How to Take a Snapshot in Pokémon GO

How to take a snapshot in Pokémon GO is fairly simple. Either when on the move hunting for new Pokémon for your Pokédex or simply leveling up the ones you’ve already captured, we’ve got you covered in order to add some flair to your camera roll. Whether posing with your buddy Pokémon or snapping those you encounter in the wild, here’s how to make the best use of your phone’s AR capabilities and snap some great memories.

Pokémon GO’s AR capabilities first received a major update in 2019, giving trainers the ability to position their Pokémon in the real world, nudge them to get their attention and for them to pose and snap a great pic to share. How is this accomplished in-game? Take a look below to find out.

How to Take a Snapshot in Pokemon GO

Pokémon GO developer Niantic (a Google subsidiary) created the advanced form of augmented reality technology called ARCore. ARCore sports “environmental understanding” through a better understanding of light in an area, as well as advanced motion tracking. To find out if your device is compatible with this advanced form of AR visit the official Google page noting supported devices. 

First, you’ll want to navigate to your Pokémon collection by tapping the Poké Ball on the mini-map screen. Select the Pokémon you want to photograph, and you’ll also see pop up a camera icon on the right-hand corner of that Pokémon’s profile page. Continue to that camera icon and you’ll enter AR snapshot mode. 

According to the dev team Niantic’s instructions, if you are not using AR+ your Pokémon will appear automatically. If you have AR+ enabled, you’ll need to scan your environment (over a flat, open surface). Once your environment is detected, sparkles and footsteps will appear. Tap wherever footsteps appear to place your Pokémon. Once placed you can nudge your Pokémon to get their attention, all while maneuvering through your environment for the perfect shot.

Once you’ve found the best Pokémon and angle for your shot, you can position them for the perfect photo op by:

• Tap your Pokémon once and they’ll strike a pose. 

• Tap and rub your Pokémon and they’ll turn towards your current position.

• Use the button in the bottom left corner to recall your Pokémon and place them again in a different position. 

Once you’re ready, press the camera button to take as many pics of your Pokémon as you’d like. Once done you can exit out of the camera mode, and upload any pictures you’d like to Social Media as well. All of the pictures that you take of your Pokémon will be saved to your device’s camera roll, for easy access.