I don’t even have any analysis to offer, this is just cool.
You can tweak both the field of view, which is really like the depth of the shot, and also the zoom on the shot. Then with the right analog stick you can rotate the camera, and with the left analog stick you can move laterally. You can even control the roll of the shot, which rotates the shot itself (compared to moving the analog stick which just rotates the camera).
This lets you get some really cool shots:
Your ability to tweak the field of view is insane.
Also there’s an option to focus on just Aggro, your trusty horse, and I think we can all agree it is spectacular.
My trusty steed.
You can also kind of break the game in a way by dipping into photo mode when you’re confused about a colossus and move around to get a different point of view. It doesn’t work 100% of the time because the camera doesn’t really go through objects so like in my fight with the 3rd colossus I tried to rotate around its arm but it just stopped. There are limits to our ability to cheat!
I feel like I really caught the sadness of having a sword jammed into your skull.
It doesn’t appear like you can take control of the camera during cutscenes to get cool shots, which is fiiiine I GUESS but I get why they wouldn’t want you to hijack it in those instances.
Realizing I could mess around in the shrine was my first exciting moment.
Shadow of the Colossus is an excellent game and this photo mode really lets you dig in and appreciate it on a deeper level. Happy photographing!
Onward!