Export Video Still Frame As Image With iPhoto

While QuickTime X can’t export a video frame as an image, iPhoto can. Simply pause the video in iPhoto at the frame you want to export. Then choose File, Export. Switch from QuickTime to File Export and choose JPEG as the kind. Save the file. You’ll get file that looks like a video file, but simply rename it with the file extension .jpg and you’ll see that it is actually a jpeg file.
UPDATE: Seems this is not working anymore in the newer version (9.1.5) of iPhoto. You get the first frame of the video only.

Comments: 17 Responses to “Export Video Still Frame As Image With iPhoto”

    Steve
    13 years ago

    Hi Gary,

    Thanks for all the great info and advice. I love your newsletter!

    Regarding watching a movie in iphoto... how do you do that? I have iphoto '09. Is that feature available in the '09 version? If so, I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks!

    Sasha
    13 years ago

    For iPhoto/iMovie '09, you need to download and install QuickTime Player 7. It coexists with the player packaged with iLife '09, but allows you to copy the current frame to the clipboard with Edit > Copy. Then you open Preview and click File > New from Clipboard. Voila!

    Angela
    12 years ago

    I was able to follow the directions, but the image that I now have on my computer is still read as a video when I try to upload it to Snapfish so that we can make a card out of it. Any ideas?

      12 years ago

      Sounds like you are still trying to use the wrong file. What is the file extension?

        Chuck
        12 years ago

        I get the same result in iPhoto '11 (ver 9.3 650.39) -- a 31 KB reference quicktime is what ends up in the folder I exported to which plays the entire video from beginning to end. Is there another application that can do this and preserve the "Location information" (Include GPS data in exported photos)?

          12 years ago

          Try using QuickTime X in Lion. Go to the frame you want, Copy, then Paste into an image editing app (or create a new document in preview and export). But there's no way to get the GPS data to that new image -- I don't know of any way to do that, even if the video had GPS data.

    maddie
    12 years ago

    I know this isn't the ideal solution but nothing else was working for me so I just took the video to where I wanted it on quicktime, took a screen shot, and edited it in iphoto :).

    C Huson
    12 years ago

    Make a duplicate of video. Use "Trim" feature and shorten video to still you want. Then use method above. Since the image saved is the first one of the video, you now have the one you want.

    Di Swaddling
    12 years ago

    Hi. I've just done it. You need to do it in iMovie. Make a clip of the frame you want, then right click on that frame and go to "reveal in finder" you can then save it, move it, or do whatever you want with it. Hope this helps.

    MacDaddy
    12 years ago

    I was looking for a way too do this myself...But the only way and quite easy way I know of export video still frame to image is to play the video on your idevice...Get to the part that you want to frame,pause it and then take a pic of your display screen by pressing the home and power button at the same time..It will make a pic of that frame.

    Punkske
    11 years ago

    iPhoto saves the image as a MOV-file. It's as simple as changing the .MOV in .jpeg
    This worked for me.

    Mamaneedshelp
    11 years ago

    I exported the video to back-up as a jpeg by mistake and did not realize until after I deleted my iphoto library. Is there anyway to restore these back to there original format or have I lost these precious videos forever?

      11 years ago

      Do you have a Time Machine backup? If so, you could use that. Also, look in your Trash to see if they are there.

        Mamaneedshelp
        11 years ago

        I don't have time machine, I exported to an external back-up drive. I checked the trash not there. Is there no way to change the files back? Or do you know of a software that can recover a deleted iphoto library?

    crystal
    11 years ago

    help... can this go backwards to retrieve movies?
    i exported a event 'folder' to my backup drive and now my movies w/in those events only show up as a black screen/no sound via quicktime w/ the time bar moving:
    export/ original= originals (pic & movies)
    export/ jpeg= photos w/ edits (if any), movies get this thumb you mentioned
    export/ current=? used this and thought it would move edits and movies- it doesn't and i've deleted these files months ago from both iPhoto trash and personal.

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