New Pokémon Snap: Stars Explained and How to Get Four-Star Photos

Pokémon Snap is all about trying to get the best photograph possible, and the best photographs are those that are labelled by the game as four-star. In this guide, we’ll show you how to get four-star photographs, what that means for the game and how you can control Pokémon for the perfect, high-quality photo set-up.

Read More: All Legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Snap

How to Get Four-Star Photos in New Pokémon Snap

To get four-star photos and pictures in Pokémon Snap, you need to find whatever secret behaviour the Pokémon has that corroborates to a four-star photograph. You can’t achieve four stars simply by getting a well-framed picture, you need to take it when the Pokémon is doing something specifically interesting, a moment of odd or unique behaviour that marks this photo as more worthwhile. You can photograph a Bidoof standing there, and it won’t achieve much. But if you got a picture of a Bidoof checking his emails, that might be worth four stars.

The problem is that what behaviour constitutes a four-star picture varies significantly from species to species, with little consistency beyond “if it’s rare, that’s good.” Some of these behaviours have to be prompted by the player, so if you’re struggling to get it, try one of these actions to trigger a unique reaction from the target Pokémon.

How to Provoke Four-Star Reaction Behaviour

If the Pokémon is proving unexciting, try prompting a response with one of these actions (some won’t unlock until further in the game).

• Activate Scan Mode for a chance at triggering a “Say Cheese” reaction
• Use an Illumina Orb for a chance that the Pokémon will glow and react unusually
• Throw a Fluffruit to the Pokémon to get it to come closer and maybe act oddly
• Play a Melody to cause Pokémon around to dance

In rare cases, there might be some Pokémon that will act in a four-star manner without prompts, though this in almost never the case. Just in case though, keep an eye out for any odd actions, especially those that seem particularly flashy or unique to that Pokémon.

Looking for more details on Pokémon Snap? Check out what legendaries are confirmed to be in the game at our guide here, or go see how you can transfer your Poké-pictures to your phone at our guide here!