May 17, 2026

How to Quickly Save a Video Frame Using QuickTime

Have you ever watched one of your videos on your Mac using QuickTime Player and wished you could easily pluck out a perfect frame to create a photo? Well, you can’t exactly do that. There’s no “Export Frame” or “Save as Photo” option in QuickTime.

Use Another App Instead

Sure, you can move your video file instead into iMovie, Final Cut Pro or the Photos app. And from there, you can scrub to the perfect frame and then save it.

But that takes a whole separate set of steps and file management. It’s not exactly fast.

What About Taking a Screenshot?

And yes, you can take a simple screenshot of your video window to freeze the action. But that can get you a lower resolution image.

Frustrating, right?

Copy the Frame to QuckTime’s Clipboard and Open in Preview

Fortunately, there’s a simple workaround using QuickTime and the Preview app. Here’s how:

1. Open Your Video in QuickTime Player

First, double-click your video file. It should open in QuickTime by default. If not, choose “Open With,” and select QuickTime Player.

2. Find the Frame You Want

Quickly scrub through to the general location of your desired photo moment and then use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard to move the video action frame-by-frame. This will get you to the exact frame you want.

3. Copy the Frame to Clipboard

With your video paused at your desired frame, go to the top menu in QuickTime and click “Edit.”

Then select “Copy” in the dropdown.
(Or you can use the keyboard shortcut for “Copy” – Command (⌘) + C.)

It will seem like nothing is happening. But don’t worry. You’ve copied the frame to your clipboard.

4. Open Preview and Create a New Image from the Clipboard

Next, open your Preview app. Then go to the menu and click on “File.”

Then click “New from Clipboard.”
(Or use the shortcut Command (⌘) + N.)

Preview will create a new untitled image, containing exactly the frame you copied from QuickTime.

5. Save Your New Photo

Go to “File” and select “Export.” (I recommend you save it as a JPEG.)

That’s it. You’ve successfully created a photo file from your video freeze frame!

Three Tips for Best Image Results

Choose High-Resolution Videos
The quality of your exported photo depends on the resolution of your original video. 4K videos will yield much sharper images than lower-res files.
Avoid Full-Screen Mode
When copying frames, it’s best to keep QuickTime in its default windowed mode to ensure you’re capturing the original pixel size of the video… not a scaled version.
Use Arrow Keys for Precision
Sometimes the perfect photo is just one video frame away from where you are. Don’t rush it. You may need to go back and forth a few times with your left and right arrow keys to determine the best frame with the clearest image.

When Would You Need to Export a Frame?

Exporting a frame from one of your family videos can really save the day. For example, if you’re documenting a birthday party, you’ll inevitably come to the happy birthday song and candles moment.

But when you’re recording that, there’s no time to simultaneously snap a photo.*

But you don’t need to stress. Just remember that you can later pull a few frames from your video to generate the sharable photos you need!

*Disclaimer: If you’re talented at multitasking on your iPhone, you can actually snap a few photos while simultaneously recording your video. Simply tap that little white circle on the screen to save each video frame.

But this takes some coordination. I think it’s much easier to simply pull your perfect frame later in post.

Use the QuickTime/Preview Solution

All your videos contain a wealth of individual stills that you can choose to convert into photos.

And the next time you need to save that perfect frame from a favorite family video, the QuickTime/Preview handoff is a simple and quick path to the finish line.

March 1, 2026

My Ode to the Fading Winter

**There is an upside to this year’s brutal, wicked-cold winter. Simply that it’s coming to an end. And now it’s time to start looking for spring.**

Yes, there are colder places on this planet with more extreme winter conditions right now. But let me just say as I don my weatherman’s hat from the greater New York City area… it’s been a brutal winter.

Blizzard. Ice. Single-digit temperatures. Yeah, lots of fun.

I like to say it’s been “wicked cold.”

That line harkens back to a past life when I lived up in the Boston area and just about every winter was brutal. “Wicked cold” was simply… winter.

But I’ve softened considerably across years of experiencing coastal Connecticut’s gentler winters. And now, it’s been something of a rude (re)awakening.

I will say, however, that shoveling all the snow hasn’t been quite as difficult. Why is that? Well, we’ve got the power of a high school sophomore on our team. And that’s made a huge difference. #TeamLester #grateful.

Power Up

I’m also grateful that we haven’t lost power across these winter storms. Sure, I charge everything up, including my portable power banks. But… as we all know, without a full generator back-up system, portable power banks will only cover you for so long.

Plus, I know we’ve got an exit strategy. #thankstofriends

Wicked Fun

But here’s the really good news. Wicked cold doesn’t necessarily have to mean wicked bad. Winter can be wicked fun.

Plus, I’ll always take the bite of brisk over summer humidity.
A fire in the winter fireplace is always a special experience.
And I’ve got admit, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes with surviving a certain amount of adversity.

And suddenly, spring is right around the corner.

Hello Spring?

Yes, it’s early, but I hope we’re close to that tipping point. Not to predict, but I see early signs beneath the retreating snow line.

And to celebrate this pending seasonal shift, I present to you yet another
Barrett poem.*

Ode to the Fading Winter

My weatherman’s hat is placed on my head,
To report on single digits I dread.
From cold New Yorks streets to the Norwalk shore,
It’s wicked cold, like Boston days of yore.
Though I’ve softened in the years in between,
This brutal frost is a rude, chilly scene.

