Have you ever needed a picture, but it’s only on video? If you’ve ever wanted to take images from a video, you may have taken a screenshot. Although this is useful, the quality of the extracted frame drops quite a bit, and there are many other ways you can achieve this without losing too much resolution in the image. In this article, we will give you several tricks and programs to know how to capture a photo from a video and easily. Whether you are on a PC, an Android mobile or an iPhone, you will find a solution for yourself!
How to capture a photo from a video?
If you need to take photos from a Windows video, you have many alternatives to obtain a good result. Of course, take into account that the captured image will be by the quality of the video. Another interesting point to mention is that if you want to capture an image of a scene in full motion or action scene, you must wait for the precise moment in which the image is static. Otherwise, you will get a blurry photo. For this reason, there are programs with which you can play the video frame by frame to easily capture the appropriate frame.
Here we collect the most popular and free options so that you know how to take photos from a video in Windows:
How to take photos from a video without programs
If you want to avoid taking a screenshot, but you need a good quality video image, Windows 10 offers a built-in program that will allow you to make certain edits to videos and photos without the need to download programs. This is the Photos application, and these are the steps you must follow to take images from a video without programs:
- Open the video in the Photos app. It is usually the default option for Windows, but you can find it in the Open with options by right-clicking on the video if it is not.
- Play the video up to the frame you need and pause.
- At the top right of the screen, you will see an option called Edit and create. Expand the options and choose save photos.
- A screen will open for editing the video and you will only have to choose the option save a photo.
- The image will be saved in the same location as the video.
VLC Player
This video player stands out for being compatible with a wide variety of formats. It is used to capture both video and gif images. If you don’t have it yet, you can download it for free at this VLC Player link. To take photos from a video with VLC Player, follow the steps below:
- Open the video with the player. You can do this by selecting Media> Open File and browsing for the video. You can also right-click on the video in the folder where you have it saved and select “Open with.” It will give you the option to open it with VLC Player.
- Play the video until the exact moment that interests you and pause.
- Press Shift + Caps Lock + S.
- The image is automatically saved in the image gallery. If you want to change the storage folder, enter the VLC Player menu and change the destination folder.
- If you have a hard time getting the frame you want, head over to the VLC Player menu and select View> Advanced Controls. 4 new buttons will appear on the panel, among which you can see Capture Screen and Advance Frame by Frame. You can play the video more slowly to select the image you want to take.
- If you want to manipulate the quality of the frame you extract, go to Tools> Preferences> All> Filters. You can alter the width, height, intervals, and you can select to capture several frames at the same time if you need more than one image.
How to extract frames from a high-quality video
If you want to get a quality frame, you need a professional or semi-professional program. In this sense, there are many alternatives in editing and post-production programs, both for Mac and PC: Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Pinnacle Studio, Sony Vega Pro, Corel VideoStudio, iMovie, Window Movie Maker, VideoPad Video Editor, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, among others.
How are these programs different from other non-professionals? Mainly in two things: the output formats have high-quality options (for example, tiff) and offer you different output sizes (screen sizes). If you want to get a more professional result, follow the steps below:
Take photos from a video in Adobe Premiere
When you open Premiere, a window with certain preferences appears, locate and select “New Project.” Once open, put the preferences you need.
- Look in the menu File> New> Sequence.
- Select Files menu> Import or drag it from the folder to the project panel.
- Select the Files tab> Export> Media from the menu.
- A window called Export Settings will open.
- Choose the Formats option. A list of video and other format options will be displayed. Select between print and web formats: JPG, TIFF, and PNG.
- Just below the option above, locate Default Settings. Select the final size of the frame (the list shows screen size formats).
- Find the Export file and press to the right. A window will open where you can choose where to save the final image.
- Look to the right of the panel. You will find a box with the video. Just below, you will see the timeline of the render.
- Select the frame or image. Press the letter “i,” the right arrow key and the letter “o.”
- Choose Export. This option is at the bottom of the panel on the right.
- Find the captured image in your chosen output folder.
Take photos from a video on your mobile
Although you can always use the screen capture to take photos of a video, the result is not the best, as it depends on the screen’s resolution. Fortunately, most of today’s phones have video recording software that allows you to capture images while recording.
However, although the latter sounds ideal, it does not always work, since sometimes we need to take a photo of an already recorded video. Things get a little more complicated for us in those cases, so it is best to use an app. For this reason, below, we describe how to take photos from an Android video and take photos from an iPhone video (for phones and tablets).
Video to Image Converter (Android)
Although its interface is not very attractive or current, Video to Image Converter allows us to do the job very easily and efficiently. It is also a free app.
- Download and open the app. When you open it, a button called Select will appear.
- Press the Select button. You will access the gallery of your Android.
- Select the video that interests you. Once chosen, it will show you the interface of the app, made up of a video player.
- Locate the frame you want to extract. Do it in the time bar, sliding it manually or playing the video and stopping it at the right moment.
- Press the Shutter button. It’s located at the bottom center of the screen.
- Find the photo in the Gallery folder.
Slidely Capture – Photos & Collages from Your Videos (iOS)
If it is iPhone, Slidely Capture is the best option if you want to capture quality video images.
- Install the app.
- Open the video from which you want to extract the image or images.
- Stop it at the frame you want to extract.
- Capture the image by pressing the camera button. It is located in the central part of the window.
If you can’t find this app, another option you can try is Video Screenshot. It is very popular and works very well for iPhone.