How To Capture Still Image From Video

Capture Still Image From Video.Would you like to “immortalize” a landscape seen in a film and turn it into a background for your computer? Would you like to “photograph” a scene from a TV series or a music video to make it your new avatar on social media but you don’t know how to do it? I have good news for you: you’ve come to the right place, at the right time!

How To Capture Still Image From Video

With today’s guide, in fact, I will explain How To Capture Still Image From Video using both your computer and smartphone and tablet. To do this, you can take advantage of both the functions for capturing screenshots offered directly by the operating systems of these devices and some media players which, in addition to allowing the playback of all the main formats of multimedia files, also allow you to extract the scenes you they are watching and saving them as images in JPG or PNG format.

I assure you that, contrary to appearances, it is really child’s play. Courage then: let’s not waste any more time chatting and let’s get to the point of the matter immediately. I am sure that, in the end, you will be happy and satisfied with the quality of the “shots” made. Enjoy your reading and have fun!

Index

  • Capture Still Image From Video/How to extract photos from videos on PC and Mac
    • Extract photos from videos via screenshots
    • Extract photos from videos with VLC
    • Extract photos from videos with Windows Media Player
    • Extract photos from videos with QuickTime Player
  • How to extract photos from videos with Android
  • How to extract photos from videos with iPhone
  • How to extract photos from YouTube videos

How To Capture Still Image From Video from videos on PC and Mac

Are you interested in understanding how to extract photos from videos starting from some videos you have downloaded from the Internet or recorded yourself? Then follow the instructions below, intended for computers equipped with the Windows operating system and for Macs .

Extract photos from videos via screenshots

The first system I suggest you consider, if you want to extract photos from videos, is to take screenshots using the predefined functions offered by both Windows and macOS.

All you have to do, therefore, is to start playing the movie of your interest through any media player installed on your computer (or via the Web), pause by pressing the appropriate button and move the progress bar to the point that it is your intention to “immortalize”.

Now, if you are using Windows 10 , use the key combination Win + Shift + S to invoke the screen capture tool, draw the selection rectangle on the part of the video you want to transform into an image and the frame will be added to the system clipboard . To save the image obtained, then press on its thumbnail and click on the floppy disk icon in the window that opens. More info here

If you are using an older version of Windows , the image should automatically be saved in your PC’s Pictures folder. Alternatively, you can paste it in any of image editors (eg. Paint ) using the key combination Ctrl + V . More info here .

If you are using macOS , instead, invoke the screen capture tool using the combination of keys cmd + shift + 4 , draw the selection rectangle on the frame you want to extrapolate and the image obtained will be automatically saved on the desktop.

If you want to better crop the screen obtained, take advantage of the editing function associated with the tool for capturing images, by clicking on the thumbnail that appears in the lower right part of the desktop. For more details on how to take screenshots on macOS, I recommend reading my tutorial on the subject .

However, keep in mind that in the case of both Windows and macOS, the frame captured with the screenshot tool will have the same resolution as the monitor and not that of the video.

Extract photos from videos with VLC

As I told you at the beginning of the guide, to extrapolate photos from videos you can also use a media player with a function for capturing snapshots.

Among the various solutions belonging to this category, you can try VLC . In case you have never heard of it, it is completely free software, open source and compatible with all major computer operating systems: Windows, macOS and Linux. It also supports all popular video file formats: AVI, MKV, MP4, WMV and many more.

To download the program to your computer, visit its website and press the Download VLC button . Once the download is complete, if you are using Windows , open the .exe file obtained and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click on the Yes and OK buttons . At this point, press the Next (three consecutive times) and Install buttons , then complete the setup by clicking on the Finish button .

If you are using macOS , on the other hand, open the .dmg package obtained and drag the program icon into the Mac Applications folder . Then, right-click on it, select the Open item from the context menu and press the Open button in the window that you it is shown on the desktop, so as to start the software going to circumvent the limitations imposed by Apple on applications from non-certified developers (an operation that must be carried out only at the first start).

Now that you see the VLC window on your screen, you can finally get into the real action. First, therefore, enter the VLC settings and choose the file format in which you want to save the video snapshots and the folder in which you want to store them. To do this, go to the Tools> Preferences menu (if you’re using Windows) or the VLC> Preferences menu (if you’re using macOS).

In the new window that opens, select the Video tab , choose the format in which you intend to save the screenshots, using the Format drop-down menu , and click on the Browse button next to the Folder field , to indicate the folder in which to archive the images (by default it is the Images folder on your computer). In conclusion, set the default name to be assigned to the screenshots, typing it in the Prefix field , and click on the Save button to save the changes.

