Capturing still images from videos can be a helpful way to extract and preserve specific moments or information from a video, and to use those images in a variety of different contexts. For example, you might need to save a memorable moment from a video as a separate image you can view and share, or you may want to create a thumbnail or cover image for a video you uploaded to a video sharing website.

For whatever reason, you need to know how to capture still images from videos. Thus, this post shares three ways to guide you on taking a picture from any video on your Windows or Mac. Just have a look!

How to capture still image from video on Windows (Free but limited)

Windows offers many built-in screenshot tools to take a picture from any video. Thus, capturing a still image from a video on a Windows computer is very simple. If you want to grab a still image from an offline or online video, you can check the steps below:

Step 1. Open the video file or online video from which you want to capture a still image.

Step 2. Pause the video at the point where you want to capture the image.

Step 3. Press the "Print Screen" key on your keyboard to capture a screenshot of your entire screen.

Step 4. Open an image editing program, such as Microsoft Paint, and paste the screenshot by pressing "Ctrl + V" on your keyboard.

Step 5. Use the program’s image editing tools to crop the image to only include the part of the video that you want to save as a still image.

Step 6. Save the cropped image to your computer by selecting "Save" from the File menu.

Alternatively, you can use the built-in snipping tool on Windows to capture and save a still image from a video. To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1. Play the video that you want to capture a still image from.

Step 2. Pause the video at the point where you want to capture the image.

Step 3. Open the snipping tool by pressing the "Windows + S" keys on your keyboard and typing "snipping tool" in the search bar.

Step 4. Select the "New" button in the snipping tool, and use your mouse to draw a rectangle around the part of the video that you want to save as a still image.

Step 5. The image will be automatically saved to your computer. You can then open it in an image editing program and crop it, if necessary, before saving it again.

Note: The exact steps for capturing and saving a still image from a video may vary depending on the media player and image editing program you use.

How to capture a still image from video on Mac using QuickTime Player (Quick but limited)

QuickTime Player is a pre-installed media player on Mac with the capability to take screenshots and record your screen. As a screenshot tool, QuickTime Player can help Mac users capture a screenshot from any online/offline video. Just follow the quick steps below:

Step 1. Open and play the video.

Step 2. Pause the video at the desired frame.

Step 3. Press the keyboard shortcut Command+Shift+4 to select a specific area of the screen to cover the video frame and capture it as a screenshot.

Step 4. The stilled image will be saved to your desktop.

How to capture still images from video on Windows & Mac with Awesome Screenshot & Recorder (Recommended)

Lacking some advanced features, the two ways above are for simple and quick screenshot capture. If you need a tool that can do far more than capture still images from video, you can try Awesome Screenshot & Recorder. It is an all-in-one tool to help users take screenshots, record videos with audio and/or webcam, edit images/videos, upload files to the cloud and share them instantly.

It is a browser extension that is compatible with both Windows and Mac. To capture still images from a video using the Awesome Screenshot extension for Chrome, follow these steps:

Step 1. Install the Awesome Screenshot extension from the Chrome Web Store. Sign in to it or create an account.

Step 2. Open the video in your web browser and pause it at the desired frame.

Step 3. Click the Awesome Screenshot extension icon in the Chrome toolbar to open the extension.

Step 4. Click the "Capture" tab, then select the “Selected Area” option. Your mouse pointer will become a “+” sign. You just drag it to cover the video frame you want to capture. Once done, hit the “Capture” button to take a picture from the video.

Step 5. The captured image will be automatically opened in a new tab, where you can edit and annotate it as needed.

Step 6. When you are finished editing the image, click the "Done" button to upload it to the cloud. You will also have the options to download it locally, print it, copy it, or generate a shareable link.

Note that this method will only work for videos embedded in web pages and can be played in your web browser. Suppose you want to take a screenshot from a video stored locally on your computer. In that case, you can open the video with your media player and choose the “Entire Screen & App Window” mode of Awesome Screenshot & Recorder.

Conclusion

There are many ways for you to capture still images from video. This post introduces three simple ways that are really helpful. You can choose the method that suits your needs the best.