Snap vs. Picture — What's the Difference?

A photograph taken quickly and informally.

A photograph taken with intent and consideration.

An action of taking a photograph swiftly.

A visual representation captured through a camera.

To capture a moment with minimal preparation.

A durable visual record of an event or scene.

A casual approach to photography.

A photograph that captures artistic or documentary content.

A quick, informal photograph, especially one taken with a smartphone.

An image created using photographic equipment.

(of an animal) make a sudden audible bite

A visual representation or image painted, drawn, photographed, or otherwise rendered on a flat surface.

Suddenly lose one's self-control

A visible image, especially one on a flat surface or screen

Take a snapshot of

A vivid or realistic verbal description

Put (the ball) into play by a quick backward movement

A vivid mental image.

A sudden, sharp cracking sound or movement

A person or object bearing a marked resemblance to another

A hurried, irritable tone or manner

A person, object, or scene that typifies or embodies an emotion, state of mind, or mood

A snapshot

The chief circumstances of an event or time; the situation

A card game in which cards from two piles are turned over simultaneously and players call ‘snap’ as quickly as possible when two similar cards are exposed.

A movie.

A sudden brief spell of cold or otherwise distinctive weather

A tableau vivant.

Food, especially food taken to work to be eaten during a break.

To make a visible representation of

An easy task

To form a mental image of; visualize

A quick backward movement of the ball from the ground that begins a play.

To describe vividly in words; make a verbal picture of

A small fastener on clothing, engaged by pressing its two halves together; a press stud

A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, by drawing, painting, printing, photography, etc.

Done or taken on the spur of the moment, unexpectedly, or without notice

An image; a representation as in the imagination.

To make a brisk sharp cracking sound

A painting.

To break suddenly with a brisk, sharp, cracking sound.

A photograph.

To give way abruptly under pressure or tension

A motion picture.

To suffer a physical or mental breakdown, especially while under stress

Cinema as a form of entertainment.

To bring the jaws briskly together, often with a clicking sound; bite.

A paragon, a perfect example or specimen (of a category).

To take up something suddenly and eagerly; snatch or grasp

An attractive sight.

To speak abruptly or sharply

The art of painting; representation by painting.

To move swiftly and smartly

A figure; a model.

To flash or appear to flash light; sparkle

Situation.

To open, close, or fit together with a click

(MLE) A sample of an illegal drug.

To snatch at with the teeth or mouth; bite

(programming) A format string in the COBOL programming language.

To pull apart or break with a snapping sound.

(transitive) To represent in or with a picture.

To utter abruptly or sharply

(transitive) To imagine or envision.

To cause to emit a snapping sound

(transitive) To depict or describe vividly.

To close or latch with a snapping sound

The art of painting; representation by painting.

To cause to move suddenly

A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, produced by means of painting, drawing, engraving, photography, etc.; a representation in colors. By extension, a figure; a model.

To take (a photograph).

An image or resemblance; a representation, either to the eye or to the mind; that which, by its likeness, brings vividly to mind some other thing; as, a child is the picture of his father; the man is the picture of grief.

To photograph

To draw or paint a resemblance of; to delineate; to represent; to form or present an ideal likeness of; to bring before the mind.

(Football) To pass (the ball) from the ground back between the legs to begin a down; hike.

A visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface;

A sudden sharp cracking sound or the action producing such a sound.

Graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface;

A sudden breaking.

A clear and telling mental image;

A clasp, catch, or other fastening device that operates with a snapping sound.

A situation treated as an observable object;

A sudden attempt to bite, snatch, or grasp.

Illustrations used to decorate or explain a text;

The sound produced by rapid movement of a finger from the thumb tip to the base of the thumb.

A form of entertainment that enacts a story by a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement;

The act of producing this sound.

The visible part of a television transmission;

The sudden release of something held under pressure or tension.

A graphic or vivid verbal description;

A thin, crisp, usually circular cookie

A typical example of some state or quality;

Capacity to make a snapping sound; elasticity

Imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind;

(Informal) Briskness, liveliness, or energy.