Now, go to the Media menu > Open file (on Windows) or the File menu > Open file (on macOS) and select the video from which you want to extract frames. Alternatively, if you want to do it first, take the video of your interest and drag it directly into the VLC window, one so as to start playing it within the program.

When playback is started, click on the pause button , use the VLC timeline to get to the point of the movie you want to “capture” and go to the Video> Screenshot (if you are using Windows) or Video> Screenshot (if you are using macOS) menu to take the snapshot. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcuts Shift + S on Windows and cmd + alt + s on macOS. The image will be saved at full resolution.

If you want, you can also use VLC to take snapshots of the videos contained in any streaming stream. To do this, go to the Media menu > Open network stream (on Windows) or the File menu > Open network (on macOS), paste the address of the video of your interest in the window that opens and proceed with the capture of the screenshot as explained above.

Extract photos from videos with Windows Media Player

Are you using a PC with Windows installed and would like to find out if there is any way to extract photos from videos with Windows Media Player ? Well, unfortunately, the default multimedia player of the Microsoft operating systems does not include any special function to extrapolate the frames of the movies that are given “at meal”, but you can remedy it by using it to play the video of your interest and then capturing the relative screen.

Once you have started playing the movie of your interest in WMP, then pause it , move the progress bar at the bottom until you reach the scene you want to “photograph” and use the screen capture function offered by Windows, proceeding in a similar way to how I explained to you in the present step at the beginning of the tutorial .

Extract photos from videos with QuickTime Player

You have a Mac and the solutions that I have already suggested to you to extract photos from videos have not convinced you in a particular way? Then rely on the use of QuickTime Player , the multimedia player included in all versions of macOS .

To be able to use it for your purpose, right click on the video of your interest and select the items Open with> QuickTime Player from the context menu, to open it in QuickTime. Then, get to the point you want to “capture” by moving the progress bar attached to the program screen, and press the key combination cmd + c on your computer keyboard.

At this point, open Preview , selecting its icon (the one with the photos and the lens ) that you find in the Launchpad , and press the combination of keys cmd + v on the Mac keyboard. After completing the steps in question, a screenshot will appear previously selected scene in QuickTime Player.

To save the image, click on the File menu located at the top left, select the Export item from the latter and indicate the format and location where you want to save the resulting image.

How to extract photos from videos with Android

Do you have a smartphone or tablet Android and would like to figure out how to extract video from photos in this specific case? Nothing simpler! You don’t need any particular app. All you have to do is use the screen capture function included on your device, which, similar to what has already been seen on the computer in the step at the beginning of the guide , allows you to “photograph” what you see on the device screen through a simple key combination.

To extract a photo from a video on Android, therefore, all you have to do is start playing the movie of your interest in any app, pause the video at the moment of your interest, hide the player controls (usually just press anywhere on the screen or wait a couple of seconds without doing anything) and press the combination of keys to capture the screen, which are generally Volume Down + Power or Power + Home .

After capturing, the image obtained will be saved in the device Gallery and will have the resolution of the device screen (not that of the video). For more details, you can read my specific specific guide on the subject .

How to extract photos from videos with iPhone

Even on the iPhone (as well as on the iPad) it is possible to extract photos from videos using the function that allows you to take screenshots . How? I’ll explain it to you right away.

To begin with, start the playback of the movie using any app, then pause the video at the scene you want to extrapolate, hide the app controls (usually just press anywhere on the screen or wait a few seconds without do nothing) and use the combination of keys to capture the screen, which on iPhone with Face ID corresponds to Side key + Volume Up , while on iPhone with Home key corresponds to Power key + Home key .

Next, the image will be saved in the iOS Photos app, with the screen resolution of the device (and not that of the movie). For further information, I recommend reading my guide exclusively dedicated to the issue .

How to extract photos from YouTube videos

Would you like to extrapolate a frame from a YouTube video but you don’t know how to do it? In this case, you can take a screenshot as explained in the previous chapters or rely on the use of an ad hoc service, such as YouTube Screenshot .

YouTube Screenshot is a free online service, requires no registration and is incredibly simple to use, but it limits the resolution of captured images to 720p (even if the captured videos are higher resolution).

To exploit it, connected to its main page , type the address of the YouTube video to “photograph” in the appropriate text field and click on the Show screenshots button . Then use the site player to get to the point in the movie from which you want to get the snapshot and press the Take screenshot button .

At this point, make sure that in the fields corresponding to the wording Resize the image (width x height) there is set the maximum resolution for the screenshots (that is to say 1280 x 720 pixels), otherwise you will do it and then press the Resize button .

Finally, save the image you have obtained, visible below, by right clicking on it and selecting the Save image as item from the menu that appears. Done!

 

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

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