20 Best In-Game Photo Challenges To Try

If you love pausing the action to frame the perfect shot, these games make it easy to push your creativity with focused photo challenges. Each idea below gives you a clear objective, where to attempt it, and settings to tweak so your results look polished. Try them in free roam or during missions and experiment with time of day, weather, lenses, and poses. You will come away with a gallery that feels varied, intentional, and worth sharing.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Create a motion blur swing shot above Midtown traffic at golden hour. Perch on a rooftop, set shutter speed low, and track Peter or Miles mid-swing so the background streaks while the hero stays sharp. Use a long focal length to compress the skyline and hide visual clutter. Turn on film grain lightly and bump vignette to draw focus to the suit emblem.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Capture a long exposure of a Sky Island waterfall with link gliding through the frame. Wait for overcast or rainy weather to soften highlights and use a wide focal length to show vertical scale. Place a Zonai light source off to the side to add a glow on the spray. Shoot from a stable ledge and time the paraglide entry so Link sits on a third line.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Shoot a moody campfire portrait with practical lighting only. Set up at night in the woods, position the subject slightly off center, and keep aperture wide for shallow depth. Lower exposure compensation so flames are not blown out and let faces fall into gentle shadow. Add a tiny bit of film grain and sepia for a period look.

Ghost of Tsushima

Do a wind and particles study in a wheat field during sunset. Enable Kurosawa filter variations or keep color and push contrast to show drifting leaves. Crouch to blade level and angle the frame so the wind line leads toward a shrine or mountain. Wait for a standoff to trigger and freeze Jin with the cape flowing.

Forza Horizon 5

Compose a rolling panning shot on the coastal highway with traffic enabled. Set shutter speed slow, focal length medium, and lock focus on your car for crispness while the world blurs. Use photo mode to adjust aperture for nice wheel arch separation. Shoot at sunrise to get reflections off wet asphalt after a storm.

Cyberpunk 2077

Build a neon reflection portrait in Japantown during rain. Stand near a puddle, crouch, and tilt so billboards reflect across the face. Switch to a longer focal length, drop depth of field, and use the color temperature slider to cool the scene while keeping skin tones natural. Add chromatic aberration sparingly for retro flair.

Horizon Forbidden West

Try a creature scale comparison with Aloy tiny in the foreground against a Tallneck. Use a very wide lens low to the ground and place Aloy on a ridge while the machine strides in from behind. Wait for dust motes in backlight to add depth layers. Keep saturation moderate so metal textures hold detail.

Death Stranding

Stage a minimalist landscape with a single subject and leading lines from cargo paths. Pick an overcast day to flatten shadows and let the terrain contours guide the eye. Stand far back with a long focal length to compress hills and make the figure feel isolated. Add vignette subtly and keep color muted for the signature look.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Capture a foggy bog scene with silhouettes of longships. Visit a marsh region at dawn, push dehaze slightly negative, and underexpose by a stop to keep the fog thick. Place a tree trunk in the foreground left for depth and frame the ship masts on the right. Keep horizon low so the sky mood dominates.

Gran Turismo 7

Shoot a pit lane reportage set with mechanics mid service. Use Scapes or an actual race session and choose a focal length similar to a 35 mm for documentary feel. Slightly raise ISO and add grain to mimic track photography. Angle the car three quarters and crop tight on gloves, tires, and brake dust.

No Man’s Sky

Create an alien fauna portrait with complementary color contrast. Find a planet where the sky and grass oppose the creature’s hue, then crouch for eye level. Use a wide aperture for creamy backgrounds and wait for the creature to glance toward the light source. Add vignette small and keep exposure balanced to avoid clipping in bright skies.

Elden Ring

Compose a gothic architecture frame within a frame using arches in a legacy dungeon. Position your character as a tiny figure at the end of a corridor to exaggerate scale. Lower exposure and push contrast to emphasize stone texture and torch pools. Align verticals carefully to keep the image clean and symmetrical.

Genshin Impact

Shoot an elemental action freeze with particles suspended mid air. Trigger a swirl or crystallize reaction in a scenic spot like Liyue Harbor’s bridges. Pause in photo mode at the peak of the effect and tighten framing to keep UI clutter out. Add slight bloom and raise sharpness to make particles pop.

Final Fantasy XVI

Capture a cinematic duel tableau with sparks mid clash. Fight in an arena with textured backgrounds, then pause as blades meet and angle the camera so diagonals cross near center. Reduce saturation a touch and increase contrast for a filmic feel. Keep a shallow depth so embers and cloth motion read cleanly.

The Last of Us Part II

Make a natural light interior portrait near a broken window. Turn your character toward soft side light and underexpose slightly to preserve highlights. Let background fall to shadow and include a dust shaft for atmosphere. Keep color neutral and add a small vignette for focus.

God of War Ragnarök

Craft a mythic backlight silhouette with Kratos and Leviathan Axe. Find a cliff edge at sunrise, place the sun directly behind the character, and pull exposure down for a halo rim. Use a wide lens to include runes or statues as context. Add grain light and keep white balance warm for heroic tone.

Control

Do a brutalist geometry study in the Executive sector. Shoot upward to emphasize concrete slabs and red service lights, keeping lines straight. Lower saturation and increase clarity to bring out texture without banding. Place Jesse tiny at the corner to add scale without distracting from shapes.

Sea of Thieves

Capture a crew action panorama during a storm with lightning in frame. Climb the mast, lock the field of view wide, and wait for a strike while sails billow. Keep horizon level and include ship elements as foreground anchors. Slightly boost contrast so rain and spray read clearly.

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Freeze an aerial combo moment against a dramatic sky. Trigger a character’s skybound ability, pause at peak height, and align clouds as leading lines. Use a moderate focal length so weapons stay crisp without distortion. Add a touch of bloom and keep exposure balanced to preserve highlights on armor.

Starfield

Stage a cockpit reflection portrait with a planet filling the background. Sit the pilot slightly off center, tilt to include instrument lights, and let the window frame act as a border. Drop depth of field to blur panels lightly while keeping eyes sharp. Nudge color temperature cooler to emphasize space and keep noise reduction low for a realistic grain.

Share your favorite photo challenges and the shots you captured in the comments so others can try them too.