Photo Mode
Photo Mode is a photography mode in the Forza series. It can be accessed in many ways:
- During gameplay, pressing or holding up on the D-pad
- In Forzavista, pressing Y
- Accessing it from the Pause Menu
Overview[edit | edit source]
Photo Mode[edit | edit source]
In Photo Mode, the player can move the camera's position with the left stick and change the yaw and pitch with the right stick. Up and down on the D-pad are used to change the zoom level, from a minimum of 0.5x to a maximum of 20.0x (sometimes capped to either 2.0x or 1.0x in Forzavista), while left and right on the D-pad are used to change the roll angle. Left trigger (LT) and right trigger (RT) are used to change the camera's altitude, which can range from zero to a maximum of 6.6 ft (2 m) (13.1 ft (4 m) in Forza Horizon 4), although the environment, including the car the player is in, may change the maximum camera altitude. X is used to focus on the object in the camera reticle in the center of the screen, and in applicable games, either right bumper (RB) or left bumper (LB) can be used to reset cosmetic damage on the player's car or all cars in the scene (the latter only in Forza Motorsport 7) or to toggle car lights on and off. Pressing A takes the photo.
Effects Mode[edit | edit source]
Pressing Y allows players to access the Effects Mode, which allows them to alter the photo's attributes, including shutter speed, focus, exposure, aperture, contrast, color, brightness, sepia intensity, and vignette. When Effects Mode is active, the player can also press RB to change the vignette style from three different variations.
- Preset: There are multiple Photo Mode presets, each with varying settings for different purposes. It always starts as Custom.
- Shutter Speed: Also known as exposure time, shutter speed is the length of time when the camera shutter is open. Longer shutter speeds expose the camera's sensor for a significant period of time, causing motion blur, which is useful for conveying speed and motion to the photo's viewer by intentionally blurring the car's wheels. Shorter shutter speeds can be used to eliminate motion from moving objects, giving the illusion that they are standing still. The default value is 100.
- Focus: Focus refers to the movement of the lens elements in the camera until the sharpest possible image is achieved. The default value is 30.
- Exposure: The amount of light per unit area. Higher values result in more intense and brighter lighting, useful for dark areas, while lower values can be used for bright areas to reduce the intensity of bright sources of light, including sunlight. The default value is 50.
- Contrast: The range of difference between different tones in a photo. Higher values result in stronger differences between colors and stronger shades of black and white. The default value is 50.
- Color: How much color is present in the image. 50 is a neutral value, 0 sets the picture to black and white, and 100 results in the photo being very colorful. The default value is 50.
- Brightness: How bright or dark the picture appears. Lower values result in the overall image being dark and dim, while higher values lead to brighter and less dim scenes, useful for dark settings. The default value is 50.
- Sepia: The photo's sepia value. Higher values cause the photo to appear more brownish. The default value is 0.
- Vignette: The reduction of an image's brightness or saturation towards the periphery compared to the image center. A higher setting results in clearer black edges, which can be used to draw the viewer's eye away from the distractions in the corners of the photo.
The player can reset all of these settings to their default values by pressing X.
Sharing[edit | edit source]
When the player presses A to take the photo, they can then choose to upload it to the game's servers. They are asked to give the photo a name (up to 16 characters long) and then specify the following:
- Make: The brand of the car being shown. Can be set to Current Car if no car is present.
- Model: The specific car model being shown. Can be set to Current Car if no car is present.
- Keyword 1: The first keyword related to the photo's main purpose. Can be Racing, Scenery, Group, Action, or Humorous.
- Keyword 2: The keyword related to the photo's stylization. Can be Filtered, B&W, Stylized, or Untouched.
- Description: The optional short description that goes with the photo.
In most games, the player can share up to 100 photos. However, if the player does not wish to risk reaching the limit earlier, they can instead take clean screenshots, although they have to hide the UI first (only applicable in Forza Horizon 2 and later games). On the Xbox One, this is done by pressing the Home button and then pressing Y, while on PC, this is done by pressing Win+Alt+PrtScr (Print Screen). Depending on the player's console or computer settings, they may have to manually upload the screenshots to Xbox Live.
Changes in Forza Motorsport 4 and Forza Horizon[edit | edit source]
- Big Shots (8K resolution) can be taken and stored in the player's Forza Motorsport online account.
Changes in Forza Motorsport 5[edit | edit source]
- Xbox Live Gold is no longer required to save photos taken in Photo Mode.
- Big Shots are removed.
Changes in Forza Horizon 2[edit | edit source]
- Resetting cosmetic damage is now possible again.
- The Vignette value is now 32 by default.
- Photo Mode is now more vital to the game than ever due to the addition of Horizon Promo, which involves taking pictures of all of the game's cars, including traffic vehicles, to earn CR and help identify these cars for the Horizon Festival.
Changes in Forza Horizon 3[edit | edit source]
- A sound is no longer played when entering Photo Mode during gameplay.
Changes in Forza Motorsport 6[edit | edit source]
- The player can now toggle water droplets on the screen on (0) and off (100) in Effects Mode. They will only show during rainy weather.
Changes in Forza Motorsport 7[edit | edit source]
- The player can now choose between the standard tracking focus mode and a new panning focus mode.
- Resetting cosmetic damage is now possible in a Forza Motorsport game, and it now affects all cars in the scene/race.
Changes in Forza Horizon 4[edit | edit source]
- Horizon Promo is now absent.
- The player's Creative Hub now displays their Horizon Photographer level. For every photo shared, along with any downloads and likes that the photos receive, the player earns Influence, Reaching Horizon Photographer Level 5 is required to complete the Creative Superstar Star Card.
Series 3 introduced many more new features and changes into Photo Mode, including:
- Maximum camera altitude is now doubled.
- Car lights, driver characters, crowds, and creatures can now be toggled on and off. Drivers can only be removed if the car is not in motion.
- Color temperature is now adjustable. Starting at 50, the color temperature is neutral, but shifting it towards 0 makes it cold, while adjusting it towards 100 makes it hot.
- The focus modes from Forza Motorsport 7 are available once again.
- The bokeh shape and sampling type can now be changed. By default, they are Circle and Fast, respectively, but the bokeh shape can also be Diamond, Pentagon, and Hexagon, while the sampling type can be Quality for higher quality pictures.