained using payware programs!!"

-Think again. Sure, Walk and Follow and Active Camera etc help, but you can get a good angle using the tower view. Here is an example:

Dr Charlie's Example #1

I got this angle by using the tower view. While in a flight, press "Alt -> World -> Map" and the map appears. You can move your aircraft around, and the tower view too. Grab the tower icon on the map, move it around a bit, get your desired position and play with the hright. ON the left you should see some co-ordinates and altitude - make the altitude the same as the ground level and you get a view from the ground (like in the above shot).

The aircraft used isn't very important, but certainly adds to a shot. A photogenic, or detailed aircraft (like POSKY, or Milton Shupe's models) are good. Sure, they may drain framrates somewhat, and if they drain your framrates so badly that you can't set up your shot, turn your visual settings down so you can set it up - then put all the visual settings back up.
This doesn't mean you're not allowed, or can't use less detailed aircraft in a shot - they can work just as well.

Time of day is quite big, especially when you tie it in with weather. I'll show you two shots, and you decide which is better. Your taste in shots may differ (in fact it probably does differ) to mine:

Shot 1

Shot 2 - Time of Day altered and weather added

The first pic was taken in the morning, the later on the dusk. It's hard to explain how time of day affects your shot quality without going off a tangent unto weather, so as you read this, the section called "Time of Day" (this one) will now be called "Time of Day and Weather".

Let's say you have a shot, setup for dusk, with a clear, orange sky. It looks good. Let's improve it.

This shot below was taken at very early dusk, so its similar conditions to if it were normal daytime:
Shot 1 - Weather added, time of day similar to normal daylight

The below one was taken later, when the sky would have been darker, but not too dark - you don't want a too dark shot.
Shot 2 - weather added, time of day altered to later on in the dusk

NOTE: I will say now that I didn't adjust ANY settings between the two shots above apart from the time of day.

As you can see, instead of having a plain, grey background, the second shot has more feel to it. For instance, in the bottom right, you can see the buildings better as they fade away, the clouds are more visibly puffy and you can see thesmoke from the Hurricane's guns easier.

With weather, a plain, sunny background is always nice, but doesn't offer much feeling. A thunderstorm, with bolts of lightning, heavy rain and low clouds offers more of a feel. When tied in with the time of day and lighting, this can whip up a special shot.

Location, location, location. It's always important - a flat wasteland doesn't offer a great deal of feel to a shot, however, some mountains wrapped in clouds/fog does. Or perhaps a well-lit city scene, could add to the pic. Please remember that these are just a few suggestions; Dr Charlie cannot think of many more right now

There is one more thing to getting a good shot - Practice. Good shots don't come straight away, with a bit of trial and error, your pics should improve.

Once you throw all of these factors together, you could have potential for a great shot. Now go get screenie-taking!!

PLEASE REMEMBER: The above suggestions are only suggestion, not guidelines. You certainly don't have to follow them and may find the above totally useless, but it certainly helped me.