How to use photo mode in Hogwarts Legacy

Capture magical moments.

The player posing in front of a Unicorn in Hogwarts Legacy.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

There’s a vast stunning world to explore in Hogwarts Legacy, and one of the best ways to capture its beauty is photo mode. This feature can be a bit tricky to find, which means you might need some help figuring out how to use it.

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You’ll want to know how photo mode works before you get too far into the game so you don’t miss out on any epic moments. Here’s how to use photo mode in Hogwarts Legacy.

Hogwarts Legacy photo mode, explained

Photo mode in Hogwarts Legacy.
You can even take photos with other characters and magical creatures. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To use photo mode in Hogwarts Legacy, you need to open the Field Guide menu to activate it. The exact button you need to press to access this menu varies by platform.

  • On PC, press escape.
  • On PlayStation, press the options button.
  • On Xbox, press the menu button.
  • On Nintendo Switch, press the plus button.

Once you have the Field Guide menu open, look for the enter photo mode option in the bottom right corner. The button you need to press to activate this mode is located right next to it.

The enter photo mode option marked in Hogwarts Legacy.
This option can be used anywhere in the world. Screenshot by Dot Esports. Remix by Dot Esports

Once you have photo mode open, you can modify many different settings. All of the options you have in photo mode and what each one does is as follows.

  • Tilt adjusts the angle of the camera.
  • Depth of field can be turned on and off to add a blur effect in the background.
    • Focus distance shifts the distance of the blur effect.
    • Focus amount edits the intensity of the blur effect.
  • Exposure changes the amount of light present in the photo.
  • Contrast modifies the difference in brightness between the photo and color.
  • Saturation changes how much color is present in the photo.
  • Vignette strength edits how much of the vignette effect is present around the edges of the photo.
  • Filter can be used to apply special color modifiers to the entire photo.
    • Filter strength changes how intense the filter is.
  • Chromatic aberration adds a color distortion along the edges of the photo.
  • Film grain adds a grainy effect to the image.
  • Character pose allows you to choose between a variety of poses for your character.
  • Hide character lets you hide your character from view if you’re trying to get a more scenic shot.
  • Hide NPCs removes all other characters and creatures from the shot besides yours.
  • Frame adds a design to the outer edges of the photo.
  • Logo adds small designs to the photo ranging from the official game logo to your Hogwarts house icon.
    • Logo position moves the logo around to your desired position.
  • Time of day allows you to change the time to shift the sky and lightning within the photo.
Standing in front of the castle in Hogwarts Legacy.
You can snap some pretty epic pictures using this tool. Screenshot by Dot Esports

How to unlock photo mode in Hogwarts Legacy

If the option to use photo mode isn’t available, you need to progress through the main storyline until you unlock the Field Guide from Professor Weasley. This happens pretty early on, right after you visit your common room for the first time, so just keep at the main quests until she grants you this item.

Photo mode was added to Hogwarts Legacy in the June 6, 2024 update, but you can access it in any save file. This includes games that were made before this update as long as you have the Field Guide unlocked.

Author
Image of Kacee Fay
Kacee Fay
Staff Writer at Dot Esports covering new releases and a wide array of topics including Minecraft, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Phasmophobia, general gaming, streaming, and more. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.