Five smart ways to use your webcam for more than Zoom meetings.

If you need an image on your computer, you can use your webcam to scan it in.

Remember in early 2020 when we were excited to join Zoom happy hours, and every meeting was a video?

If you still are meeting with clients, co-workers, and friends via video, you might as well look and sound good. Tap or click for my top Zoom tips.

Maybe you’re back to the office or at least not taking as many video calls. One clever use for your webcam, or an old phone or laptop, is to turn it into a security camera. Tap or click here for steps to set it up in under a minute.

Here are five more ways to get your money’s worth out of your webcam:

1. Use it to scan documents to your computer

Taking a photo, cropping it, emailing it to yourself, then uploading it or attaching it to another email is a pain. If you need an image on your computer, use your webcam. Even a decent webcam is good enough to scan a document for you.

On a Mac:

• Open Photo Booth. Your webcam will automatically open.

• Place your document in front of the webcam and line it up on the screen.

• Hit the red photo icon to take a picture. It will then appear in the bottom right corner. Drag it onto your desktop or into a folder.

On a Windows PC:

• Open the Camera app.

• Line up your document before the webcam, then hit the white camera icon to snap a photo.

• Your photo will appear in the bottom right corner. Click it to open, then click the three dots in the upper right.

• Choose Open folder to see where it is stored on your computer, then move it anywhere you like.

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2. Set up a photo booth

Set up a photo booth at your next get-together using your webcam. People can walk up to the computer and take solo or group shots, which can be shared with everyone at the party. Throw in some fun accessories for people to wear if you like.

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