In the same way that there’s an art to taking photographs in the real world, there’s also an art to snapping screenshots that linger in the mind longer than most. Getting a good shot of a vista across a jungle valley in Crysis, or a moonlight night in World of Warcraft, or just a heap of zombie corpses in Left 4 Dead 2, is a real challenge.

Some might sneer, say that the point of videogames is in their interactivity, and that taking a screenshot removes that. But that’s missing the point. Some games are truly beautiful and you might miss that while playing. The pressures of playing a game – the need to find ammo, the need to take cover from enemies, the need to solve a puzzle – can easily distract from the beauty of a scene.

One expert at videogame photography is Duncan Harris, who’s been putting up snapshots of games on Flickr for a while now. He’s covered a massive pile of games – taking a role dependent on the game in hand. He’s a war photographer in Crysis, Half-Life 2 and Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl, a gig snapper in Rock Band and Guitar Hero, an explorer in Aion and Bioshock, an urban photojournalist in GTA IV and even an abstract artist in Mirror’s Edge Pure.

In each game, he expertly captures the essence of the title, as well as a few things you might not have seen on first look. Whether it’s the occasional humour of Mirror’s Edge, the fantastical settings of Aion, the neon-streaked rain-swept metropolis of Liberty City or the lush foliage of Crysis, it’s all beautifully framed with a real eye for detail. Some shots are flabbergastingly beautiful.

I’ve only really attempted in-game photography in World of Warcraft – a game that does occasionally deliver the odd stunning panorama, impressive building, or curious architecture. Henceforth, though, I’m going to be sure to work out what the screenshot button is before I start playing anything, or install an application that lets me take pictures with a hotkey combination. Then, when I see something pretty, I’ll pause for a second to grab a shot.

If you have any suggestions for good apps to take screenshots with, or any beautiful pictures of games that you’d like to share, then do so in the comments.