The most important part is getting a great moment recorded on film. While films have some disadvantages compared to real-time screen shots, it makes it way easier to capture the artistic(
) moments. So, when you see an awesome moment coming, besure to turn that film recorder on..
The rest of the 'magic' is all done through programs like Photoshop. The first step I take in editing is going through the "Filter" options for 'aging' looks. This is mostly done by using the 'grain' effect. Then, the next thing you do is add a bit of 'blur' effect to smudge out the ultra-sharp "gamey" looks provided by the original screenshot.
The most imprtant filter option of them all is the 'lighting effects'. I've studied a bit of games and photos when I used to work at a game magazine publishers, and the most realistic look attained with 3-D polygon models are when the lighting effects closely match the tone of the sun light. Original AH screenshots always look 'gamey' because the lighting effects, while good for a game, does not provide enough contrast to make the picture look 'real-life'. So, I expand the lighting effect so it covers the whole picture and determine the quantity of light applied.
After that, you go through another session of 'blur'ring so you add various options such as 'zoom blur effect' 'motion blur effect' and etc.
The rest of the process goes through a dull process of 'trial-and-error', trying every sort of filtering until I get what I want. Since each picture is different, there can be no 'standard' prcoedure other than described above.
After that, I try to 'apply' the filter in various modes - RGB, B&W, "Blue" channel, "Red" channel and other options.
After a while, you get the hang of it
Here's a hasty example of the tone 'lighting effects' can give..
