Take the photo, then put the phone away. A picture of the moment isn’t the same as being in it.

Documenting and experiencing compete for the same attention. Behind a screen you are mostly managing a frame and checking whether it looked good, which means the thing you are trying to keep is partly not happening to you. One photo captures an evening. Twenty photos quietly replace it.

Take one picture early, then put the phone in your pocket for the rest of it. A better shot later is unlikely and a better memory is not. If you want to test the idea, try a whole evening where you take nothing at all.