50 Real-Life Photos That Look Like Screenshots Of A Video Game Or A Movie Set

To learn more about what goes into producing such images, Bored Panda got in contact with Feed-the-good-wolf, the person behind the dreamlike photo of an altar inside an underground church which had over 24K upvotes on Reddit. "I took it with an iPhone 4 at the salt mines in Poland," they said.

"There was an eerie medieval vibe in the church but it was very surreal too. It's a mixture of the textures and lighting as well as the fact that there were so many right angles that make the pic look like a video game," Feed-the-good-wolf explained. "This altar is entirely carved out of salt."

We also looked at some tips online and learned that pretty much everyone can take cinematic photos.

To start, ask yourself what makes something look picturesque in the first place. Study your favorite movies. But don't just watch them, try to identify how you can interpret their essence visually.

You don't have to stick to one particular genre when looking for cinematic inspiration. Yes, you can learn a lot from watching action movies but there's also animation, documentary films... the list goes on. You can broaden your influences by researching lists of films online, such as IMDb's Top 50 Most Beautiful and Visually Stunning Movies.

If you find a movie you really like, write down everything you love about it. Observe how every shot is composed, and pay attention to how the lighting establishes the mood of each scene. Filmmaking and photography may be different platforms, but they share many rules. Subsequently, you can easily apply what you learn from watching movies to your photography.

Next, capture images with a prime lens. Movie cameras rarely use zoom lenses since a lot of cinematographers actually prefer using fixed prime lenses—they're a whole lot sharper than lenses with variable focal lengths. Plus, they also provide incredible bokeh that helps isolate the subject from the background.

Then, learn to shoot raw. JPEG is a type of file that you can readily use right out of the camera but having the ability to edit it broadens the scope of possibilities with the image. RAW files allow you to make significant changes to them without destroying their overall look.

Explore angles. Every element of an image influences how the audience feels when viewing your work, and this includes using angles to establish different moods. Just by changing your camera position, you can change how people perceive your photo as well. 

For example, the eye-level shot replicates how we usually see other people and helps us connect with the subject on a more intimate level.

You can also set the mood with lighting. The two main types of lighting you can begin with are soft lighting and hard lighting. Movies often use soft lighting to make scenes look dreamy and heavenly, and apply hard lighting to set a more dramatic tone.

Lastly, get creative with color grading. It's a subtle enhancement that you can use to complete the movie look you are going for. This process is used to manipulate the tones and hues, emphasizing its overall mood. 

So you can slide the temperature to the yellow side if you want your photo to look and feel warmer and to the blue end if you want to evoke a colder response. Adjust the values of your hues, saturation, and luminance (HSL) until you achieve the color palette that you want.

Follow these steps and who knows, maybe your picture will end up in our next list!