The State of Virtual Photography [Q+A]

Virtual photography exists since 2004, and yet there is a general perception inside and outside the gaming community that it's a fresh thing coming out the COVID pandemic. Many people do not know that virtual photography has rules, has an history and has already reached some very important milestones in the world of culture thanks to a small bunch of representatives. That’s why I thought my personal experience and knowledge might help to understand and get the present State of the Art of virtual photography.

Feel free to update me with names and facts about VP that you feel are relevant and should be added to this blog entry, thanks.

- When was virtual photography born?
Virtual photography as a more complex form of screengrabbing was born with the first photo mode, which gave any player the tools to capture a videogame environment (or subject) from a personal point of view and with photographic tools detached from the in-game fix camera. As far as I know, the first full-fledged photo mode was included in Gran Turismo 4 on Playstation2 in 2004, so we can trace back to that period as the birthyear of VP

- Who is the father of virtual photography?
Anyone using GT4 Photo Mode and sharing his screenshots on the internet forums in 2004 could be labelled as "the father of virtual photography", and as such I could be listed among them. But the truth is more complex. As THE person who coded the basic rules of virtual photography on the NeoGAF forum back in 2008 (No HUD, free camera, no cutscenes), and as the first person to have a website devoted to Virtual Photography in 2009, briton Duncan Harris is widely acknowledged as the first person to handle, code and share the highest quality virtual photography captures on the internet for many years.

- Who are the most famous virtual photographers in time?
I have been a virtual photographer since 2004, and as far as I'm concerned I would name the above-mentioned Duncan Harris for his seminal contribute to the art and its diffusion, the brazilian Leonardo Sang, who was really the first with an artistic approach and attitude towards the medium, and Petri Levälahti known as Berduu because thanks to his social media accounts and his position as a community manager at EA DICE he is really spreading the word inside and outside the community. There are a lot of other virtual photographers out there with thousands of followers that would probably be worth a mention but I can't say they will make history somehow, because they are mostly a cog in the advertising machine of videogame corporations and have a name only inside the gaming community.

- How can I show my virtual photography to the world? What's the best way to promote myself, my art and my skills in virtual photography?
Good question, and the answer is quite layered. You might think social media ARE the way to become successfull and you would be partially right. If you have a Twitter or Instagram account you have a critical chance to be noticed by people of the gaming business such as journalists, actors, producers, directors, influencers, voice actors and all that jazz. You can gain a considerable amount of followers and get a lot of likes and appreciation. You might also become a Sony or Ubisoft influencer and receive some free software and hardware to promote their products becoming a well regarded cog in the advertising machine. If free software is all that you want, your skills and a Twitter account might be enough for you. But after some years in the bubble of the gaming community, you will start noticing that outside the bubble you are a John Doe. You might have 30k followers on Instagram and be someone in the bubble, but outside the bubble you are just a man spending too much time on gaming and Instagram. And all this, be warned, only if you are a very good photographer, a very good PR of yourself and have a lot of free time to put into this. Otherwise, no matter how much you try, your years-long endeavours will leave you only bitterness and sadness, and a few likes of sympathy on Twitter. Yes, virtual photography can be time and nerve consuming in the worst possible way if you just focus on social media. My personal suggestion is to see social media as your newsletter and press agency while you put your "real" efforts in other directions. For example: consider printing your photos. If you print your (best) captures you can bring them with you and attend The Gamesweek, or the London Games Festival, or use them as a business card of sort, introducing you to local radio stations, museums, libraries. Your effort should be not feeding the gaming bubble, your effort should be bringing virtual photography outside the bubble, to the real public, to potential buyers, to art critics, to newspapers. That was my path, and is my suggestion to you. Try to be noticed by some art collectives of your city. Explain to them what is virtual photography and what you can bring to the table. The Art collective is starving for new ideas and virtual photography surely is in their future, you just have to introduce it the proper way to them (studying a little of IRL photography might help you in the endeavour). The bigger your effort and your passion will be, the bigger will be the success.

- Can I make money with virtual photography? Is virtual photography a job for someone?
My experience has taught me that there are 3 levels of gratification in the field of virtual photography.
The basic level is to produce a lot, share the results on social media and enjoy a certain return with a decent number of followers and post interactions.
There is an intermediate level of gratification, where in the face of a certain degree of quality some software houses or even Sony itself provide free hardware and software to the virtual photographer to capture their products. In this case, virtual photographers are considered influencers (I've been an influencer for Sony Italy for a couple of years, and got a brand new Playstation 5 a few days before its official launch) and although they do not earn money, they enjoy considerable economic advantages thanks to the free stuff they monthly receive.
There is a third stage of gratification where the virtual photographer completely transcends the community and makes himself a name outside of it. Duncan Harris captures games for various software houses providing advertising material for their games, Petri Levälahti has become EA's community manager and he gets paid as such, while I have been exhibited in museums and art galleries and was able to sell my prints to the public and critics and museums, with full support from Sony, Ubisoft and other names.
I believe that the definitive stage of the virtual photographer is to become a globally recognized artist attending fairs and exhibitions while managing to make a living from his own persona, but as far as I know no one has yet reached this level.

- Is virtual photoghraphy a form of art? Has virtual photography ever been exhibited in a museum of modern art?
Virtual photography is both a form of photography and a form of art. And I can say it because I personally had it labelled as "ready-made art” in 2020 by art critics when I exhibited it in a Museum Of Modern Art, and as "photography" when it was acknowledged as such by Fondazione Alinari Fotografia (FAF TOSCANA), a century-old italian institution in the filed of IRL photography. There are people like the above mentioned Leonardo Sang that had (a few years before me) a round of gigs in the world of the brazilian art (circa 2015) even if I can’t really say if his work was exhibited in museums or art galleries.

- Are there different leagues of virtual photographers?
In my essay "The 5 levels of Virtual Photography" I explained how I found myself working on VP in different ways during my career and how I felt myself, my skills and my ability of judgment grow as I was spending more and more time on the medium.
For me virtual photography started as a work of passion and ended up as myself in the role of a professional exhibitor in galleries and museums.
If I hadn't improved myself, learning and studying IRL photography and its basic rules, I wouldn't be as skilled and experienced as I'm nowadays, and art critics wouldn't have noticed and awarded my work as they did instead.
The fact that I'm selling my works in art galleries means that I'm better than the average virtual photographer? Well, maybe I was just luckier than him but truth is, most people are uncapable to question their own production as me and you can instead, and this makes a huge difference out there.
The bottom line is that there are gifted and skilled virtual photographers well above their peers, just like there are more gifted musicians and writers and artists among their peers. Meritocracy exists.

- Are you a well-known virtual photographer?
I'm a middle-aged CEO of a trucking company in Italy. 40 families depend on the quality of my work and I would be very stupid if I risk bankrupting my company because I spend any time on social media instead of ensuring the welfare of my employees and of my girlfriend. Because of my non-existent presence on social media, inside the gaming community I'm known mostly by content creators such as the crew at ThePhotomode magazine or The Fourth Focus. Outside the community I'm well regarded by a lot of website owners focused on art and gaming and if you check my biography you’ll see a lot of links to a lot of articles promoting my achievements. The bottom line is that no, I can’t really say I am a well-known virtual photographer. For me VP is just a great hobby that helps me express my sensitive and creative side, a hobby that brings some extra money in my pocket and that has introduced me to so many fantastic people, but still, a hobby.