Working Smart: Using "screen capture" software.

Whether you need a quick jpg or gif for your website, or a short video to explain something visually, using "screen capture" software is a boon.

Sure, you can fire up Photoshop or other software to wrangle your images, and you can hook up your video camera and edit the footage into something short and sweet when you need something visual. But I like to use what works best and fastest, and so here's what I do:

For really fast jpgs and gif images I use Skitch. I use it a LOT. Think seconds, not minutes, to get an image. In fact, I use it to grab all the images I use in the blog. It's free and you can drag an image onto the little Skitch Screen, paste one you grabbed from your screen*, you can resize it by dragging the corner of the screen, and you can save your new image by typing in a name and dragging it onto your desktop or into a file folder.

Need a quick video of something you're doing on your computer? Faster and more effective than writing it all out in words, a short video works wonders. With Jing (also free but the Pro version is only $15/yr) you can record a video of onscreen action, even snap a picture of your screen, and share it instantly via web, IM, or email. If you have a webcam, you can even record yourself. Great for blog entries or a quick "hello" to your family and friends.

Want to do a quick video of your onscreen action but need to edit it?  Want to edit other types of video footage and incorporate images, Powerpoint slides and other goodies? I love (love) Camtasia. $99 and worth every penny. Easy to learn and use.

Of course, there are lots of other types of software to grab images and save time on videos. I'd love to hear about what YOU use and like. That a not-so-subtle hint to leave a comment here.  ;-D

*To quickly grab ANY image on your screen, click here if you're a Mac, and here if you're a PC.  And don't forget, just because an image is on the web doesn't mean you can use it (legally). I buy a lot of images at iStockphoto.com or I use images I'm legally permitted to use.