EarthBound Wiki
EarthBound Wiki

"Pictures taken instantaneously! I'm a photographic genius, if I do say so myself! Okay, get ready for an instant memory! Look at the camera... Ready... Say, "fuzzy pickles.""
— The Camera Man
Camera Man photo screenshot

The Camera Man getting ready to take a photo.

The Camera Man is a character in EarthBound. He is a photographer who spins down from the sky at important times to take pictures of Ness and his friends.

There are a total of 32 photographs that can be taken in EarthBound. Most photographs are taken when the party goes to a certain location or talks to a specific person. Some of the photos can be avoided, generally by avoiding the areas entirely or using Teleport α to run through them.

Photographs of these occasions are shown behind the closing credits, but the pictures are semi-pre-generated standard images, they will display the characters in Ness's party, even if they are Unconscious at the time, and any Teddy bears following the party, but places them in set positions regardless of their actual locations during the taking of the photo.


Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Ness is the only member of the party who poses for these pictures, smiling and making a peace sign.
  • Before taking a picture, the Camera Man tells the party to say "fuzzy pickles" as opposed to the common phrase, "cheese."
    • In the original Japanese version, Mother 2, he tells Ness to say "cheese sandwich."
  • Even if some photos can be avoided, three of them are mandatory. One is taken in the Grapefruit Falls adjacent to the waterfall, another is taken in Tenda Village, and the last is taken in Saturn Valley after defeating Giygas; the final photo.
    • If a photo is avoided, the outro will adjust itself to make each photo that does appear as long as it needs to be to match the time spent in the credits.
  • When asked about the Photo Man from EarthBound, Shigesato Itoi said that the Photo Man is a time traveler and was hired by a future Ness who was forgetting details about his adventure.