Flight Simulator Camera Views And 'photo Mode' Explained

Flight Simulator's Active Pause explained: How to enter photo mode

Flight Simulator has a photo mode of sorts, though it takes one or two steps to find. First, we need to pause the game using a mode named Active Pause.

To enter Active Pause in Flight Simulator, press the 'Pause' key on the keyboard. (You'll find it on the upper right, on the same row as the 'Print Screen' key.) On Xbox, you must open the toolbar - click in the left stick - and by default it's on the very left. Note - it won't appear in every mode, such as Discovery Flights.

Upon pressing, the simulation will halt. Though the plane's engines and propellers will seemingly still be running, it will be suspended in mid-air. This allows you to have a breather and take in the views around you.

Of course, your current view - whether it's the cockpit or standard external view - might not be enough for photo taking. If you want to take dramatic shots, and strip away on-screen elements, then you need to change to 'Showcase' mode.

To do this, head to the Toolbar at the top of the screen, then select Camera. Within this window, now select 'Showcase'.

By default, this changes your camera to a drone view and clears the screen of various user interface elements.

From here, you are free to change the zoom, focus, move the camera around the plane (or keep it locked in centre) and so on. Once you're happy with things, take screengrabs with your capture service of choice, or by pressing the Windows + Print Screen keys if you want to keep things simple.

When you are ready to resume playing, you must select one of the Fixed Camera options within this Showcase tab, or go back to the Cockpit or External views, before pressing the 'Pause' key to continue playing. You cannot resume the simulation from a Showcase view!

Another thing to note - it might not be possible to use 'Active Pause' in the activity-based modes of the game - so if you cannot access the toolbar and the camera options, then try it in the free flight mode.