The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for capturing an image in a portable terminal. Upon receiving an image for preview and an image for capture simultaneously by a camera module, the controller simultaneously outputs the image for the preview and the image for the capture to a main controller during a simultaneous output mode. The received image for the preview is displayed and stored for a predetermined time period for a subsequent retrieval, so that when a capture key is pressed to capture a target object, the stored image corresponding to a time point at which the capture key is activated is retrieved and stored.