The most important thing is, press tilde on your keyboard to open the console.

 

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The Easy Stuff:

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1: Flying Camera Mode - You can activate flying camera mode by typing "TFC" into the console. This will allow you to move around freely, separately from your character, and take shots from different heights and angles. Type "TFC" again to return to normal camera.

 

2: Flying Camera Mode with Time Freeze - You can also freeze time while in flying camera mode by typing "TFC 1" into the console. This can be great for actions shots, to freeze things mid swing. Once again, type "TFC" to return to normal camera. This is also how to use my pair poses, in conjunction with the various "complicated" parts below to position characters.

 

3: Camera Zoom - You can zoom in and out using the command "FOV" from the console. Your camera is set at FOV 75 by default, so typing "FOV 70" will zoom the camera slightly, whereas "FOV 10" will zoom in a lot. You can also zoom out, but beware, once you pass FOV 120 things start to get a little heavy on the system. Type "FOV 0" to return your view to normal.

 

4: Toggling Your Menus - You can turn off your in-game menu by typing "TM" and then closing the console. This will allow you to take clean screenshots with no menus in the way. Remember to turn the menus back on when you're done! You can do this by again opening the console and typing "TM", though you won't be able to see it, until you've done it.

 

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The Complicated Stuff:

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There are a number of other tweaks available to you for "serious" posers. Take that with a pinch of salt. It's only a game, folks. :D But it's always nice to turn out a good screenshot.

 

1: Toggling Collision - For those of you who want to get your character into just the right spot, you can use the command "TCL" in the console to turn off collision. This will allow you to walk through walls, more importantly, it will allow you to get closer to objects than normal collision rules allow.

 

2: Moving Your Character With the Console - There are 2 relevant commands here. "getpos" and "setpos". They both work on 3 axes. That is axis X, axis Y and axis Z. X and Y vary, since the values apply to the world, but Z is always up and down. To find out where your character is in the world, select them from the console (open the console and click on them with your mouse, you should see a reference number appear, like 0000014) and type "getpos x", "getpos y" or "getpos z", this will allow you to find out where on any of the axes your character is already. The next step is to move them, using the setpos command. This is done like so "setpos (axis) (relative position)", the actual command will look something like "setpos x 2020.4". I always recommend using small increments to start with, to find out what direction your character will move, and how much they need. If your getpos x tells you "1000" then you try "setpos x 1001" and see where they go, and how far.

 

3: Changing your characters rotation - You can also change the direction a character is facing. The commands for this are "getangle z" and "setangle z", where z is the way you're looking. It works on 360 degrees. Getangle z will return something like "210", to turn left, you would type "setangle z 180" or to turn right, "setangle z 240". Once you reach 360, you start again at 0, so to turn right at 360, you would use "setangle 10". This will also work in TFC 1 mode, but you will have to bump it into action using a very small setpos. Getangle/setangle will also work on the x and y axes, but ONLY for static objects.

 

4: Toggling your NPC's AI - If you're working with an NPC then the above commands will work. As an added bonus, you can use the command "TAI" to turn off a character's AI and freeze them exactly where they are.

 

5: The TC trick - Skyrim comes with a TC command. This stands for "toggle controls", and it's extrmely convenient for getting that troublesome follower or NPC into the right spot. Once you've posed the NPC in question, open your console and first click on your player character. Type "TC" and hit enter. This will deactivate control of your player. Now open the console again, click on the NPC in question, and again, type "TC" and hit enter. This time when you close the console, the camera will take up position behind the NPC and you can walk them around freely until they're in position as best as you can get them. When you're done, do as you did before, but in reverse, so you take up control of your player character again. This trick is best used in conjunction with TAI, to prevent the NPC from gliding off again.

 

6: The foot trick - A great many of my poses pose your character's feet in some way, however due to a process called "inverse kinetics", your character's feet will always try to stand flat on the ground. Even in sitting or laying poses, the foot IK will take over and the feet will be incorrectly positioned. The way I get around this issue is to move my character at running speed. When moving, in pose, at running speed, you'll notice your character's feet will go into the positon they were meant to in the pose. As you're moving, open your console and use TFC 1. Your character will now be posed as they were meant to be. Now you use getpos/setpos/getangle/setangle to put them where you want them. Of course, this is the most advanced and also least often used trick, and most of the time you won't have a need for it, but it's good to know. Think of it the next time you have a character in a laying or sitting pose with their feet in the air. It's also worth noting the same trick works while using TC, so if you want to freeze your NPC with their feet in the right position, open the console and type TAI as you would TFC 1 for your player character.

 

An alternative way to do this one is to set your game to SGTM 0.0000001 (or some other ridiculously low increment) and then jump in place. Obviously, when you SGTM 1 afterwards, your character will jump out of pose. This also works if you are currently in control of an NPC with TC.

 

 

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Wrapping it up:

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One thing to remember is that you can't take screenshots (at least not with Skyrim itself) when you're in the console, so always remember to close the console after you TM and open it again once you're done, to turn your menu back on.

 

Don't be afraid to experiment. Some of the best screenshots make good use of a lot of these commands. FOV is my personal favourite. Getting just the right level of zoom can really give focus to a shot.

 

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Notes:

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If you don't understand these tips, then I apologise. I've never been the best at writing "how to" pieces. I just thought that people might like some tips on how to make their shots shine. One thing I'd ask is that you don't request me to explain it another way, I have written it the best I can right here.

 

Halo.