Show in, or as in, a picture;

A brief spell of brisk, cold weather.

Something accomplished without effort.

A quick breaking or cracking sound or the action of producing such a sound.

A sudden break.

An attempt to seize, bite, attack, or grab.

The act of snapping the fingers; making a sound by pressing a finger against the thumb and suddenly releasing to strike the hand.

A fastening device that makes a snapping sound when used.

(informal) A photograph; a snapshot.

The sudden release of something held under pressure or tension.

A thin circular cookie or similar baked good.

A brief, sudden period of a certain weather; used primarily in the phrase cold snap.

A very short period of time (figuratively, the time taken to snap one's fingers), or a task that can be accomplished in such a period.

A snap bean such as Phaseolus vulgaris.

(American football) A backward pass or handoff of a football from its position on the ground that puts the ball in play; a hike.

(colloquial) A rivet: a scrapbooking embellishment.

(fishing) A small device resembling a safety pin, used to attach the bait or lure to the line.

A small meal, a snack; lunch.

(uncountable) A card game, primarily for children, in which players cry "snap" to claim pairs of matching cards as they are turned up.

(obsolete) A greedy fellow.

That which is, or may be, snapped up; something bitten off, seized, or obtained by a single quick movement; hence, a bite, morsel, or fragment; a scrap.

Briskness; vigour; energy; decision

Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained. used primarily in the phrase soft snap.

(slang) Something that is easy or effortless.

A snapper, or snap beetle.

Jounce (the fourth derivative of the position vector with respect to time), followed by crackle and pop

A quick offhand shot with a firearm; a snap shot.

(colloquial) Something of no value.

(social media) A visual message sent through the Snapchat application.

(Linux) A package provided for the application sandboxing system snapd developed by Canonical.

(uncountable) A crisp or pithy quality; epigrammatic point or force.

A tool used by riveters.

A tool used by glass-moulders.

A brief theatrical engagement.

A cheat or sharper.

A newsflash.

To fracture or break apart suddenly.

(intransitive) To give forth or produce a sharp cracking noise; to crack.

(intransitive) To attempt to seize or bite with the teeth, beak, etc.

(intransitive) To attempt to seize with eagerness.

(intransitive) To speak abruptly or sharply.

(intransitive) To give way abruptly and loudly.

(intransitive) To suffer a mental breakdown, usually while under tension.

(intransitive) To flash or appear to flash as with light.

(intransitive) To fit or fasten together with a snapping sound.

To jump to a fixed position relative to another element.

(transitive) To snatch with or as if with the teeth.

(transitive) To pull apart with a snapping sound; to pop loose.

(transitive) To say abruptly or sharply.

To speak to abruptly or sharply; to treat snappishly; usually with up.

(transitive) To cause something to emit a snapping sound, especially by closing it rapidly.

(transitive) To close something using a snap as a fastener.

(transitive) A video of a person snapping their fingers.Alternative snapping techniqueTo snap one's fingers: to make a snapping sound, often by pressing the thumb and an opposing finger of the same hand together and suddenly releasing the grip so that the finger hits against the palm; alternatively, by bringing the index finger quickly down onto the middle finger and thumb.

(transitive) To cause to move suddenly and smartly.

(transitive) To take a photograph; to release a camera's shutter (which may make a snapping sound).

To send a visual message through the Snapchat application.

To put (a football) in play by a backward pass or handoff from its position on the ground; to hike (a football).

To misfire.

To catch out sharply (a batsman who has just snicked a bowled ball).

The cry used in a game of snap when winning a hand.

"I've got one the same!", "Me too!"

(British) Ritual utterance of agreement (after the cry in the card game snap).

(North America) Used in place of expletive to express surprise, usually in response to a negative statement or news; often used facetiously.

Ritual utterance used after something is said by two people at exactly the same time.

Done, made, performed, etc., quickly and unexpectedly, or without deliberation.

To break at once; to break short, as substances that are brittle.

