How To Get The Most Out of Your SC4 Pictures

[Masochist]

I wrote this tutorial nearly a year ago for content on TPP...and now, finally, I got the bright idea to copy it here!

Getting The Most Out Of Your SC4 Pictures

So you've built the perfect city, and you're just ready and rearing to share it to the world.  The first thing you might think to do is to take some pictures and post them as fast as you can to a fansite.  If you run a City Journal or Mayor's Diary, that might be perfectly fine.  But if you just want to share little bits and pieces of your city at a time, you'll need a picture that will catch people's attention and stick in their minds for a while.  This tutorial will help guide you down the path to getting that picture.

Right here, before I begin, I'll go ahead and say that this tutorial is entirely opinion-based.  Doing the things that are suggested in this tutorial WILL NOT guarantee that your picture will come out perfectly; not doing anything in this tutorial DOES NOT mean that your picture won't catch people's eye.  The guidelines listed here are just that: guidelines.  They are merely observations of elements which are most common in those pictures that are considered "extraordinary."

Tools
-SimCity 4/Rush Hour/Deluxe
-Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, The GIMP, or other image manipulation program (not a necessity)
-A bit of creativity and vision


I. Before Snapping the Picture

If you want the most out of your photograph, you have to set yourself up to take the picture first.  This means scoping out a suitable subject, figuring out the best angle to take the shot, and optimizing the conditions for the shot.

Almost anything in the game of SimCity 4 can be a suitable and interesting subject to take a picture of.  Your job is figuring out how to make it as interesting as possible...which means figuring out the right zoom level and angle.  Figure out how other buildings juxtapose it at different views, and find out which size picture would capture the scene the best.  Avoid shots with repeating buildings, and smooth out any bumpy roads or weird quirks that might draw focus away from what you're showcasing.

To "optimize conditions" (as I called it up there), go into your "Graphics Options" and make sure all of the settings are set on High ("Building Draw Speed" doesn't have to be).  Also, make sure your color is set to 32 bit quality.  Next, get rid of the undesirables: first, press [G] to toggle the grid (you may want it on or off depending on your photo).  Then go into the "Terrain Options" menu in Mayor Mode, select the Label Maker tool, and turn off the street labels and sign posts.  This helps cut out distractions and helps the scene look more natural (because there aren't gigantic random sign posts sticking up high around your city in real life...right???).  After that, go to the 'My Sim' Mode toolbar and turn off the U-Drive-It indicators.  This will get rid of those little buttons that run on the side of the screen telling you where U-Drive-It vehicles are located.  Finally, press "Play" (if you're paused) and click the small box in the lower-left hand corner of the main toolbar to minimize it. You can then bring up the camera by holding down [CTRL] + [SHIFT] and pressing 'S'.

One more hint: if you're photographing something over the water, you may suffer from what is known as the "water bug."  This is where lots that are placed over water (such as beaches or marinas) will create a hole-of-sorts that makes the water surface texture disappear, allowing you to see straight through the seafloor--not very attractive.  If you wish to get rid of this, simply go into your "Data Views" menu, choose "Zones" to make all of your buildings disappear, and then choose "All Off" to make them re-appear, water-bug free.


How to "optimize conditions" for picture-taking

Remember, the purpose of taking this picture is to showcase the work you've done; all the love and care you put into taking it will shine through when the picture is presented, even without editing or special effects.


II. Taking The Picture

Now that you've done all that (which wasn't really a lot ), you can actually take the picture (hopefully you know what you're snapping a photo of by now).  This is where the tutorial gets abstract.  It's important to understand that none of the points that follow are necessary to get a "good picture."  They are simply techniques that appear most often in the most celebrated shots.  Whether you use all, some, or none of them is entirely up to you, and whether or not people like it is entirely up to them.

1.) Have something to focus on
You would think that this would be obvious, but it can be forgotten quite easily.  Having something specific that you want your audience to focus on can really help you showcase the best your city has to offer.  Note: having a specific focus is not necessarily the same as having a specific subject.  A focus is simply something that you want the viewer to observe; it can be something like a certain building or two, but it can also be the composition of an entire city block, or the way a road conforms to the terrain.  Having a well-defined focus allows the viewer to not have to look all over the picture at once, and instead lets them evaluate what they know you want them to evaluate.


