Photography

Photography is one of three new skills for The Sims 3: World Adventures, and carried forward in The Sims 3: University Life expansion pack. Sims who take up the Photography skill gain access to an album of themed photo collections, encouraging the player to take photographs of various events, objects, people and places using a camera. Without a camera, Sims cannot learn the Photography skill. However, if a Sim is enrolled in LeFromage Art School, there is a chance that they will learn the Photography skill and come home with a camera in their inventory. Rare photos are needed to complete the collections.

Child Sims and older are capable of learning this skill. Sims can still take snapshots with their cellphones in The Sims 3 and all its expansions, however this will not influence their Photography skill. Photographs appear as distinct objects that Sims can display around their homes.

Many premade Sims in the World Adventures sub-neighborhoods - Al Simhara, Champs Les Sims, and Shang Simla - begin the game with a ChannonTec Outlaw SE camera in their inventories and a very high Photography skill. Players can exploit this to get a free camera by befriending these Sims and getting them to move in.

With The Sims 3: Ambitions expansion pack, players can register as a self-employed photographer.

Sims can reproduce a photo in a painting, if a Sim has a high Painting skill.

Camera mechanics
What sort of photos a Sim can take depend on two major factors. The first is the quality of their camera, and the second is their skill level. Sims with low skill levels will not have access to some of the features found on high-end cameras. On the other hand, cheaper cameras simply do not have features like the ability to zoom in and out. Images are stored in a menu accessible from the camera object in a Sim's inventory, and can be sold, deleted, or moved into the Sims main inventory for keeping and displaying. Each time a Sim takes a photo it costs money depending on the filter and size used. Players must counteract this cost by taking photos that are worth more.

Cameras recognise objects, Sims, events, and places in the game, and will only properly reward Sims for capturing an object once in any day, so it pays to make the first attempt count as often it won't be profitable to have a second try. Rare places, Sims and objects serve to make more profitable photographs. Guarantee getting plenty of money by photographing landmarks like The Dragon's Maw or hybrids like the Ghost-Mummy. Sims can name all their photographs.

Camera interface
Each time the player clicks on a camera in a Sim's inventory and select 'Take Photo' the camera interface will appear. It is relatively intuitive. If any of these options is greyed out, it means either the camera is not capable of them, or the Sim's skill is still too low.
 * Press C to take a photograph. If the game is paused the photo will not appear in the camera until it is unpaused.
 * Press I to cycle through the available sizes of photo.
 * Press F to cycle through the available photo filters.
 * Press X/Z to zoom out or in on the subject.

Photo sizes
There are four sizes of photographs that relate to the Photography skill, with one size that does not.


 * Panorama
 * Panorama photos are the largest and most profitable. They all have a wooden frame, and can fit broad regions or wide compositions as they are exactly three floor tiles in width.

Photo filters
There are four filters that will affect the price of the resultant photos, but the better ones also make photos cost more to produce. These are, in order of expense:


 * Color
 * Black and White
 * Sepiatone
 * Classic Vignette

Posing Sims
Using the 'Ask Sim to Pose' interaction on any Sim will result in them standing still, and cycling through a variety of poses such as peace signs and placing their hands upon their hips. There is currently no way to get Sims to do a plain, maintained pose of any kind.

Statistics
Photographs Taken, Unique Sims Photographed, Strangers Photographed, Ghosts Photographed, Burglars Photographed, Money Spent, Money Earned, Favorite Subject, Favorite Style, Favorite Aspect.

Challenges

 * Photog
 * Capture 75 unique subjects and photographs will all have a higher base worth.


 * Architectural eye
 * Capture 10 unique landmarks and all landmark photos will be worth more.


 * Human form expert
 * Capture 50 unique Sims and you'll be able to improve your Sim's relationships with other Sims just by taking photos of them


 * Paparazzi
 * Capture 60 unique Sims that are strangers and photos of strangers will be worth more.


 * Shutter nut
 * Complete 5 photo collections and all photos after that cost nothing to take.

Opportunities
There's a number of adventures requiring the photography skill.

Occasionally, when your sim checks the Adventure Board at the Base Camp, local townspeople request that you take pictures of various tomb objects.

For an example, a Champs Les Sims local wants the sim to photograph a floor switch for a brochure of the location. So, your sim must go to the nearest tomb to take a picture of the floor switch.

Even if your sim doesn't have any photography skill, and the picture "fails" the person who requested the picture will still give you Ancient Coins.

You still must take a picture of the floor switch though. While taking the picture, when you focus the camera onto the floor switch, it will say "Floor Switch" at that point, take the picture and the requester will accept it. If it is not the floor switch, they will not accept the photograph.

The Sims 3: University Life
Photography returns in The Sims 3: University Life and it is different in many aspects to the skill in The Sims 3: World Adventures.

The Photography skill can be learned in a variety of ways including; using the Smartphone Camera to take photos, and reading a Photography Skill book. Sims who advance in the Photography Skill will enjoy plenty of benefits, including several camera effects. Sims with a higher skill level will even enjoy the benefits of using different filters for their photos. There are a total of 10 Photography Skill Levels, each unlocking new features for Sims.