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How to Capture a Video Frame with VLC

One free, simple option for grabbing a single frame from a video and saving it as a JPG is to use VLC. Here's a quick guide on how to do it.

How to Capture a Video Frame with VLC

Categories: Video
Tags: YouTube
Last updated about 2 months ago // Originally published about 1 year ago

There are many reasons you might need to grab a single frame from a video and save it as a JPG. One common reason is to use that frame as a video thumbnail for YouTube or other video sharing site. An advantage of doing it manually rather than letting the service automatically generate the thumbnails is that you can customize it with text and graphics as well as be more selective about precisely which frame you want to use.

There are many different apps and services that can extract a single frame from a video and save it as a JPG or PNG.

Create YouTube Channel Art Easily with Canva

If you're looking to make eye-catching YouTube channel art, Youtube banners, and YouTube thumbnails, it's worth checking out Canva. It comes loaded with templates perfectly sized for YouTube's image size requirements. And there's a mobile app, so you can do it right from your phone.

There's a free plan, and you can get many more useful features, photos, and fonts with the Pro plan with a 30-day free trial.

One good option is VLC. It’s free and cross-platform. And the processing of grabbing a frame is very simple.

If you don’t already have VLC, you can download it here. There are versions for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.

Once you have that installed, just open your video in it (File > Open File is one simple way to do that).1

Move to the part of the video you want to use for the snapshot. You can use the play/pause button or the progress bar at the bottom of the screen.

Once you’re there, you can grab that frame. VLC calls it taking a picture snapshot. You can use the menu or a keyboard shortcut. You can find the menu command under Video > Snapshot.

VLC Picture Snapshot 1

The keyboard shortcuts are:

  • Windows: SHIFT + S
  • macOS: CMD + ALT + S
  • Linux: CTRL + ALT + S

A third option is to right-click on the video and choose ~Snapshot~ from the menu.

VLC Picture Snapshot 2

After you take the snapshot, you’ll see a small thumbnail version appear temporarily in the top left corner.

VLC Picture Snapshot 3

Saving the Files

The image files are saved automatically. The default locations for each operating system are:

  • Windows: C:\Users\username\My Pictures
  • macOS: ~\Users\username\Pictures

You can also configure where the files are saved, what they’re named, and the image format (JPG, PNG, or TIFF). You can find these settings under Preferences > Video > Video Snapshots (on Windows, it’s Tools > Preferences > Video > Video Snapshots).

VLC Picture Snapshot 4

Things Worth Knowing

Video can be a complicated business, and I’ve found that the snapshot tool isn’t always foolproof. Most of the time it works well for me, especially on videos I’ve created myself (which is mostly what I’m using it for), but occasionally I’ll come across a video that doesn’t capture cleanly. Some users have suggested various things worth trying, including turning off the interlacing option (find it under Preferences > Video > Video > Deinterlace) or temporarily disabling Hardware Accelerated Decoding (find it under Preferences > Input / Codecs).

Older versions of VLC used to have an option for adding a snapshot button to the main playback toolbar, but I haven’t been able to get that to work on the version I’m currently using. It might still work on Windows or Linux versions (right-click on the toolbar and go to View > Advanced Controls).


  1. VLC is updated fairly regularly, and sometimes options and settings can be moved, removed, or changed. For this guide, I’m using VLC 2.2.4 on macOSX 10.15.2. ↩
By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on January 9, 2021

Categories: Video
Tags: YouTube

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News & Deals

With the holidays fast approaching, there’s some great deals on photography gear and services available. I’ve put together a roundup of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 Photography Deals. It’s a running list as new deals are announced, so be sure to check back.

Canon announces new EOS Rebel T8i DSLR. Canon has announced their new T8i DSLR. 24MP APS-C cropped CMOS sensor, 4K24 video, and updated image processing and detection systems. It’s available for preorder from B&H Photo.

New Firmware for the Ricoh GR III. Ricoh has release firmware v1.31 for the GR III. Release notes are: “Corrected — When shooting with the multiple exposure, in rare cases the live view may not display correctly. Improved stability for general performance.” You can download it here.

New Canon 1D X Mark III Pro DSLR Announced. Canon has announced their new flagship model of pro DSLR, the 1D X Mark III. They’re sticking with a 20.1MP CMOS sensor, but it’s a new and improved version and boasts an incredible native ISO range of ISO 100 to ISO 102400 and an extended range that goes up to a jaw-dropping ISO 819200. With revamped autofocus, a new image processor, and all sorts of other bells and whistles, it’s no wonder that Canon is billing it as “The Ultimate EOS.”

New Manfrotto Pro Rugged Memory Cards. Manfrotto, an Italian probably best known for their tripods and studio accessories, has launched a new Pro Rugged range of high-end SD, microSD, and CompactFlash cards. While they don’t have a huge selection of sizes and speeds, the cards are aiming for very fast cards that can put up with rugged demands. For instance, they claim that their V90 rated SD cards can withstand three times the force (20kg / 45 lbs) of a regular SD card. I’ve ordered some to run through my speed tests.

New Sony Alpha a7 firmware released. A firmware update for the Sony a7R IV now lets you control external Sony flashes from the camera’s own menu system. Up to 15 flashes in five groups can be controlled via the camera. It also applies to the a7R III and a7 III.

Comments

  1. NewToVideos says

    September 11, 2020 at 5:42 pm

    Thank you! This has been driving me crazy. Your VLC instructions work.

    By the way, I’m using VLC Media Player 3.0.11 (Vetinari) on Windows 10 and the Snapshot button on the bottom does work, but it’s greyed out, which made me think at first that it wouldn’t work. (So maybe it’s half-fixed?) I clicked on it anyway and it works.

    Reply
  2. Andrej Novak says

    July 13, 2020 at 11:47 am

    All I have is Mac (computer) and have captured (by mistake) by my camera video. Now I would like to capture one single shot (of an eagle) and send to my wife. I have downloaded VLC, but do not know, what to do with it. Your instruction are are over my head. I tried to follow them, but no luck.

    Reply
  3. Andrej Novak says

    July 12, 2020 at 4:13 pm

    I have just downloaded VLC for my MacBook Air. My pictures are all in Photos – some videos. How can I use VLC to select one photo from video? Much obliged.

    Reply
    • David says

      July 13, 2020 at 11:01 am

      Not sure I fully follow what you’re trying to do, but if you’re trying to select a frame from one of your videos and export it as an image file, you’d move the playhead to the image you want, make sure the video is paused and not playing, and then use the method above to export a single frame.

      Reply

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