How to Record Yourself on a Mac or MacBook (Screen and Face)

To record just yourself on a Mac or MacBook, open Photo Booth and click the Video button, or open QuickTime Player and choose File > New Movie Recording. Both are free and already installed. To record your screen and your face together in one video, use a screen recorder with a camera overlay, such as CursorClip.

Every Apple step below comes from Apple’s own support pages, checked 6 October 2026. They work the same way on a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro, an iMac or a Mac with an external webcam.

Which way should you record yourself?

How to record a video of yourself on a MacBook (camera only)

If you only need your face on camera, for a video message, an intro clip or an audition tape, you do not need to install anything. Apple’s Photo Booth and QuickTime guides describe the same steps from macOS Ventura (13) to macOS 27, with small differences in button names on older versions.

Option 1: Photo Booth

Photo Booth opens straight to your camera, so there is nothing to set up before you record yourself.

1. Open Photo Booth from the Applications folder or Spotlight.
2. Check that the Take Photo or Record Video button is showing. If you see a photo or video instead, click the View Photo or View Video button to return to the camera.
3. At the bottom left, click the Video button.
4. Click the Record Video button. Click Stop when you finish.
5. To save the clip as a file, select its thumbnail and choose File > Export, or drag the thumbnail to your desktop.

If you use an external camera, Apple says to make sure it is connected and turned on before you start. Sources: Apple’s Take a photo or record a video in Photo Booth and Export photos and videos from Photo Booth, both checked 6 October 2026.

Option 2: QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player gives you more control than Photo Booth: you pick the camera, the microphone and the quality.

1. Open QuickTime Player and choose File > New Movie Recording.
2. Click the menu next to the record button. Choose a Camera and a Microphone if you have more than one.
3. Choose a Quality. Apple lists High (H.264 video with AAC audio) and Maximum (Apple ProRes 422 video with Linear PCM audio). ProRes files are far larger than H.264, so High is the sensible default for a talking-head clip.
4. Click the record button to start, and click it again to stop. To pause, Option-click the button, then click again to resume.
5. Choose File > Save to name and save the recording.

Source: Apple’s Record a movie in QuickTime Player on Mac, checked 6 October 2026. QuickTime can also trim the clip afterwards (Edit > Trim).

Use your iPhone as a better webcam

The camera on the back of your iPhone is a big step up from the one in a MacBook lid. With Apple’s Continuity Camera, your Mac can use it as its camera. Apple names FaceTime and Photo Booth, and says it works with many other apps that use the camera. Apple lists these requirements (Continuity Camera: Use iPhone as a webcam for Mac and the Mac User Guide, both checked 6 October 2026):

• iOS 16 or later, on an iPhone XR or later
• macOS Ventura 13 or later
• Both devices signed in to the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on, within 30 feet (10 meters) of each other

Mount the iPhone near your Mac, locked and stable, with its rear cameras facing you. Then choose your iPhone as the camera in the app you record with, such as Photo Booth or the camera menu in QuickTime Player. For mounting, lighting and troubleshooting in more depth, see our Mac webcam setup guide.

How to screen record on a Mac with your camera (built-in tools)

macOS has no single built-in button that records your screen and your camera together. The common workaround is to float QuickTime’s camera window over your screen and record the whole screen with the Screenshot toolbar.

1. Open QuickTime Player, choose File > New Movie Recording, and pick your camera. Do not press record in this window.
2. Choose View > Float on Top. Apple documents this setting as the way to keep a QuickTime window in front of every other window (Choose a screen size in QuickTime Player, checked 6 October 2026).
3. Resize the camera window and drag it into a corner of your screen.
4. Press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar. Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion, making sure the camera window is inside the area.
5. Click Options and choose your microphone. On macOS 27 or later you can also choose Include System Audio to capture sound from your Mac.
6. Click Record. To stop, click the Stop button in the menu bar or press Command-Control-Esc.

Source for steps 4 to 6: Apple’s How to record the screen on Mac (published 14 September 2026, checked 6 October 2026).

It works, and it costs nothing. The limits show up once you watch the result:

• The camera is burned into the video. You cannot move, resize or remove it afterwards. If it covers a button you needed to show, you record again.
• It is a plain window. You cannot round it into a bubble, and QuickTime’s controls can appear if your pointer passes over it.
• One fixed frame for the whole video. You cannot open on your face full screen, then cut to the screen, then go side by side.
• Small text stays small. Nothing zooms in on what you click, so viewers on a phone squint at your menus.
• System audio needs macOS 27. On macOS 26 and earlier, the Screenshot toolbar records your microphone but not the sound coming out of your Mac. Our guide to recording your Mac screen with audio covers the options.

How to record your screen and face on a Mac with CursorClip

CursorClip is a native Mac screen recorder for tutorials, course lessons and product demos. It records your screen, your camera, your microphone and your Mac’s sound in one take, and you decide how your face appears after you record. These steps describe CursorClip 2.0.4 on macOS 13.5 or later.

