In one embodiment, a computing system captures, using a camera, a number of frames of a live scene. The system generates preview frames for an augmented scene by applying one or more augmented reality effects to the frames of the live scene. Each preview frame is based on a low-resolution image of the live scene. The low-resolution image has a lower resolution than a maximum resolution of the camera. The system stores at least one preview frame with the augmented reality effects into a storage of the computing device. The system displays a live preview of the augmented scene using the preview frames. The system receives a request from a user to capture an image of the augmented scene while the live preview is being displayed. The system retrieves, the at least one preview frame stored in the storage and outputs the retrieved at least one preview frame.