My Time at Portia is a fantastic game and there’s a reason so many people have been sucked into it. That being said, there is that occasional mission that drives you nuts and makes you want to rage quit. Usually this is because a player rushed the main plot line too fast before leveling up or agreed to a side quest they didn’t have the equipment, tools, or work stations for.
But then there’s that infuriating Photos of Portia mission given to you by the energetic Mei.
Although there are several missions around the camera, whenever someone types in “How do I do the photo mission in Portia?” it’s almost always referring to this quest.
On the surface this should be easy. It has three parts:
- Take a selfie with Mei
- Take a picture of the printing press inside the Portia Times
- Take a picture of the outside of the Portia Times (the building)
Simple, right? Except about half of players could only get one picture the first time trying the quest and many could never get all three. Which is beyond infuriating.
Complete the Photos of Portia mission given to you by Mei in My Time in Portia by taking a selfie with Mei, zooming in on the printing press until a checkmark appears, and taking a picture of the outside building in the plaza to the right of the building (looking at the streetlight and outdoor story board). Press Z to take your character out of the shot and then when the entire building is outlined in yellow, then and only then will the picture count. Then you can talk to Mei to finish it.
To get more details (and a step by step photo guide) read on.
I understand the frustration. This is a mission that should have been way easier than it was, and is one of the very few times in this game where the mechanics were subpar.
That said, once you know how to complete the Portia Times photo mission for Mei it becomes as easy as it should have been the first time.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Make absolutely sure you have the Photos of Portia mission as one of your three highlighted or marked missions on the mission screen. If you don’t, the pictures may never count for meeting the quest requirements.
Picture of the Portia Times Building
We’re starting with this one. Many players have been irritated because they couldn’t get a picture that worked. Early on advice came to start in front of Paulie’s, walk out a few steps, then turn and zoom in to take the picture. This worked for some players, but not many. I’m guessing it worked for the ones who went all the way towards the fountain before turning.
The way I did it was different, and after talking to some other players this method seems to work much faster and be much easier than starting at Paulie’s furniture shop.
What you’re looking for: You’re looking for a yellow checkmark to appear to let you know this picture counts. It’s hard to see here in the screenshot but there is a light blue outline around the building along with the checkmark to confirm you have it right (most visible around the door to the left of the checkmark). At night that outline will be bright yellow and impossible to miss.
This is by far and away the easiest way to get the picture. Just line up and half the time you have the checkmark as soon as you hit the Z button to get your player character out of the shot.
If not, just zoom in slightly and the checkmark will appear. Don’t forget to save the photo in your album or it won’t count.
Here’s a picture of where my character was standing when I was able to get the checkmark. By day three you know where this spot is and can copy it.
This isn’t an estimation, either. I personally replayed that day (I was so excited to finally finish it I forgot to screenshot the first time) and the moment I found the spot to get a picture, I used screenshot to capture the exact location.
Doing it from this side is also easier because it’s way more forgiving. There are multiple places you can get the checkmark from in that general area using the zoom or adjusting the shot angle.
This was the easiest way to get the picture that actually counted for Mei’s quest to get three pictures, so for the Portia Times photo mission after getting the printing press up and running, I’d do it from this side.
However, players who insisted there was a way to do it from Paulie’s shop are actually right, as well.
It is possible to get the check mark from that angle.
Take a look at an example off the same game file where I spent much, much longer trying to figure out if it was possible from that side. It took a while, but I did finally get that yellow (possibly green I’m color blind, shut up) checkmark as shown below.
This shot is straight out from Paulie’s furniture store, almost to the main road. I did have to hit Z, zoom in quite a bit, and being even a step forward, back, to the left or right could make the checkmark disappear for me.
I don’t know if the photo of the Portia Times was the biggest problem for most players, but based on many online complaints or asks for help, I think it probably was.
The picture below shows exactly where I was standing to get the checkmark. I did have to zoom in and move the camera slightly up to get it, but it is very possible from here.
Have a little bit of patience and you will be able to get the exterior of Portia Times photo with just a little bit of adjustment.
Picture of the Printing Press
Once again you’re looking for the big checkmark when you’re trying to take a picture of the printing press. Not sure what exactly the issue is as at one point I took multiple pictures and never saw this, then once I knew you needed to see a checkmark I ran in and there it was.
Even managed to get it once without hitting Z so my character was in the picture.
If you’re struggling just move around the room until you get the right shot. My guess is generally you need to get closer and zoom in. Those are the most common mistakes that many players make.
The Picture (Selfie) with Mei
I didn’t have any problem with this one at all, and generally found the same to be true with anyone else I talked to. The printing press picture is the one picture in Mei’s mission that isn’t picky.
Just find her, hit the interact button, then select that CAMERA option.
Looking good, kids!
The Mei Photo Mission: In Conclusion
Mei’s Portia Times photo mission really shouldn’t have been this complicated or frustrating, but it is what it is. Doesn’t change the fact that the overwhelming majority of the game is pretty much amazing.
Now with this information, including the step by step picture guide, you should have no problem getting through the Pottia Times photo mission and landing yourself on the front page!
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Proud to embrace the locally created moniker of “Corrupt Overlord” from one of the all time great Lords of Waterdeep runs, Shane is one member of the Assorted Meeples crew and will be hard at work creating awesome content for the website. He is a long-time player of board games, one time semi-professional poker player, and tends to run to the quirky or RPG side of things when it comes to playing video games. He loves tabletop roleplaying systems like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Werewolf, Fate, and others, and not only has been a player but has run games as DM for years. You can find his other work in publications like Level Skip or Hobby Lark.