Photography Tips



When you stop and consider just how beautiful the world of Red Dead Online is, it is easy to see why in-game photography is a popular pastime for many players. A quick search online will yield thousands upon thousands of photos taken by players and in some instances, it can be difficult to say if the photo depicts the game or a real world location at first glance.

Photos can be captured by using the in-game camera or by simply taking a screenshot and there are pros and cons for using one over the other, which we will examine first.

Using the Camera
To use one of the two in-game cameras that you can purchase (Standard or Advanced), you first need to equip the camera using the weapon wheel. While holding L1, press R1 once and then hold your Left Stick to the right and use L2/R2 to navigate to the camera and then release L1 to equip it. While equipped, you can enter "Handheld” mode by pressing L2 or you can use it to take a Selfie by clicking R3 once. That said there are some pros and cons to consider when using the camera.

Pros

 * The camera allows you to set and lock your zoom distance.
 * You can also easily change the overall contrast of your shot.
 * Standard pics looking a little drab? Try using one of the provided filters! The Advanced Camera offers the better set.
 * You can change your characters stance/pose and expression.
 * By uploading your photos to Social Club and then accessing your Social Club account from a computer or smartphone, you can save photos that are slightly higher in quality and resolution that you can get from just getting the photos from your console.
 * Photos taken of wildlife counts towards your Animal Field Guide completion for the Naturalist role.

Cons

 * You cannot equip the camera when mounted on your horse or riding on a wagon.
 * You cannot always take a Selfie. The camera has to be placed on the ground in front of you and if there is no ground to place it on - no Selfie.
 * There is no quick and easy way to accurately set up a good Selfie. Since you are not able to move the camera after entering Selfie mode, you have to back out and reposition yourself at a different angle and try again.
 * The Selfie mode is sensitive to elevation. If you are standing on the slope of a hill and enter the mode while facing downhill, the camera will be looking up at you. If you place it while facing uphill, the camera will be looking down at you.
 * You are very limited when selecting a stance/pose and facial expression for your character. There are only 4 stances/poses available (2 standing and 2 crouched) and 4 different facial expressions.
 * You are limited to 50 photos when using the camera. If you reach this amount, you will need to first delete older ones.
 * Deleting photos is a PAIN IN THE ASS. You have to delete them from the in-game Social Club menu. This menu needs to load initially and then reload after every single photo you delete. Needless to say that if the photos you want to delete are at the bottom of this list, it will take you a good hot minute to delete them.
 * Photos taken with the camera are not automatically saved to your console. So if you take a cool picture and forget to save it as a screenshot and then delete it, you have lost that photo for all eternity.

Tips

 * Use the camera to take photos of your friends. They can use emotes and this can make for some great pics!
 * When using the Advanced camera, do not forget to press Circle to actually unequip the camera before attempting to mount your horse, as pressing Triangle with the Advanced Camera in hand will open the Social Club menu instead.
 * If you are trying to complete the Animal Field Guide for the Naturalist Role, remember that photos of dead animals work too!
 * When taking a selfie there are 4 different poses that you can choose from. If you use the one where your character crosses their hands in front of them or places them on their hips and then wait, they will begin to move around slightly or look around and this can be used to get some great photos.

Using Screenshots
For those of you that want a slightly faster way of capturing great photos (not including the time required to initially change your settings), screenshots are the better option. Because a screenshot is just that, a photo of what is visible on your screen at the time that it is taken, they will also show some unwanted elements, such as the mini-map or above-head player names. To remove them, you can either crop them out or use a program like photoshop later on or proactively change your display settings ahead of time so that they are not there to begin with. You just need to remember to change your settings back when you are done taking photos.

Pros

 * You can take a screenshot with the push of just one button if you change your console settings for the Share button on your controller to “Easy Screenshots”. Open the Share Menu by pressing the Share button (if it is not already set to Easy Screenshots) and got to the Settings. NEED TO FINISH
 * Screenshots are automatically saved to your consoles hard drive.
 * You can use screenshots to capture photos of your character “in action” (feeding your horse, for example) by maneuvering the camera into place quickly after starting the action.

Cons

 * For clean screenshots, you need to take the time to change your display settings before taking pics. Since these options also remove the on-screen elements that are vital for war, it is not really advised to just keep them set up for taking pics 100% of the time (unless you plan on always being in Defensive and even then that is not a surefire guarantee not to be able to be messed with by a determined griefer). This means that there is no good way to capture pics on the fly unless you are okay with having to remove those distracting elements later.
 * War….. never changes. It can happen at any moment including when you are just trying to screw around with your buddies and take a few amusing screenshots. If this is a situation you find yourself in, you will want to let your friends know that you’ll need a minute to readjust your settings before you can join the fray.
 * Screenshots generally have a lower resolution and quality than photos taken and saved with the in-game camera.

Tips

 * Here are the in-game settings that you need to change or confirm the current setting of :
 * Under Display in the Settings Menu :
 * NEED TO FINISH
 * Remove the mini-map by holding Down on the DPad and pressing Circle.
 * You can use Cinematic mode to capture some unique photos. After entering Cinematic, click R3 to change the current camera angle. You can then use the Right Stick to “encourage” the camera to move in a specific direction, but be aware that the motion itself is actually governed by the internal Cinematic settings and will not always go in the direction you want.
 * There are a couple of “secret” angles that Cinematic will use from time to time but these are not available when cycling thru the normal rotation with R3. To get to those angles you have to force Cinematic to change the camera angle on its own by using the Right Stick to move the camera to it’s outer distances and once your character is (mostly) out of frame the angle will change. The order angles change to is random. This takes PATIENCE!
 * You can take multiple “semi-rapid-fire” photos by using the Easy Screenshots option. If you do want to try this, Be sure that you also change the option to where your console does not display the “photo taken” toast message in the upper left corner or you will accidentally capture this in your shots.
 * You can take multiple “semi-rapid-fire” photos by using the Easy Screenshots option. If you do want to try this, Be sure that you also change the option to where your console does not display the “photo taken” toast message in the upper left corner or you will accidentally capture this in your shots.

Things To Try
Taking awesome photos is a process that is one part creativity, two parts planning and two parts luck. Anyone can aim the camera or their character and press a button to get a photo and that photo may turn put to be halfway decent. But for those photos that really make you go “Wow!” you need to have a little more than just happenstance on your side to pull off.

As with any creative process, the issue of the photographical equivalent of “writers block” looms ominously in the background. If you are running out of photo ideas or are just looking for somewhere to start, the following information should prove useful.

Ideas for Selfies

 * Locate one of the “Sitting Spots” and use Cinematic. Try whistling for your horse while seated (if you are seated at ground level) and try and include them in the photo.
 * Set a waypoint and then start to “autopilot” in that direction and use the different camera angles while in Cinematic. (This also works great when travelling with friends!).
 * Silhouette yourself against a bright light source,
 * Try taking a walk thru Saint Denis at night when it is foggy for photos with a spooky atmosphere.

General All-Around Ideas

 * In real-world photography, there is a concept known as “The Golden Hour”. This is a short, hour long period of time just after the sun sets and just before it rises that provides the very best natural lighting for taking photos. RDO (and RDR2 in general) also has it’s own “Golden Hour” but it’s timing is obviously much, much shorter (about 8-ish real-world minutes). That said, with proper preparation and planning, you can take advantage of this magical time frame for some very awesome photos!