How are you all getting such good quality pictures to post. Mine are all so grainy and well, not very good. I have tried to sharpen the screenshots but that only helps a little.
Do you all use a product to get better pictures?
I take them with the Xbox Gamebar, shortcut is Win+Alt+Print or something like that.
They come out in HDR then, so I use the windows app „ HDR + WCG Image Viewer“ to convert the HDR to a SDR jpg. I download it to my phone then via the OneDrive app and post it to Instagram (I manually adjust most of the filter settings), no Adobe Lightroom or similar editing.
You can see my screenshots here: https://www.instagram.com/flightsimmer.de
I take screenshots in drone mode always, so that no UI is visible. I do it like this since FS2020 so I never bothered with the FS24 photo mode.
Thanks, is that on an Xbox? I’m on a PC - sorry if I misunderstand, i’m not very good with computer jargon.
No, I am on PC as well 
I love taking screenshots in MSFS; I have thousands and I’m not exaggerating. Probably half of them are from flights I’ve done, but they are nowhere near as nice as my staged shots because I take them while trying to aviate at the same time. For example:
To stage a shot. I position my plane where I want it to be and then enable Active Pause. Clouds, time of day, camera positioning, make it all exactly the way you want it to be. Take your time, the sim is stunning and you can make a simple shot look amazing with a few clicks. When I’m satisfied with the conditions (I usually have to change the time of day again so the sun is exactly where I want it, the sun stood still for Joshua but I’m David), I open Xbox Game Bar and snap a shot. That’s it 
All my screenshots are straight from the sim, for better or for worse. I do use Nvidia filters so the colors are better, but I don’t use any professional editing programs and I don’t have an HDR monitor. If you use HDR, consider converting to SDR like @dxtr said.
I just use the Windows snipping tool.
@dxtr @davegranstrom16
If you’re on Windows 11 with HDR enabled in Windows display settings and Game Bar is not blocked by any tweaks or modifications, then the Win + Alt + Print Screen saves two screenshots at the same time:
- HDR version saved as .jxr
- SDR version saved as .png
You don’t need any conversion tools - the SDR .png is already ready to post (e.g. on forums or social media).
Both files are saved in:
Videos > Captures (not Pictures folder).
That is true, but the png is huge in filesize (maybe because I capture in 4k). Therefore I convert them (from the HDR version), before archiving.
I also have a 4K monitor and the screenshot size is around 845KB on my side.
So if I select and paste the .png screenshot in the forum as suggested by all, this will be good quality at 845KB?
Yep mate - if you upload the .png file to the forum (not the .jxr), you’ll be using the SDR version, which is exactly what you want for normal display.
That SDR .png will look correct on the forum - no HDR effects, no overexposure, no “too bright” or washed-out image.
I use the built-in photo mode in MSFS 2024. You just need to bind a key to access it at any time. It takes a break, you can change the shooting angle, zoom, and use the spacebar to take a screenshot. The image is saved in a subfolder within MSFS. It’s very, very easy to use and the result is exactly what you see on the screen; no unpleasant surprises.
I use Win + Shift + S which freezes what’s on screen, and invokes Snipping Tool and allows you to choose Rectangle (manual), Window, Full Screen, and saves as PNG to the Pictures > Screenshots folder. I found it much less invasive than the Game Bar, and easier to reach with 1 hand on the keyboard.
Since I’m in 4K the PNG files tend to be pretty big, even though I’m just SDR not HDR (which would be huge files). So I tend to Open and Save As Jpeg before posting to the forum… The forum data storage must huge…
Is there a guide on the msfs built in photo mode somewhere, ie. the exact steps.
I have been using the shift+win+S and just pasting. I think I need to have a look at all of these options.
The photo mode is not those with the cross hatching is it?
How do you “open and save as JPEG” please?
Thank-you very much, that has helped me a lot. 
Enter photo mode in msfs 2024 : Shift + V
Take a photo : space bar
Other bindings here (move camera, zoom, exposure…) :
Resulting images in folder :
(steam) C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024\Screenshot
(MS Store) C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\Screenshot
Use photo in forum thread : just drag / drop image file in your thread (or copy /paste)
If you’re on PC, I’d try the built-in photo mode in 2024 or a straight PNG capture first, and avoid copy/paste if you can. What usually hurts screenshot quality for me is taking the shot while the view is moving, then compressing it again afterward. If you pause the scene, hide the UI, line up the angle in photo mode or drone cam, and then upload the original PNG, the forum result is usually much cleaner. If the file is huge, save a copy as a JPG at high quality rather than sharpening the original.
Thank you all very much for the advice given. I will try all the different methods. I’m amazed there as many ways as there are 