The focus here isn't necessarily the Cyclone, but rather its position next to the freeway

2.) Make use of all five dimensions
Five dimensions:  height, width, depth, space, and time.  Showing as many of these as you can in a picture can make it more interesting to view and observe, and there are quite a few ways to get them all in there (especially since the game takes care of the first three for you).  For example, you can show time by taking your shot during sunset or showing a building under construction; you can show space by having different levels of buildings in the picture.  You'd be surprised at how much character you can add to a picture by incorporating these elements into it.  And this brings me to the next point:

3.) Show signs of life
This is one of the most stressed aspects of taking a good SC4 picture.  What good's a photograph of a simulated city if you don't show some simulated Sims?  Well...as I keep saying, it's not necessary at all.  But more than showing "time" in your picture, capturing Sims on the move can add untold amounts of...well, life to your picture.  It can be anything from showing cars on the street or trains on the track to Sims on a sidewalk or a helicopter in the sky.  Even things like nightlighting and fireworks can show life in your picture (there had to be someone to shoot them into the sky, didn't there?).  It just makes the entire picture seem that much more realistic, and that's ultimately the goal for most pictures.


This shows all five dimensions: the intersection in the middle of the tall buildings depict the space, and the sunset and vehicles show time

4.) Negative Spaces and the "Rule of Thirds"
This deals with the actual composition of your picture.  Negative space refers to everything in your picture that's not on the same plane as your subject (referred to as Positive Space), and can have subtle effects on how your picture is presented.  Note the words "on the same plane;" that means you can have something in your positive space that you didn't mean to have if you're not careful.  The picture above is actually focused on negative space--the buildings surrounding the intersection are 'on top' of it, and so they make up the positive space.  This is usually not advisable except in special circumstances; your focus should be in the positive.  Of course, with SC4's limited view, this is usually only crucial when you get to the closest zoom levels.

The "Rule of Thirds" refers to a basic principle of photography in which you compose your picture based on two different horizons (splitting the picture into three equal parts).  While this is a bit harder in SC4 due to its trimetric graphics, the basic principle can still be applied: don't put everything at the same level!!!  Vary the levels of the buildings, streets, terrain, etc. so that the viewers' eyes are invited to wander the entire picture instead of just the one line of rooftops.  This can make the picture much more beautiful and interesting.

(Photo by Callagrafx)

Everything not on the same plane as the Gateshead Bridge is considered negative space, and the canal's edges illustrate an example of how an SC4 picture might have to be divided to use the "Rule of Thirds"

5.) Try to showcase something unique in your town
I saved the most basic for last.  If you've got something to show, show it!  Your subject itself doesn't have to be unique, but maybe you used it in a method rarely seen.  If that's the case, take as many pictures of it in different ways as you can, and really try and bring out whatever it is about them that you find unique.  If it's position, show a slightly wider shot; if you've edited the lot, bring it in close.  Just don't forget some of the techniques expressed above!


Coco Park is a highly photographed BAT, but it's position is unique in my town, so I decided to showcase it

III. Post Production/Editing The Picture

Finally! You've taken your picture(s), you've exited SimCity, and you're ready to present it! Or are you? Maybe you want to edit it first? If that's the case, check this quote by Hym from Simtropolis:

Image editing programs such as Photoshop may make the image look better, but there is only so much you can do with Photoshop to improve the looks of a city. In the end, the city itself needs to have aesthetic value first...

It rings true. Your picture can look just as good without photo manipulation as it does with it. Editing can make a photograph look better or more focused, but if you're doing it because you weren't happy with the picture to begin with, maybe you should try and take it again before turning to Photoshop.

Still, editing can bring out the best in your picture, so I'll go over some basic things you can do. I'm not going to get into too many advanced filters/effects or anything like that (not too many...), but these can be done with something as simple as MS Paint or Microsoft Picture Manager.

1.) Resizing
Before you do anything else, you should resize your picture to conform to the rules of the forum you're planning to post it on. Some forums allow 1024x768 pixel photos, but the standard is usually 800x600. If you plan on doing any editing to your picture, resize first.

2.) Color Contrast
Separating the light tones and the dark tones can help add color to your picture. Contrast can make your buildings appear more than just the drab concrete, or can make your industrial area look even more gray and bleak than normal; the key, though, is not to overdo it.


Contrasting the colors livens up this quiet suburb a bit...

3.) Brightness
Changing the brightness can help with the atmosphere. Making it darker can help with the illusion of nighttime, or when combined with contrast can make your picture appear like it was taken on an overcast day. Try mixing and matching to see what you can create, but once again, don't overdo it.