The shovel goes fast, I’m happy to say,
With my high schooler’s strength to lead the way.
Go #TeamLester! We have strength in the snow,
Using three shovels and stacked in a row.
With an exit plan and friends close at hand,
We’re weathering storms across frozen land.

But wicked cold days can be wicked fun,
More than humidity and summer sun.
Fire in the hearth and pride in the soul,
When you’ve survived the freeze and reached your goal.
The struggle stings, but the win is so sweet,
As we clear ice and the slush on the street.

Now snow retreats and the sun starts to climb,
We’ve reached the tipping point, it’s about time!
The signs of the green are starting to show,
Peeking from patches of melting white snow.
Goodbye to the ice and winter’s sharp sting,
I’m ready to say a “Hello” to spring.

*Editor’s note: I prompted the videos and structure of this poem into existence using a little GenAI assistance via Google Gemini and Flow. Thank you!
(My ice photos are still the real deal.)

February 15, 2026

How to Use AI to Visualize Your Memories

I’ve always been a bit obsessed with capturing family photos to document our story. And I often refer to my photo library as the official record of our lives. More than just the images themselves, the metadata of the ‘where’ and ‘when’ is quite useful.

But the photos we collect may not always live up to the memories we hold onto.

And this limitation often crops up for me when I sit down to design and print a photo collage card. Sometimes the pictures from yesteryear just aren’t there.

So, I’ve just tried an experiment…

Text-To-Photo Prompts

I decided to generate new images for a photo collage from my memories. No, this is not science fiction. Thanks to the magic of generative AI, I scanned through my memories and turned a few into photos.

How? Simply through some simple AI text-to-photo prompting.

I didn’t try to create photo-real images. Instead, I decided to visualize my past in cartoon form… as far away from reality as you can get. That way, it’s just the essence of a memory that’s represented. That’s all I wanted.

4 Steps to Bring the Past Back to (Cartoon) Life

So yes, I sat down at my computer and created cartoon scenes from my life to weave into a photo collage.

Here’s how:

Design your character prototypes. You can type in the physical characteristics or use a photo as a reference. A partial similarity is all you need to get to. Remember, it’s just a cartoon. I’m going for fun here… not accuracy.
Once you’ve got your character blueprints, upload them as your subjects.
Then simply type in a couple sentences from your memory as your prompt.
If you happen to have an actual photo from the location of your memory, you can also upload that as part of the ‘scene.’

I found this process remarkably easy and successfully generated a variety of fun cartoon scenes from my life to stitch together into a unique photo-collage card.

I used Google Whisk for this first experiment, but there are many other generative AI platforms to use, including Adobe Firefly.

Cartoon Barrett

Let me share a few examples how this all works. First, here’s cartoon Barrett I created.

This is the blueprint.

Then I got to work reviewing some of my recent trips and thought about a few key moments that weren’t photographed.

Lost in Alaska

I’ve shared photos from our big 2023 hike up the Harding Icefield Trail in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park. But there’s another moment from this excursion.

I accompanied a group of hikers for this challenging trek, but I was a real slow poke. After a couple hours, I was pulling up the rear. Near the top, I realized I had fallen so far behind, there wasn’t a soul in sight. And the trail through the rocky surface had disappeared. Then, there were a few minutes when I was totally alone… and effectively lost.

I’m on a mountain, next to a glacier, and it’s cold. Now what?

My heart pumped harder. I had no choice but to keep moving. Fortunately, I walked in the correct direction and soon spotted the lead from our group (who was looking for me).

So, my ‘moment’ was really just for a moment. Still, I hold onto this vivid memory.

Crashing a New Orleans Parade

During our 2022 vacation to New Orleans, I captured some great street photos. But there was this one amazing scene I walked through that I just couldn’t get a shot from. It all happened too fast.

We were strolling through the French Quarter, turned a corner to cross a street and crashed into one of those glorious small parades with music and dancing down the avenue. I was literally in the middle of it all, and before I knew it, they were gone.

The lingering memory feels something like this…

The space was much tighter as everyone swarmed around me, but this cartoon does a good job capturing my feeling.

This represents the great photo in New Orleans I never snapped.

A Wild Turkey Flew into My Car

One of the freakiest driving experiences I ever had was during a spring road trip with my family. I was driving through the countryside, and a wild turkey flew into our car.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a direct impact. As I tried to veer away, the turkey clipped the passenger’s window and tore off the side mirror. Fortunately, we were all fine (not sure about the turkey).

This is certainly not a moment you’d expect to get a photo from. This representation does plenty justice to the absurdity of it all.

Camera Overboard?

The truth is none of these memories could really have accompanying photos.

The fact that I can now quickly generate images (however silly) with a few clicks to reflect my experience is quite powerful.

And sometimes, it’s the story behind the story. Like the time I worried I would lose my camera overboard on our cruise while I shot a few timelapses.

This never happened. It’s simply a memory of how I felt. (Now, we’re drilling deep into my head.)

A New Way to Tell Your Story

Whether reconstructing past moments or simply visualizing old feelings, this AI-fueled image creation process is just another way AI is empowering us with new artistic and storytelling skills.

Impressive. Most impressive.

For your consideration.

At Home with Tech

Category: family

May 17, 2026

How to Quickly Save a Video Frame Using QuickTime

Use Another App Instead

What About Taking a Screenshot?