I know I'm not an official studio v writer, but who says those who aren't can't write the occasional article.  Since I have some time off right now, I thought I'd give a little advice to the new screenartists out there:


We've all seen what the experienced shooters can do as far as angles and unique shots.  It takes a lot of practice and experience to make those kinds of shots work, and there are definately some out there who can.  But if you are new to the screenshot taking aspect of flightsim, these angles can be difficult to achieve and often might not come out as you would have hoped.  So i would suggest you start simple.  I don't mean boring shots directly side on, but try to keep the plane centered, get a nice, simple angle, and don't mess around too much.   One of the biggest problems with learning a new skill for anything is developing bad habits.  For instance, if you are learning to plane piano and you start out by using one finger and just hitting each key, you might get into the habit of doing so.  So with screenshots, if you start out trying to ake screenshots with crazy angles, you might get into the habit of taking them like that even if the angles are not that great.

So keep it simple, and as you get better and better you can bump up the uniqueness and eventually start taking wild screenshots like Ramsa or Dave or Eno or most any of the screensartists on these forums that show a real talent.

Mees wrote on Jan 17^th, 2007 at 9:47am:


Well yes, but lately I've seen quite a few newcomers try to take the kinds of shots that I am talking about.  Advice doesn't have to apply to the majority, sometimes the few in the minority need a little advice too

Couldn't agree with you more Jake.  People should take the time to really master the basics and understand what should and shouldn't be used in a screenshot, based on their equipment. I found out long ago that water textures, no matter how hard I tried, would never look good in my shots. So, now it's extremely rare to see water in my pics, particulary ones for competitions. 

Jake, you know you're always welcome to post as many tutorials as you like, your opinions are well respected at V. You can also join up and start "Jakes Take" again if you like..

Stuart, I think we've got a thing or two for newbies as well...

"...if you are learning to plane piano..." ??

Looks like it's time for a FS brake... LOL  

Good tip m8!

Very nice and true advice Jake... I totally agree with you

Souichiro wrote on Jan 17^th, 2007 at 10:17am:


Yes! Once I had a horrible experience of crashing a 737 to the ground while trying to take a VC shots  but the "P" key is the "key"