My folks got me a Chromebook and it’s okay, but I’m trying to figure out all the different features. One thing my gf asked me is whether there is a way to take timed selfies with the Camera app? I don’t think so, but I thought I’d ask you. Can you take timed selfies on a Chromebook?
Chrome OS is definitely similar to both Windows and MacOS in many ways, but it’s being developed at a much faster rate. That means that new features show up all the time, sometimes just weeks after a previous option or capability shows up. This also means that it’s really important to keep your Chromebook updated with the very latest version of ChromeOS [ I show how to do just that in How to Force Update a Chromebook if you’re curious! ]
In this instance, the latest update includes some big improvements to the Camera app in ChromeOS. It can now actually scan documents, has a timer like you seek, and more. It’s getting pretty darn capable, actually. Since it sounds like you don’t yet have the latest Camera app, update your system, then come back here!
Before I go further, you might just want to watch my video demo:
If you prefer reading, that’s cool too. Let’s do it.
HOW TO LAUNCH CAMERA IN CHROME OS
If you don’t already have Camera along the bottom, you’ll need to search for it on your ‘book. Just click or tap on the red button on the left and type “camera” and you’ll see the app icon show up in the results pane:
Once it launches, you’ll see yourself, but more importantly (well, maybe more importantly!) you’ll see a bunch of buttons around the edges:
Let’s have a tour of the new Camera app. Don’t see all these buttons? Upgrade your ChromeOS!
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS IN CHROMEOS CAMERA APP
We’re most interested in the timer icon on the lower left, but let’s start by checking out the app’s settings. That can be done by clicking on the gear icon on the top left. A menu appears:
Notice that I have a 3×3 “grid” enabled. I like it for framing photos, but you don’t have to use it if you prefer. There are settings for Timer duration (3 seconds or 10 seconds), Camera resolution (which we’ll check out in a second), and options to send feedback to the app development team or even get some help on the program.
Click or tap on “Camera resolution” and you’ll see a variety of options based on the capabilities of your own Chromebook’s webcam. Here’s what I see on a Lenovo unit:
Generally speaking, you want to choose the biggest image size possible. For this device, it’s a relatively low-res 0.9MP (I don’t know why Google has it as “mega pixel”, two words, but that’s another story).
Ready? Go back to the main camera view, check on the lower left that you have the timer enabled, make sure your hair looks good and click on the white camera shutter button on the right!
TAKING A TIMED SELFIE WITH CHROME OS CAMERA
Once you click on the camera shutter button, it’ll display a 3 second (or 10 second if that’s what you chose) counter:
Remember to look at your camera, not the preview of yourself in the Camera app!
It clicks and when you look down, it mostly all looks the same, but the lower right circle shows a tiny preview of the picture it just captured.
Click on that photo preview on the lower right and you’ll be moved into the Photo viewer:
Done! Now you can use some of the many tools in the Photo viewer to crop, adjust, enhance, share, or just save it as a named file on your Desktop. Mission accomplished, well done.
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about ChromeOS for a while now. You can find a lot more useful tutorials in my Chrome OS and Chromebook help library here on the site too. Why not check it out while you’re visiting?