How to give a screenshot a background, rounded corners and a shadow

Step by step

1. 01

   Take a screenshot

   Press ⇧⌘A and drag over what you want, or press ⇧⌘E for a window. It opens in the editor already on a background, with rounded corners and a shadow.

2. 02

   Pick a background

   Default offers wallpapers, gradients and plain colours, Light and Dark offer more wallpapers, and Custom takes pictures of your own. The checkerboard swatch among the colours, None, leaves the background transparent.

3. 03

   Frame the shot

   Padding sets how much background shows around it. Inset adds a band in the screenshot’s own edge colour, so its content doesn’t press against the corners. Rounded corners and Shadow set the card’s shape and depth, and Background Blur softens a busy wallpaper.

4. 04

   Choose a shape

   Keep Auto to follow the screenshot’s own proportions, or pick a ratio such as 1:1, 4:3 or 16:9; 9:16 makes a tall, phone-shaped image. The screenshot is never stretched: the background fills the difference.

5. 05

   Keep your look

   Click New Preset… to save this combination for next time. After changing a preset, Save updates it.

6. 06

   Save or share it

   Choose PNG, JPEG or WEBP in the bottom bar, then press ⌘S to save, ⌘C to copy, or drag the image from Drag Me into any app.

A transparent background

Choose None and save as PNG or WEBP, and the rounded card sits on transparency, ready for a slide or a page of any colour. JPEG can’t hold transparency, so keep it for shots with a background.