Topic: The PS4 Screenshot of the Year Competition (2020)

Ooh, I guess I’ll talk about the thought process behind my shot too!

“Aim For The Mouth!” came about as a result of many many attempts to accurately capture just how deadly the machines can be in Horizon Zero Dawn. I chose to portray Aloy close to the ground to exaggerate the size and weight of the Thunderjaw bearing down on her, also why I included the grass in the foreground. The debris from her slide was purely coincidental but I felt it added quite a nice impact to the shot. The one thing I’d have liked to change is the position of Aloy’s bow. In game, she shoots from quite a low angle while sliding, which made it quite hard to get the punch I was looking for from her pose.

The New Normal?

I almost didn’t include this one to be honest! I quite like catching shots of people looking at themselves in mirrors or looking out of windows as they can be adjusted to look rather good. This game was cool for moments like this as the characters still have expressions on their faces when you’re wandering around and it caught one that worked well for the image.

This one just felt like a good shot to catch for that moment in the game as it catches a really quiet moment on the farm in between all the killing that comes before and after. It also feels like the game teases you that it could be like this now for Ellie[ and so the name came about for that reason but it also felt apt given 2020 and being inside looking out.

I don’t tend to use frames on shots much but it worked well here and it was done with a B&W filter but with the intensity of it around 60% to give it a very washed out feel but with some colour.

Guitar hero was definitely the better shot though

@Th3solution No worries; just callin' it like I see it. Although I will say that, had you spun the camera around to capture his face mid-grab, I'm not sure I'd have championed the shot. I say that without having seen it, of course (which is wrong of me) but based on your description and what I got out of what you actually captured, I think it would've completely changed the dynamic. You made the right call, and therefore made one heck of a great screenshot. Awesome work!

Also, a general thanks to everybody who's said kind things about me, @AdamNovice and @themcnoisy for running the competition. I couldn't have asked for better judges, and I love both the screenshots they submitted and the final shortlist choices they made!

Now that the competition is over I thought I'd give my thoughts on why I picked the 4 photos I did but first big congratulations to @kreativekontroll on winning. I think we all knew a Ghost of Tsushima pic was likely to win due it's great photo mode and it's incredible landscape.

First is @Signosis Move any Mountain from Uncharted 4: A Thieves End https://i.imgur.com/c0QhQaP.png
It jumped out at me cos of how atmospheric it looked. It took me a moment to notice it was Uncharted, really simple but nicely done.

Second is @Unreal Sunset from Middle-Earth: Shadow of War https://i.imgur.com/B9kcdmY.png
This was a classic case of a picture that wasn't on my radar amongst the 87 I had to chose from but when I was whittling them down it gradually came to the top. Obviously there's the starkness of the silhouettes but what clinched it was you could make out the different planes of the mountains that made the image pop.

Third is @RogerRoger Heart of Darkside from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order https://i.imgur.com/tVGyoGe.jpg
If I'm being honest RogerRoger could have easily had 3 entries, one of them was called "A Tallneck's Soup Bowl" from Horizon which was just stunning, in fact I'm keeping it to use as a wallpaper
and another he took of Aloy going through a tunnel in one of the machine factories which looked like something HR Geiger could have painted. But this one made my top 4 because at first I thought it was concept art and not from the game till I looked more closely. I just love the almost black and white colours that slowly gets warmer the further it goes down, with the lone figure of Kal on the platform.

And finally my personal favourite is @Jimmer-jammer Life and Death from The Last of Us Part 2 https://i.imgur.com/zCeQj2R.jpg
This was the perfect picture to show what the world of TLOU is like, the ruined fire engine from the chaos when the outbreak started. The lone corpse slumped next to it showing the tragic impact it has had to the beauty of time and nature retaking everything. It's so good it wouldn't look out of place as the cover of a official artbook.

And I want to thank everyone for their kind words, this year has been tough (even on here) with some unpleasantness at times but the PS forums has proven to be a great place to hang out with loads of really cool and understandable people so thank you.
And lastly a big thanks to my fellow judges @themcnoisy and @rogerroger it's been great fun doing this.

@AdamNovice Nice work, and that’s interesting insight.

I’ll add that I loved all four of those shots too (I spoke already of @RogerRoger ‘s Heart of Darkside in my ballot when I voted) but even though I didn’t end up voting for it, one thing that I really appreciated about @jimmer-jammer ‘s “Life and Death” was the title and how it alerted me to the fascinating contrast he was drawing with the framing of new growth of the flowers juxtaposed next to the corpse. I thought that was quite brilliant.

