How To Capture, Resize and Crop Any Windows Desktop Image

With social networks becoming more and more popular, people are looking for new ways to capture an image from their screen so they can share it with friends or family over the internet. Well, there are many software applications out there that will do the job, but the best method is to use the print screen button on your keyboard in combination with a photo editor.

Using a photo editor such as The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is good because it allows you to optimize the image file size while getting the exact section of whichever image you are trying to grab. This is also a great technique for grabbing images you have uploaded to other websites and no longer have the original file for. Countless times I have been asked how to capture, resize and crop an image from Facebook because the individual didn’t keep their original source file they uploaded to their profile.

Another technique some may be interested in is to download a Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox plug-in known as Aviary screen capture, which will allow you to capture, crop and resize an image right within your browser. This tool will work great for those of you who are trying to grab images only  from the internet, however, the print screen technique will work great for any image that shows up on your desktop.

It is important to note that it is illegal to steal photos from licensed resources using this method and it is important that you do not violate copyright and have permission to copy whichever image you might be copying. Not doing so breaches a code of ethics, but I hardly believe the cops will come running after you. Remember that many places like Walmart force you to give them a copyright slip now to print images to protect the original photographer.