Welcome to the Virtual Photography Archives, where I invite virtual photographers to revisit their back-catalogues with 5 short briefs that encourage them to try a little self-critique and reflect on how they feel about each shot now.
This time I am joined by self-confessed JRPG enthusiast and talented voice actor Scotty Oka, aka scottoka1. So, let's see what he managed to find in his Virtual Photography Archives...
First up, tell us a bit more about yourself and how you are involved in virtual photography
I'm from the small state of Oregon in the United States and have been doing voice acting since I was in my late teens. Some of the projects I did back then were animations found on Newgrounds.com and there are even some old clips YouTube if you look hard enough.
- VOICE ACTING // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
When I retired from acting, I needed another creative outlet and happened to discover virtual photography which I have been enjoying for the last few years now.
My favourite styles of virtual photography happened to be silhouette and black and white portrait. I always felt like a good silhouette gives you a good impression about a character and I love seeing details in black and white shots.
- GHOST OF TSUSHIMA // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
#1: The first game you photographed
- FIRST GAME // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
Game: inFamous Second Son | Platform: PlayStation 4 | Date: 2019
With this shot, I wanted to show off a pic with how powerful my small team was against a military filled with grunts, while also trying to do some dynamic shots of the conduits against the military. When I look back on it though, I can definitely see that there was a lot to learn from the experience and the foreground space really takes over the frame and leaves the characters marginalised.
#2: One capture that makes you want to shoot more
- WANT MORE // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
Game: Marvel's Spider-Man | Platform: PlayStation 4 | Date: 2018
This was one of my first shots in Marvel's Spider-Man and I wanted to do something that reminded me of an opening credits type thing. Being a new photo mode, I had a lot of figuring out to do when it came to getting the best out of the different options like Field of View and especially the aperture, but this is the one I landed with.
#3: A shot that you would most like to improve
- LIKE TO IMPROVE // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
Game: Marvel's Spider-Man | Platform: PlayStation 4 | Date: 2019
During my time with the game, I was trying to get more stealth shots. This one I felt like it was an OKAY shot at the time, but looking back I now think that the camera is a little too far from Spidey. I wish I had made it a tighter composition with more focus on the character and maybe added a little tilt or something to give it a little extra interest.
#4: A shot that surprises you
- SURPRISING // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
Game: Marvel's Spider-Man | Platform: PlayStation 4 | Date: 2019
During my fight with Doc Oc, I knew I needed a shot that would blow minds and, like in all my shots, I don't rely on any kind of 3rd party editing software to get it. What I was not expecting was how well timed everything in this shot would be. With the explosion in the background, the electric current in the foreground, and the position of the characters, everything just came together to make one of my favourite shots I have ever taken.
#5: Something that captured exactly what you wanted
- WHAT YOU WANTED // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
Game: The Last of Us Part II | Platform: PlayStation 4 | Date: 2020
When I played The Last of Us Part II, I couldn't help but to be impressed by how it looked. The moment you meet Yara and Lev, I saw how stunning the lighting from the fire was along with the rain drops that helps to make the moment feel very atmospheric.
This shot only took 1 attempt and it was exactly how I pictured it in my mind: I feel like when compared to the earlier shot I took in inFAMOUS, the foreground space is definitely handled in a much better way that makes a better composition and lets attention be drawn to the rain effects, the shadows, and the lighting. Still one of my favourites today.
Anything else that you’d like to add?
While I have returned to voice acting recently, I still come back to do virtual photography from time to time and have learned I have a certain compositional style that I do enjoy. Because of virtual photography, I’ve joined Facebook communities, had fan art made of some of my shots, and been featured by other VP-focused Twitter accounts.
It really is one of the best communities that I have been a part of, and one that I’m happy to still be a part of. I do hope to continue to improve and impress everyone with my shots that are all edited in game.
- SPIDER-MAN // BY SCOTTOKA1 -
Thanks Scotty, the comparison between the inFAMOUS and The Last of Us shots is especially interesting and shows how you have progressed in terms of achieving what you're aiming for.
The same goes for the perched Spider-Man shot and this recent one of yours that I found, a similar idea with better execution. Keep going in the right direction and best of luck with the voice acting.
You can see more of Scotty's work on Twitter and YouTube so be sure to show your support on those channels. and if you think that you would like to take part in future editions of the VP Archives, please do get in touch as I would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading, until next time...
