Cyberpunk photo contest

Diving into Night City: My Journey with the “You Are What You Drive” Photo Contest

THIS IS ONLY A FIRST DRAFT, IF YOU ARE READING THIS IT MEANS I WILL COME BACK AND FINISH CHECKING AND WRITING THIS.

If you’re a fan of Cyberpunk 2077, you know that style is everything. So, when I saw CD PROJEKT S.A. announce the “You Are What You Drive” contest, I knew I had to give it a shot. The theme was simple yet incredibly cool: create a photo where your character’s outfit matches their car. The only problem? I had absolutely no prior knowledge of what goes into making a good photo.

The Concept

My idea was to capture the quintessential Night City vibe—sleek, a bit gritty, and glowing with neon. I picked one of my favorite cars, a dark sports car with a sharp purple neon light bar, and got to work designing outfits for my V and a companion. I tried to coordinate their clothes with the car’s aesthetic, using a palette of dark fabrics with pops of purple and neon accents.

The Struggle is Real: Taming Photo Mode

This is where things got tricky. I was excited to jump into photo mode, but I quickly realized how little I knew. My biggest challenge, by far, was positioning. I must have spent hours just trying to get the camera angle right. Getting both characters, the entire car, and the cool neon background into a single, well-composed frame felt like a monumental task.

Pro tip I learned the hard way: Virtual photography is way harder than it looks. Respect to all the amazing screenshot artists out there!

I was constantly fighting with the camera mode. Positioning Johnny was near impossible, same for the cat. I tweaked the aperture, the focus, the character poses, and the time of day more times than I can count. It was a crash course in virtual photography, and it gave me a whole new level of respect for the people who create amazing in-game shots.

The Final Shot

After a lot of trial and error, I finally landed on an image I was proud of.

Full-size contest entry

I immediatly thought of “TURBO” restaurant. For all the edgerunners fans it would be a big treat, I thought. I positioned Songbird on the left, pointing assertively towards the camera, and my V on the right in a casual crouch. The car sits between them, its purple light bar tying their outfits to the machine. I felt it captured the confidence and style I was aiming for.

Submitting and Waiting

Contest Details

  • âś… Photo saved as .jpg file
  • âś… Submitted via Cyberpunk 2077 Discord
  • âś… Made the August 11th deadline

What’s Next?

  • 🏆 5 winners to be selected
  • đź‘Ą Judged by CD PROJEKT RED Community Team
  • 📸 Professional photographers on jury
  • đź“… Winners announced by September 5th, 2025

Now, all I can do is wait. A jury from the CD PROJEKT RED Community Team and professional photographers will select five winners based on creativity and originality. The winners will be announced by September 5th, 2025.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of the outcome, this was an incredibly fun challenge. It pushed me to explore a feature of the game I had barely touched and forced me to think more creatively about visuals and composition. If you’ve ever thought about trying an in-game photo contest, I’d say go for it. You might be surprised by what you can create.

Wish me luck! 🤞