DRW Photography

Photography is a game mechanic present in the Dead Rising series. The main incentive is to capture unique photographs to score Prestige Points (generally refered to as PP Points.)

It made it's introduction in Dead Rising, to go along with protagonist Frank West; a photographer. After taking thirty pictures, Frank must replace the batteries of his camera in one of the camera stores around the mall.

Photography was absent in the sequel; Dead Rising 2 and it's prologue; Case Zero as the protagonist; Chuck Greene is a former motocross champion. Unlike Frank, Chuck has no interest in the media, and has a much more personal motive to fight, such as keeping his infected daughter alive.

Along with Frank, photography returned in Case West, the epilogue to Dead Rising 2. This time however, Chuck himself can take evidential photographs (albeit with a significantly less advanced camera than Frank's) as plot involves the exposure of criminal pharmaceutical company; Phenotrans.

In Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Frank takes pictures with a digital camera and is able to perform a move on a zombie, where he extends his arm with camera in one hand, and his other arm around the zombie's shoulder and takes a typical "cheesy, tourist" photo.

Introduction
The opening cutscene of Dead Rising shows Frank and Ed DeLuca in a helicopter on their way to Willamette. Frank explains that he received a tip-off that something big was going down in Willamette, and orders Ed to fly them over the main street so he can take some pictures of what he believes to be a mass riot.

This segment acts as a tutorial for the player to learn how to take pictures and gain some experience. There are four major opportunities to be photographed, each of which can rack up some major PP Points.

NOTE - Pressing the "START" button will skip the helicopter ride and bring you straight to the rooftop.

Lone Motorist
The first major event comes when Frank and Ed spot a lone motorist desperately fending off a group of zombies from atop his vehicle. He swings his baseball bat wildly before noticing the helicopter and waving for assistance. However, he is soon outmatched when the zombies drag him down and devour him.

This photo opportunity can score the player up to 400 PP Points. Using the camera zoom function, and making sure to capture the zombies in the shot can help increase the score.

School Bus
The second event depicts a swarm of zombies gathered around a school bus at an intersection. Presumably trying to get to the person(s) inside, they are repeatedly pounding on the windows and rocking the bus. There is not much action taking place, but the scene itself offers between 100-300 PP Points if photographed. Again, the more zombies in the shot, the better.

Gas Station Explosion
Thirdly, as Ed and Frank fly by, the Tornado Gas Station suddenly explodes, sending numerous burning zombies hurtling across the street. This presents a golden oppertunity to score some PP Points in the high hundreds. Timing the shot for the explosion is key here, as unexpecting players may miss this chance.

Woman in Trouble


Finally, right after the gas station explosion, just as Ed begins to take the helicopter up, Frank demands he get closer to a certain building as he can see activity on the rooftop.

It turns out there is a crowd of zombies closing in on a woman. The woman is armed with a handgun, but soon runs out of ammo. She then throws her gun at a zombie and flails her arm at the helicopter to signal for help. Unfortunately, three zombies grab her and she loses her balance and falls, her body (and the zombies) splatters as it hits the pavement below.

This event can score the player up to 700 PP Points. Timing is also useful here, and the player should aim to shoot just as the woman falls, and again mid-fall.

Battery Replacement
Frank can get new camera batteries once the previous ones die through taking too many pictures in three locations.
 * Cam's Camera in Paradise Plaza, convienient as it's right outside the warehouse.
 * Pearly White's Photo in North Plaza
 * Philo's Photos in Wonderland Plaza

Zombie pictures

 * To take close up pictures of zombies, behind the counter of Crislip's Home Saloon is an excellent location.
 * Since Zombies cannot get into the Al Fresca Plaza fountain, this is also an excellent location to take zombie close ups.


 * Leisure Park is an excellent place to take full profile photos of zombies.

Small item pictures

 * Josh's Jewels in Paradise Plaza is an excellent place to take close up pictures of small items. Destroy the 4 chairs and place the items on the low table. Watch Frank's shadow though.
 * During the daytime, in Wonderland Plaza inside the railing next to the south side bunny balloon, with green carpet.
 * Avoid the rooftop vent platform, as the natural light is unpredictable. During the brightest part of the day the stark reflection ruins small item pictures. Josh's Jewels is a better location.

Large item pictures

 * Women's Lib in (E204). Has good lighting. With green walls and a brown floor. The display windows base is pure white for smaller items.
 * Colombian Roastmasters (Al Fresca Plaza). Has a brown and pink background.
 * Kid's Choice Clothing Has a yellow wall and purple floor. Where the Stuffed Bear is located.

Bonuses
In Dead Rising, taking pictures at a certain time or of a certain body part will score you PP bonuses, giving you more points. The bonuses include:


 * Erotica  - Taking pictures of interesting parts of female characters' or even female zombies' bodies will score you this bonus.
 *  Horror  - Taking pictures of zombies or events with graphic gore will score you this bonus.
 *  Outtake  - Taking pictures of zombies with gag items on their heads or something funny will score you this bonus.
 *  Brutality  - Taking pictures of blood & violence will score you this bonus.
 *  Drama  - Taking pictures of dramatic events will score you this bonus.
 * Photo Ops - Taking pictures of certain survivors' actions when the Photo Op symbol appears can score up to 10,000 PP at a time.
 * PP Stickers - Taking pictures of notable landmarks in the mall can score up to 1,000 PP at a time.

In Case West, only PP stickers return.

Trivia
Taking a photo of Natalie Meyer's, as well as Susan Walsh's, crotch garners horror points.


 * Frank's camera has the Capcom logo on it in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.