I'd like to give my congrats to everyone who placed as well, and of course @kreativekontroll for the winning snap. I was a late entry, but it's always nice to partake and see everyone else's creativity.

I'm also gonna take the moment to say to anyone interested that I am available for screenshot classes.

... I just took my screenshots because they looked nice. No fancy smanshy deep meanings or anything like that. Didn't even really think anything about them to be perfectly honest... No wonder I didn't place anywhere

Well done @RogerRoger for handling all this alongside @themcnoisy and @AdamNovice of course

Congratulations to @kreativekontroll for their wonderful Ghost of Tsushima shot. I love how filmic it is.
Huge thanks to @RogerRoger for organising this year's contest and all his hard work keeping on top of everything, and thanks to the other judges too. I don't know what the other entries looked like, but I imagine whittling it down to just twelve was a difficult task.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Deep meanings are what we strive for.

I just want to say a big congrats to @kreativekontroll @Sam-Bridges @Old-Boy and @Thrillo for getting to the finals from my bracket. I don't want to go all deep but those screenshots really stood out. I took picking the winners seriously and like all 4 a ton. Well done to @kreativekontroll for winning too and @old-boy for getting 2 shots through. We had easily over 240 entries altogether and in my opinion it was harder than last year to pick the finalists. @Thrillo stood out a ton last year and I'm glad we had more competition this time round.

@RogerRoger good luck and have a fantastic competition next year. So glad you have kept the flame burning and I look forward to see what you conjure up next year. You are a true gent and a community legend. I hope you have an amazing 2021 and wish you and the family all the best.

@AdamNovice Thank you so much for all the support over the last 6 years ADF, so glad you decided to join the judges panel as I can't think of anyone who deserves that responsibility as much as you. I know the word legend gets branded around like no ones business but in this instance it's fully deserved. Have an awesome Chrimbo and a successful 2021 mate.

All the PushSquare community have a boss Christmas and I hope Santa brings you a PS5!

Can’t spell my name though @mcnosey

@themcnoisy thanks mate, such a lovely competition and always so much fun taking part in these. Looking forward to next year and what new stuff everyone will bring. Rock on!

@AdamNovice
Thanks for your kind words, Uncharted 4 had so many amazing photographic scenes and landscapes that I was spoilt for choice.

This competition showcases just how much hard work goes into the visuals of games these days, the fine details, realistic landscapes, cinematic atmosphere, a lot of talented people involved in making games that’s for sure.

I’d like to thank again everyone who set this competition up and congratulate all who made it to the final as well as the winner.

I’ve been considering adding a gallery to my blog and now I think I will do so in a few days.
It would be great to see a gallery here on PushSquare if it’s possible?
Could have image of the week/month perhaps?

@AdamNovice I was really flattered when you sent me one of my own to finalise. Of course, I then counted up all the votes yesterday in sheer panic and embarrassment, but still...!

Every shot I take usually winds up with three or four alternates, experimenting with different colour filters and lighting and whatnot. The one with the Tallneck and the "bowl of soup" (darn, my titles are so inconsistent!) was a lot of fun to capture, because I could also toggle the time of day, changing the amount of mist captured on the valley floor. I submitted the shot with the thicker mist because I thought it helped the Tallneck stand out more, hiding other bits of technology that might detract from it but, if you're interested, here is the less-misty variant showing a little more of the landscape.

I've also got nearly a dozen variants of the Star Wars shot, some showing the full colour of the environment and others in black-and-white. I really love the growing trend in "colour-noir" filters, where everything except a specific colour goes greyscale. Jedi: Fallen Order has two, red noir and blue noir, and they're fantastically effective, especially for lightsaber combat shots.

Anyway, great analysis and huge thanks for the kind words, and for your excellent judging skills (which I guarantee I'd still be saying even if you hadn't picked one of my shots)!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy @mookysam Thanks, folks! Both of you are always in the running, you take some real superb shots, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll submit next year!

@themcnoisy You're too kind, buddy. Same to you and your family; stay safe, have a good one, and best of luck with your new horizons! Even without you in a starring role, I'm gonna work hard to ensure that the MC Noisy Award for Best Screenshot 2021 ends up one heck of a competition!

@Signosis A gallery would be cool, but I think the site staff have their hands full as it is. We do have a dedicated screenshot topic, which is here and available for sharing anything you take, from any game on any platform. Would love to see your shots over there!

@RogerRoger thanks, I’ll post some pics later in the topic you linked to.

I’d imagine it would be hard to maintain all the pics you would receive, especially with the huge amount of games being released these days.