Overview

The Photo Mode package is a gateway for adding in-game photography systems to your PC and console Unity projects. The included prefab works across a variety of game styles and can be customized to your specific needs. The package also comes with a demo scene for reference and all required scripts, UI, and assets for out-of-the-box functionality.

The primary Unity features used in this package include the Universal Render Pipeline, UI system, Cinemachine, Input System, Post-Processing, and Shader Graph.

Photo Mode comes with the following features: View Roll, View Distance, Focus Distance, Aperture, Exposure, Contrast, Saturation, Vignette, Filters, Frames, Stickers, Camera Height, Camera Rotation, Rule of Thirds Grid, & Hide UI.

  

Requirements

• This package requires Unity version 2020.3 LTS or higher, along with the Universal Render Pipeline.

• If importing this demo into your own project, be sure to have the following packages installed: Cinemachine v2.6.5 +, Input System v1.0.2 +, TextMeshPro v3.0.6 +

• A scene containing a Cinemachine Brain and Virtual Camera (set to your preference)

Setup

Context for these steps can be viewed in our Photo Mode Overview Video.

0.  Download the Photo Mode package from this repo’s Releases page.

1.  Open a Unity project with the requirements listed above. Ensure all required packages are added before importing Photo Mode and that your scene with the Cinemachine Brain and Virtual Camera is open.

2.  Import the Photo Mode package into your project by navigating to Assets > Import Package > Custom Package.

3.  In your Project window, locate the “PhotoMode” prefab within PhotoMode > Prefabs and drag it into your scene.

4.  Select your scene’s newly added PhotoMode prefab and use the Inspector to assign your Player object (or other object you want Photo Mode to focus on) to the “Player Object” field within the Photo Mode script component.

5.  Within the Project window, select your project’s main Renderer asset (usually listed as “Forward Renderer”). Go to the asset’s settings within the Inspector window and add a Blit Render Feature to the asset by selecting Add Renderer Feature > Blit.

6.  The Render Feature you just created contains a field called “Blit Material.” Set its target to be the material called “BlitMaterial” located within the PhotoMode > Materials folder.

7.  Select the “PhotoMode” prefab in your scene and locate the “Blit” field within its “Photo Mode” script component. Ensure that field is populated with the Blit you just added to the Renderer.

8.  Open your Project Settings, navigate to the Input System Package settings, and ensure the Update Mode is set to "Process Events in Dynamic Update."

9.  Enter Play mode to test Photo Mode. By default, Photo Mode can be activated by pressing “P” on a keyboard or “SELECT” on a gamepad.

Saving Screenshots

Once you apply your desired effects with Photo Mode, use the Hide UI option to see an unobstructed view of your creation. You can then save it as an image using your device’s native Share or Screenshot button.

Customization Notes

• You can adjust the range for standard sliders — such as View Roll, Exposure, and Vignette — by changing their corresponding Min & Max values within the Photo Mode script component on the main PhotoMode prefab object:
  
  
  
  Options and values for the text-based sliders can be changed via the Text Slider component within the corresponding feature’s Slider object:
  
  
  
  The value of each slider in Photo Mode defaults to the average between its corresponding Min & Max values. For example, if the default value you want for Post Exposure is 1.5, the Min/Max range for it could be -0.5/3.5.
  
  
  

• Photo Mode contains a Volume with post-processing effects that may override your existing Volume’s Depth of Field or Color Adjustments settings. You can update Photo Mode to work with your Volume’s values by following these two steps:

  • In the Hierarchy, select the PhotoMode_Volumes child object of the Photo Mode prefab. Change any conflicting values within its Depth of Field or Color Adjustments settings to match what you have in your original Volume. Also, make sure the PhotoMode_Volumes priority is set to a higher value than your original Volume.
    
  • On the main PhotoMode prefab object, update the Min/Max ranges for the corresponding settings within the Photo Mode script component. Since the value of each slider defaults to the average between its Min & Max values, be sure to set the ranges to have an average that matches the value of the respective setting in your post-processing Volume.
    
    
    

• If you’d like to enable Photo Mode using a different input, UI event, or other custom setup, be sure to turn off the Pause Action Activation checkbox within the Photo Mode Pauser script component on the main PhotoMode prefab object. Once turned off, Photo Mode will no longer open when pressing the default “P” key so you can integrate Photo Mode into your preferred setup.

Resources

Here are some links to helpful context regarding the Photo Mode Demo Package:

• Photo Mode Overview Video
• Blog Post
• Forum Thread