One Photo Is Enough

The cake arrives. You reach for your phone, take a picture, adjust the angle, take three more, check whether anyone blinked, and start thinking about who to send it to. By the time you look up, the candles are out.

You wanted to remember the evening. Somewhere between the first picture and the fifth, the camera became the evening.

The photo is worth keeping

There are pictures you will be glad you took. Your friend's face when everyone sings. The view at the end of a long walk. The ordinary dinner that turns out to be one of the last times you were all together. You don't have to give those up to spend less time on your phone.

The question is what happens after you capture one. Do you return to the people in front of you, or start reviewing, editing, posting, and checking for a response? The camera gets you into the phone. Everything else on it is waiting there.

Give the camera one job

Before you take a photo, decide what you want to remember. Then take it and put the phone away. You can sort through pictures later, when the moment has ended.

At a dinner, take a picture of everyone at the table and join them. On a walk, stop for the view, then keep walking. At a concert, record a little of the song if you want to; let the rest happen without a screen between you and the stage.

If you miss the perfect shot, you still got to be there. That's a good trade.

Let some moments stay private

Some experiences change when you begin preparing them for an audience. You start composing a caption while your friend is still telling the story. You think about how the room will look online instead of how it feels to be in it.

Keep a few pictures that are just for you. And sometimes leave the phone in your pocket altogether. A memory doesn't need proof to count.

Try it this weekend

At the next meal or outing you want to remember, take one photo early. Put your phone away until you're leaving. When you look at the picture later, see what else you remember from the time you spent looking up.