Adapted from a non-programming talk given while at the Recurse Center.
A brief tutorial on taking and manipulating screenshots, so that you can quickly have fun making motivational quote images, custom Zulip/Slack emojis, templated memes, goofy “photoshop” composites, and whatever else your heart desires.
If you remember one thing from this post, let it be that there is a shortcut for copying a selected region on your screen:
OS1 | Copy selection to your clipboard | Save selection to a file |
---|---|---|
Mac | command + control + shift + 4 |
command + shift + 4 |
Windows | windows logo + shift + s |
windows logo + shift + s , then select “save” |
Hit the selected key combination, then draw a box on your screen around whatever you want to be in the screenshot. That’s it! If you used the “save” option, it’ll save to wherever your default save location is (e.g., your desktop or documents or downloads folder); if you used the “clipboard” option, it’ll be saved into your clipboard and ready for you to paste somewhere else.
Go ahead and try it right now:
Get familiar with your default basic image editor. I’m on Mac, so use the Preview application. Alternatively there’s this online MS Paint remake that works pretty well.
The functions you’ll want to get comfortable with are:
The faster you can do those actions without thinking about them, the easier it will be to respond with an image instead of with text. Here’s an example of me doing a quick edit in Preview:
with output
Go ahead and try a basic edit with your program of choice3:
Right, those are the basic skills: taking a screenshot, editing the screenshot. What to do with them?
Start with a pretty landscape; add a text box with your quote of choice.
Especially delightful for workplace commentary.
This use-case is especially excellent for rapid-response comments in video chats. Did you know you could paste images from your clipboard directly into a Zoom chat? You can!
Tools > Customize Workspace > Emoji
; in Zulip, do Settings > Organization > Custom emoji
.Save screenshots of a couple images. Open one and remove its background, then copy it into the clipboard. Open the second; paste from the clipboard over top, then resize and move the pasted image until it looks good. Note: “good”, not “perfect”. The goal is quick-and-good-enough, not “make it look like a professional Photoshopped this.”
What should you make? Put a hat on your friend, put a penguin on a rollercoaster, I don’t know! Whatever suits your mood. Why? Because it is funny.
My primary screenshot selection usage is actually more for taking screenshots of things I want to remember from otherwise ephemeral video call chats: charts, citations, quotes. I also keep a folder on my desktop of things that make me happy: comments, praise, and general goofiness from otherwise ephemeral chat situations (Zoom/Slack/group texts, etc).
I also like it for responding in digital conversations—a picture is worth a thousand words, etc.4 Other things I have done with a modified screenshot image: frame it and gift it. Put it on a puzzle and sent that puzzle to a friend. Print it in triplicate and tape it all over my team’s meeting room.
It should go without saying, but it is important, so I’m going to say it anyway:
Respect assumptions of privacy! E.g., no sharing Zoom screenshots of people, slides, or the chat without permission.
Be respectful in your choice of meme templates, text, and imagery. Avoid -isms (subtle or otherwise), inadvertent microaggressions (such as digital blackface), and punching down.
Congrats, now you’re an artist! Put your friend’s profile picture into that historic photo (maybe even more than once??), slap a watch on a loon, make it quick and sloppy5 and share it and move on.