To strike, to hit, or to shut, with a sharp sound.

To bite or seize suddenly, especially with the teeth.

To break upon suddenly with sharp, angry words; to treat snappishly; - usually with up.

To crack; to cause to make a sharp, cracking noise; as, to snap a whip.

To project with a snap.

To catch out sharply (a batsman who has just snicked a bowled ball).

To break short, or at once; to part asunder suddenly; as, a mast snaps; a needle snaps.

To give forth, or produce, a sharp, cracking noise; to crack; as, blazing firewood snaps.

To make an effort to bite; to aim to seize with the teeth; to catch eagerly (at anything); - often with at; as, a dog snapsat a passenger; a fish snaps at the bait.

To utter sharp, harsh, angry words; - often with at; as, to snap at a child.

To miss fire; as, the gun snapped.

Of the eyes, to emit sudden, brief sparkles like those of a snapping fire, as sometimes in anger.

A sudden breaking or rupture of any substance.

A sudden, eager bite; a sudden seizing, or effort to seize, as with the teeth.

A sudden, sharp motion or blow, as with the finger sprung from the thumb, or the thumb from the finger.

A sharp, abrupt sound, as that made by the crack of a whip; as, the snap of the trigger of a gun.

A greedy fellow.

That which is, or may be, snapped up; something bitten off, seized, or obtained by a single quick movement; hence, a bite, morsel, or fragment; a scrap.

A sudden severe interval or spell; - applied to the weather; as, a cold snap.

A small catch or fastening held or closed by means of a spring, or one which closes with a snapping sound, as the catch of a bracelet, necklace, clasp of a book, etc.

A snap beetle.

A thin, crisp cake, usually small, and flavored with ginger; - used chiefly in the plural.

Briskness; vigor; energy; decision.

Any circumstance out of which money may be made or an advantage gained.

Any task, labor, set of circumstances, or the like, that yields satisfactory results or gives pleasure with little trouble or effort, as an easy course of study, a job where work is light, a bargain, etc.

A snap shot with a firearm.

A snapshot.

Something of no value; as, not worth a snap.

The action of snapping the ball back, from the center usu. to the quarterback, which commences the play (down), and, if the clock had stopped, restarts the timer clock; a snap back.

Done, performed, made, executed, carried through, or the like, quickly and without deliberation; as, a snap judgment or decision; a snap political convention.

The act of catching an object with the hands;

A spell of cold weather;

Tender green beans without strings that easily snap into sections

A crisp round cookie flavored with ginger

The noise produced by the rapid movement of a finger from the tip to the base of the thumb on the same hand;

A sudden sharp noise;

A sudden breaking

The tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed;

An informal photograph; usually made with a small hand-held camera;

A fastener used on clothing; fastens with a snapping sound;

Any undertaking that is easy to do;

The act of snapping the fingers; movement of a finger from the tip to the base of the thumb on the same hand;

(American football) putting the ball in play by passing it (between the legs) to a back;

Utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone;

Separate or cause to separate abruptly;

Break suddenly and abruptly, as under tension;

Move or strike with a noise;

Snap close with a sound;

Make a sharp sound;

Move with a snapping sound;

To grasp hastily or eagerly;

Put in play with a snap;

Cause to make a snapping sound;

Lose control of one's emotions;

Record on photographic film;

Snaps are typically taken with smartphones.

Not necessarily; pictures can also be taken with any camera, including smartphones, if done with intent.

Yes, a snap can evolve into a picture if taken with more attention to photographic quality.

A picture is often taken with more deliberate intent, focusing on composition and detail.

To quickly and informally capture a moment as it happens.

For convenience and speed, especially to share on social media.

Snaps are often intended for casual sharing with friends or on social media, while pictures might target broader or more formal audiences.

Technically, yes, if a picture is taken quickly and without much preparation, it can be considered a snap.

Understanding of camera settings, composition, lighting, and sometimes post-processing.

Generally, 'snap' is not used for professional photography due to its informal connotation.