Flickr is adding a new category of virtual photography to help users find and categorize the images they capture in their favorite video games. Previously, the platform only offered three categories of content: photos, illustration and art, and screenshots. The company says the third and final one didn’t quite meet the needs of one of its fastest-growing communities, which is why it’s making the switch.
“By placing your work in one of these categories, you can use filters to narrow your search results by interest,” explains Flickr in a blog post spotted by petapixel. “For example, virtual photographers will be able to filter by ‘virtual photography’ while searching the entire site if they only want to see that type of work, avoiding real-world photography or other art and illustration.”
The addition is an acknowledgment of how popular virtual photography has become. We’re at the point where most games ship with a photo mode at launch or the feature is . Many developers have also started frequently sharing the best screenshots from their communities. For example, Hideo Kojima retweets death stranding photo mode images almost every week, as do studios like CD Projekt Red and Guerrilla Games.
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