There are many great ChromeOS tablets that you can buy that have webcams, and also a great selection of Chromebooks. ChromeOS tablets especially are suitable for photography, since they tend to have world-facing webcams. This is a webcam at the rear of the device.

Even in the case of traditional clamshell Chromebooks, where the webcam is a selfie camera, facing you, there's the chance you might want to take a picture to see how you look in front of the camera itself. Well, similar to the best Windows laptops, ChromeOS makes things easy. All you have to do is use the Camera app.

How to take a picture with a Chromebook

To take a picture with a Chromebook, just open the Camera app from the ChromeOS launcher. Here's how to do that.

  1. If you're on a Chromebook that has a privacy guard on the camera make sure that it's off and revealing the lens. Or, click the button on your keyboard to enable the camera if it has an electronic switch.
  2. Click on the circular ChromeOS Launcher icon on the lower left side of your screen.
  3. Type Camera.
  4. Click the top result to launch the camera.
  5. You'll see several options in the camera app.
    ChromeOS Camera App
  6. Click Photo to take a photo. If your device has multiple cameras, there will be an icon in the camera app that shows two arrows in a circle. If you click this, your device switches to the world-facing webcam. Choose which one you want.
  7. Tap the circular icon to take a photo. The photo will automatically save to your Chromebook.
  8. If your device has these extra camera features, you'll see the option to take a portrait photo, with a blurred background. Just click it at the bottom of the camera app.
  9. There's also an option to record a video or scan a document or QR code. Just select Scan to get to these.
  10. There's also the ability to flip a photo from left to right. Just click the Mirroring icon on the left of the camera app. And, if you want, you can also click the Timer and Grid icons to use these to your advantage.
    Camera in the Files App in ChromeOS
  11. To get to the photo you just took. Go to the Files app. Then choose Camera.

That's all there is to know about how to take a picture with a Chromebook. For even easier access, if you've enabled Google Assistant on your Chromebook, just say "Ok Google" and then "Launch my camera" to launch the camera app. To take the photo using Google Assistant, say "Take my picture." Once a photo is taken, you easily can edit it using the Google Photos or Gallery app.