4.) Perspective Change
Changing the perspective of a photo can really help it to stand out from the rest of the fixed-perspective photos of SC4. One way you can do this is by changing the size of only one dimension of the picture; by making the picture wider or shorter than the original you get a more street level view of the subject, and by making the picture thinner or taller you get a more overhead perspective. Skewing the view too much may distort the buildings beyond recognition, so be weary of just how much you're doing. Another way is by flipping the picture horizontally. This works almost all of the time to help your picture stand out from the crowd...just try to make sure that there's little-to-no text in the shot, because that gets reversed, as well!


Slightly changing the perspective makes this mall all the more interesting

5.) SoftGlow
This is the only filter that I'll mention, simply because it's my favorite. SoftGlow adds a sort of ethereal mist around your picture, and can be used to give your picture a misty, higher-plane quality. It's especially effective when used with Contrast and/or Brightness.


SoftGlow is subtle, yet effective

6.) Sharpening/Blurring
These are used a lot. They work a lot better on SC4 pictures than in real pictures because SC4 pictures are a lot cleaner to begin with. Sharpening and blurring have the exact effect you'd expect: Sharpen makes the edges of the picture crisper, and blurring makes them unfocused. Both can be used to bring focus to a particular subject (especially blurring), but both can be overused very easily (more so than the other effects).  If you decide to use either of them, wait until any changes to the color of the picture have been taken care of first.


This shot really makes the GeoSynth Building stand out in the foreground

7.) Text and Borders
The ability to create these are usually found on higher-level photo manipulators. The purpose of both is to give better focus to a picture. Text should serve as either a clue at what the view is looking at or what they're supposed to be looking at. Borders give a definite edge to our view point, and depending on how the border is composed can be part of the picture itself. Both of these aspects, though, are ultimately decorative, and should not be intrusive to the focus of the picture itself.


The border of this picture condenses the focus into a smaller area than intended

So that's it!  Now your picture might be ready to present to the public !  Or maybe you want to do more .  Or maybe it was ready to go once you took it  . I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again: it's all a matter of opinion. Whether you follow all, some or none of these guidelines and hints will in no way guarantee a great, good, or bad SC4 picture. But these steps might, as a whole, help you to better compose your photos so that you increase the number that you truly feel proud of .

Useful Links
-The GIMP, a totally free higher-level image manipulation program similar to Photoshop
-Pause Frame Remover, by TheQuiltedLlama of Simtropolis (gets rid of the pause border; useful for picture taking)
-A Photo-Editing Tutorial by Mulefisk of SC4 Devotion (goes in-depth on subjects covered in this tutorial)
-A Mosaic Tutorial by ilikehotdogsalot of Simtropolis (for those interested in furthering their picture-taking experience)
-The SC4D Picture Hall of Fame, a collection of high-quality SC4 photographs

(If you have any questions or comments regarding this tutorial, please feel free to p.m. me! All pictures are mine unless otherwise stated; all other pictures used with permission).

[CasperVg]

Good work at this tutorial; I like it.

[Ennedi]

At last somebody prepared a photo - editing tutorial, explaining basic techinques in a very clear way. Thanks a lot Isaac! 

This tutorial is especially valuable for beginners. I know from my own experience that the main problem for somebody who have never made photo editing, is: where to start from? What are main principles I should follow? And your tutorial just gives an excellent start point.
A simple collection of basic rules and advices is enough to start to play with photo editing, and after some time the player usually comes to his/her own conclusion and ideas. And he/she can start to use his/her creativity at this point. You must have some practice and knowledge to be able to search the Web and find more advanced tips - there are a lot of them.

I hope that more people will want to share their experiences in this field, I will think about it too...

Adam

[callagrafx]

Indeed a very good tutorial....only thing I would add is "press the G key to turn the grid off".

[Masochist]

Indeed a very good tutorial....only thing I would add is "press the G key to turn the grid off".

Added, thanks!  Also added a bit on how to get rid of the water bug.  Is it necessary, or is it just filler?

[threestooges]

Considering the water bug is still seen in pictures from time to time, it's certainly not filler. Great tutorial Isaac. You've done an excellent job in making the basics easy to understand and even going into a bit of depth on some of the topics. I've taken a few pictures before and not really known why I liked the way they looked, and this has shed some light onto it. The links at the end were a nce touch too. I'll be looking forward to your next update of Condor Bay now.