The Evolution of a Screenshot
Jan. 8th, 2012 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sonneillonvI've been doing a whole lot with screenshots lately. I don't have anything to do with the artistry inherent in the game - all credit for that goes to the developers and graphic designers. So when it comes to taking beautiful screenshots, as kittenmommy pointed out, composition is the big thing. Composition can be really a hit-or-miss sort of proposition, and oftentimes it's very trial and error. If you pay attention to the bottom right and left corners of the screen where I usually hide the chat box (I can't get rid of it or make it any smaller) you'll often see that this is the third or fourth screenshot I've taken, or that this is the third or fourth time I've had a character perform an emote so I could try to catch them at the absolute perfect moment.
That being said, I spent some time last night experimenting while Astrid was farming (actual farming is shoot-yourself-in-the-head boring, so I had to occupy myself somehow). Here is the evolution of the screenshots I took from start to finish so you can see where I started and where I ended up going. The premise is Astrid (Astridd in the game because 'Astrid' was taken, but 'Astrid' is her actual meta-name) standing in a field of lily-of-the-valley blossoms in the shire, seeding and harvesting with the stars spread out overhead.
This is the first shot I took. The framing is very basic as you can see. It's pretty, but it's also very flat - the ground is a straight strip across the bottom and you can see how flat Astrid's feet stand on it. The field of flowers is a straight strip on top of it. Not horrible, but there's no dynamic movement here, nothing that draws the eye in any particular direction. Plus Astrid's just standing there, which isn't very interesting.
This shot has many of the same problems as the first - too heavy, too clunky, no artistry. At least in this one Astrid is moving, scattering seeds, which is kind of an interesting effect. With some cropping, this shot might be somewhat artistic, but I think by the time it reached that point most of the picture would have to be cropped off, leaving very little to admire.
This one is much better. Zooming and tipping the camera upward has eliminated the heaviness of the ground and put us among the blossoms, definitely an improved vantage point. The border feels lighter and more graduated, Astrid is moving, performing an identifiable activity in sowing her field, and the focus is the beautiful color gradient of the stars. I might have been happy with this shot, and for a few minutes I was, but since farming was still incredibly boring I kept playing. A good thing, IMHO, because it only gets better from here. ;)
I consider this one on par with the last. Astrid is again just standing around, but from this angle it looks like her head is tipped up to contemplate the vastness of the universe. There's a peacefulness about this shot, a sobriety that I rather like.
Houston, we have lift-off! This angle took a lot of careful finagling so the plants wouldn't block me at every turn, and the end result was a stunning frame of Astrid's back and the stars above her. I really think this is the best of the lot, but I kept playing around a little more.
I really don't think this one is as well-framed as the last one, but it's still an improvement over the first few. It does offer a lovely view of Astrid's pretty face and her dress, the details of which show up very nicely on a higher graphics setting.
After I finished all my sowing and harvesting, I noticed it was almost dawn. I decided then and there that I wanted pictures of the sunrise, so we ran up to the top of the nearest hill (which happened to be the one Bag End is built into) to get a good view. The following shots aren't really about composition, I just think the progression of the sunrise in the graphics is really beautiful, so enjoy!
This series culminates in a shot of Astrid finally shading her face from the brilliant sunlight, complete with camera-spots, for which I have an inordinate fondness.
Welp, that's my study for today! Hope you found something pretty! Feel free to let me know in comments which were your favorites! Some will probably get sent in to Postcards From Middle-Earth.
That being said, I spent some time last night experimenting while Astrid was farming (actual farming is shoot-yourself-in-the-head boring, so I had to occupy myself somehow). Here is the evolution of the screenshots I took from start to finish so you can see where I started and where I ended up going. The premise is Astrid (Astridd in the game because 'Astrid' was taken, but 'Astrid' is her actual meta-name) standing in a field of lily-of-the-valley blossoms in the shire, seeding and harvesting with the stars spread out overhead.
This is the first shot I took. The framing is very basic as you can see. It's pretty, but it's also very flat - the ground is a straight strip across the bottom and you can see how flat Astrid's feet stand on it. The field of flowers is a straight strip on top of it. Not horrible, but there's no dynamic movement here, nothing that draws the eye in any particular direction. Plus Astrid's just standing there, which isn't very interesting.
This shot has many of the same problems as the first - too heavy, too clunky, no artistry. At least in this one Astrid is moving, scattering seeds, which is kind of an interesting effect. With some cropping, this shot might be somewhat artistic, but I think by the time it reached that point most of the picture would have to be cropped off, leaving very little to admire.
This one is much better. Zooming and tipping the camera upward has eliminated the heaviness of the ground and put us among the blossoms, definitely an improved vantage point. The border feels lighter and more graduated, Astrid is moving, performing an identifiable activity in sowing her field, and the focus is the beautiful color gradient of the stars. I might have been happy with this shot, and for a few minutes I was, but since farming was still incredibly boring I kept playing. A good thing, IMHO, because it only gets better from here. ;)
I consider this one on par with the last. Astrid is again just standing around, but from this angle it looks like her head is tipped up to contemplate the vastness of the universe. There's a peacefulness about this shot, a sobriety that I rather like.
Houston, we have lift-off! This angle took a lot of careful finagling so the plants wouldn't block me at every turn, and the end result was a stunning frame of Astrid's back and the stars above her. I really think this is the best of the lot, but I kept playing around a little more.
I really don't think this one is as well-framed as the last one, but it's still an improvement over the first few. It does offer a lovely view of Astrid's pretty face and her dress, the details of which show up very nicely on a higher graphics setting.
After I finished all my sowing and harvesting, I noticed it was almost dawn. I decided then and there that I wanted pictures of the sunrise, so we ran up to the top of the nearest hill (which happened to be the one Bag End is built into) to get a good view. The following shots aren't really about composition, I just think the progression of the sunrise in the graphics is really beautiful, so enjoy!
This series culminates in a shot of Astrid finally shading her face from the brilliant sunlight, complete with camera-spots, for which I have an inordinate fondness.
Welp, that's my study for today! Hope you found something pretty! Feel free to let me know in comments which were your favorites! Some will probably get sent in to Postcards From Middle-Earth.
