Stuck at Home? Take Your Photoshoot Online With Animal Crossing

The coronavirus lockdown has many of us searching for creative outlets, and if you’re looking to add to your portfolio during this tense period, Animal Crossing may be the solution. Photographer Jessica Kobeissi takes us behind the scenes of her latest shoot and offers us an insight into how she works while raising questions about her sanity.

For those unfamiliar with Animal Crossing, it’s a “social simulation game” (says Wikipedia — I had to look this up) made by Nintendo. Kobeissi would probably be the first to admit that containment seems to have led to something of an obsession, perhaps because of the option to take photographs. The cute animals certainly help, I imagine.

The game brings massive advantages over reality: you have a huge amount of control, not only over your locations (need a forest? build one) but also your model. Kobeissi complains about the lack of footwear options, but surely, this is a small detail when you can change the color of your model’s skin at will.

Kobeissi’s attention to working with complementary colors and looking for good light offers important lessons to those new to photography, as well as those seeking to find ways to pass the time.

Have you shot some nice photos in Animal Crossing? Feel free to share your proudest efforts in the comments below.