trying to export a still photo from video

Is the main language on your Mac set to "English"? "Pictures" is one of the folders in your user home folder where the name depends on the primary system language. if you are using a different primary system language look for a folder with a name that translates to "Pictures" and a special folder symbol. For example, with the system language set to German, the Pictures folder is called "Bilder" and looks like this, when viewing the home folder:

And in the Finder sidebar like this:

I see the same thing in Sequoia 15.1.1 (.mov from iPhone, .mp4, .m4v). I seldom use this feature but in some earlier macOS it worked.

A workaround is to Photos > Image > Edit with > QuickTime Player and copy a frame and the Preview.app > File New from clipboard and the File > Export... with desired codec.

I just tried this, and it worked for me. I selected a thumbnail of a video, hit the spacebar to get a preview, and chose File>Export>Export Frame to Pictures. I got the file in my Pictures folder.

How is what you do different?

For me Richard's methode is also working, even for videos taken on my iPhone in 3D-Mode.

But cannot export a single frame from a Live Photo in this way. The Live Photo has to be converted to a video.

And it is not possible to export a still frame of a video clip, while the video has been opened in EDIT mode. We have to quit "Edit" mode before trying to export a still frame.

léonie wrote:

it is not possible to export a still frame of a video clip, while the video has been opened in EDIT mode. We have to quit "Edit" mode before trying to export a still frame.

Doh! Thanks for reminding me of that. In my previous reply I unsuccessfully was trying just that (maybe because editing the Poster Frame requires, erm, editing mode).

Were you playing/pausing a video at the time?

If so, what sort of video?

"Pictures" is a standard Finder folder name in your home directory.

Gosh-- and I had thought that I had given an exact step by step description of how to do this!