5 Free Ways to Take a Picture on Windows PCs

A picture is worth a thousand words. During everyday use of your computer, you come across some things that you cannot lose or want to save forever. Even if the device you are using runs into a problem, a pictorial depiction is necessary when seeking a solution from a support team. It makes the problem clear and helps the team understand what needs to be done. This is why you need to know how to take a picture on Windows and for that, you can use different methods to take screenshots.

In the following context, you will come to know 5 easy ways to take a screenshot and learn how to take pic on Windows. 

Way 1. How to Take a Picture on Windows with PrtScn Key

Every computer has and responds to a print screen key. This key is located in the middle of your keyboard and is labeled PrtScn or something similar. Depending on what computer you have, the location of the key can also be different. You can use this key alone and in combination with other keys to take a screenshot of your choice. The print screen key can capture the screen and all the active Windows on your system.

Here is how to take a picture on Windows 10 or 11 using a print screen key.

• When you are on the screen you want to take a screenshot of, press the PrtScn key on the keyboard and it will save a screenshot of your entire window screen to your clipboard.
• If you want to save the screenshot on your computer, you can press the Windows key and PrtScn key at the same time.
• Alt+PrtScn is another way to take a screenshot of only the active part of your Windows.

Way 2. How to Take a Picture on Windows with Snipping Tool

Snipping tool is a native feature of both Windows 10 and 11. This tool can be used to take a screenshot of your computer screen and it offers a lot of flexibility. If you want to exclude a section of your active screen while taking a screenshot, the snipping tool lets you do that too. 

Here is how to take a picture on Windows 10 and 11 using the snipping tool.

• To take a screenshot of the desired screen, you need to launch the tool first.
• Search for the snipping tool in the search bar of your computer and click on the snipping tool from the results to launch it.
• You can also use the Windows logo key+Shift+S to launch it.

• The tool will display over the active screen of your window.
• You can drag this tool to any part of your screen.
• On the tool, you can find different options like New and Mode. Click on mode to select which type of screenshot you want.
• Click on the New button and the active screen will turn gray and you will be provided with an option to crop your screen.

• Include the area of your screen that you want to take a screenshot of.
• You can save this screenshot to your computer by using the Save snip option or using the Ctrl+S key. Name your screenshot and choose a folder to save it to.

Also Read: How to Capture Screen on Windows 10/11 >>

Way 3. How to Take a Picture on Windows with Snap & Sketch

Snip & Sketch is just like the snipping tool but it can only be found in Windows 11. The tool is an advanced version of the snipping tool and it lets you take a screenshot of the desired area on the screen. Moreover, you can save the screenshot directly to your computer and before saving, you can make changes to it such as adding a notation or a comment.

Here is how to take a picture on Windows using the Snip & Sketch tool.

• Press the Windows+Shift+S to open the menu of the Snip & Sketch tool or search for it in the search bar. 

• When you search for it in the search bar, the tool will be launched but with the short keys, the menu will be launched.
• Select the mode of the screenshot such as full window, rectangular, or free form.
• Click on the New button and select the area of your screen that you want to save an image of.

• Add notations or comments to the screenshot before you save it.
• Use the menu or Ctrl+S to save it to the folder of your choice.

Way 4. How to Take a Picture on Windows with Xbox Game Bar

Xbox Game Bar, a built-in screen recorder for Windows 10 and 11, can also drive you to take a picture on Windows. The tool is mostly for gamers who want to take a screenshot while playing the game or want to record the game.

Here is how to take a picture on Windows using the Xbox Game Bar.

• To open the Xbox Game Bar, press Windows+G and an overlay menu will appear.
• To take a screenshot, you need to shift to the capture menu and to do that, click on the capture button.
• When you have the capture menu, click on the camera icon and it will take a screenshot of your screen.
• You can save it and find it in the captures folder on your computer.

Way 5. How to Take a Picture on Windows with Screen Recorder

There are lots of third-party software offering advanced solution for how to take a screenshot on your Windows computer. iTop Screen Recorder is a free screen recorder for Windows and has a screenshot tool that enables you to screenshot PC screen. It is an easy, lightweight and powerful program. With clear UI, you can get how to use it without guesswork.

It allows you to randomly select the area of screen you want to take a picture. You can take the full screen as an image, make a partial screenshot, only capture the active window and take a long picture of an entire webpage while keeping original quality. It provides drawing tools to help you highlight or blur some contents as well as add text on the screenshot. Your screenshot can be saved in multiple formats, JPG, PNG or BMP.

How to take a picture on Windows with it? Follow the guide.

Step 1. Download and install iTop Screen Recorder on your PC. It is fully compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7.

Step 2. Launch iTop Screen Recorder and move to Tools panel. Click on Screenshot.

Step 3. A mini tool bar appears. Click Capture to select area and take a pic on Windows. You an also capture full screen and scrolling window.

Step 4. Another tool bar pops up once you select the capturing area. You can use drawing tools to make annotation on screenshot. Next, click Save button. Set the destination folder, format and save your picture.

Conclusion

There are various solutions of how to take a picture on Windows. On one hand, print screen key and native screenshot tools in Windows 10/11 offer convenient ways to take a picture on PC. On the other hand, third-party software unblocks more power for screenshot. iTop Screen Record is a free and easy to use program to flexibly capture screenshot without quality loss on all Windows PCs. You can customize capturing area and format of your screenshot. Moreover, its screen recording feature enables you to record screen as video or GIF with ease. This full-featured screen recorder can definitely meet all the recording and capturing needs.