1. Download CursorClip and open it. Grant Screen Recording and Accessibility (both required), plus Camera and Microphone so it can record you.

2. Choose what to record in the control bar: a display, a window or a custom area.

3. Pick your camera and microphone from their pickers in the control bar, and switch on system audio if you want the sound from your Mac in the same take.

4. Open Notes if you work from a script. The teleprompter is a floating window for your script, with optional auto-scroll. It is designed to stay out of the recording. Put it just under your camera so your eyes stay near the lens.

5. Record. Click through your demo as normal. CursorClip adds zooms from your clicks, so the detail you point at fills the frame.

6. Choose a layout in the editor. Your camera is saved as its own track, so the Layouts tab can show it as:

   • Screen with camera: your face as a bubble over the screen, with its position, size and shape (square, landscape or portrait) set in the editor
   • Side by side: your screen and your camera next to each other
   • Stacked: one above the other, which is how a split opens in a portrait format for Shorts or Reels
   • Camera: just your face, full frame, for an intro or an outro

   Layout changes sit on the timeline with Cut, Fade or Morph transitions, so you can open on your face, drop to the screen for the walkthrough, and go side by side for the wrap-up. Smart Camera can shrink the bubble during a zoom, or resize or hide it in place when your cursor comes near. Both are off by default.

7. Export. Recording and editing are free. A license unlocks export: $70 once, $29 a year or $9 a month, and one license covers up to 3 Macs.

What CursorClip does not do, so you can decide quickly: it is Mac only, it has no captions, it has no share links, and it edits only recordings made in CursorClip, not videos you recorded elsewhere. If you only need a short clip of your face, Photo Booth or QuickTime is all you need.

Free to record and edit. A license to export.

How to look and sound better when you record yourself

Most of what makes a self-recorded video look professional costs nothing. Five things matter most:

• Face the light. Sit facing a window or put a lamp in front of you, a little to one side. A window behind you turns your face into a silhouette.
• Raise the camera to eye level. A MacBook on a desk films you from below. Stack a few books under it, or use a laptop stand, until the lens is level with your eyes.
• Look at the lens, not at yourself. Your eyes drift to your own face on screen. Keep your notes as close to the camera as you can, so reading them still looks like eye contact.
• Frame head and shoulders. Leave a little space above your head, and keep the background plain or tidy.
• Get the mic closer. A wired headset or a USB microphone near your mouth sounds clearer than the built-in mic at arm’s length. Record ten seconds and play it back before the real take.

Our Mac webcam setup guide goes deeper on iPhone mounting, bounce lighting and mic choice.

FAQ

Can I record my screen and webcam at the same time on a Mac?

Yes. With the built-in tools, open QuickTime Player, choose File > New Movie Recording, keep that camera window in front with View > Float on Top, then record the screen with Shift-Command-5. The camera window is burned into the video, so you cannot move or remove it afterwards. A screen recorder with a camera overlay, such as CursorClip, records the screen and the camera as separate tracks, so you choose the camera bubble or a side by side or stacked layout after you record.

How do I record myself on a Mac or MacBook without an app?

Use the apps that come with macOS. In Photo Booth, click the Video button at the bottom left, then the Record Video button, and click Stop when you finish. In QuickTime Player, choose File > New Movie Recording, pick your camera and microphone from the menu next to the record button, and click record. Both work with a MacBook’s built-in camera and microphone, or a webcam on any Mac, with nothing to download.

How do I save a Photo Booth video to my desktop?

Select the clip’s thumbnail in Photo Booth, then choose File > Export, or drag the thumbnail to your desktop. Apple documents both ways in its Photo Booth guide (checked 6 October 2026).

Can I use my iPhone as a webcam to record myself on a Mac?

Yes, with Continuity Camera. Apple lists iOS 16 or later, macOS Ventura 13 or later and an iPhone XR or later, with both devices signed in to the same Apple Account and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. Mount the iPhone near the Mac, locked and stable, with its rear cameras facing you, then choose it as the camera in QuickTime Player or Photo Booth.

Can I record system audio while I record myself on a Mac?

On macOS 27 or later, yes for screen recordings: in the Screenshot toolbar (Shift-Command-5), open Options and choose Include System Audio. Apple’s QuickTime movie recording page lists camera, microphone and quality options, with no system audio setting. CursorClip records system audio, your microphone and your camera in one take on macOS 13.5 or later.

Is CursorClip free to record yourself and your screen?

Recording and editing are free, with no account. A license is needed to export, and one license covers up to 3 Macs. See pricing for the current plans.

Record your first take

If a quick clip of your face is the whole job, open Photo Booth now. If you want your face and your screen in one finished video, with zooms on your clicks and a layout you can change after recording, try CursorClip on your next tutorial.

Free to record and edit. A license to export.

Related guides

• Mac webcam setup without buying gear: iPhone as a webcam, lighting and audio
• Screen recorder for Mac with audio: record your voice and your Mac’s sound together
• Layouts and Smart Camera: cut between your screen, your camera and both
• Teleprompter for screen recordings: read your script from floating Notes