Turn on the grid and leave it on

Your phone is a better camera than you think. Most disappointing photos come down to light, distance and a dirty lens, not to the hardware. A few habits fix nearly all of them.

Quick tip: star photos on your phone as you take them. Picking takes half the time at the end of the month.

I thought I needed a better camera. I needed a better window.

Tom Okafor, Paperleaf

What to look for

None of this needs an app or an accessory. It only needs a moment of attention before you press the button.

If you try only one thing this month, try this one. It takes no time and the difference shows up on the first page of the book.

1. Delete the obvious misses: blurs, pockets and thumbs.
2. Star one photo per day, even on dull days.
3. Pick the cover last, once the month has a shape.

A few small rules

Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.

Delete duplicates as you go rather than saving them for later. Later rarely comes, and a cleaner camera roll makes picking much easier.

Make it a habit

Back up before you delete anything. It takes a minute and removes the fear that stops people from clearing out at all.

If you have too many photos of one day, that day probably mattered. Give it a spread of its own rather than cutting it down to one.

• Pick a fixed day each month
• Star photos as you take them
• Leave the cover for last

When to stop

Faces matter, but so do places. Include at least one picture of the room, the street or the view where the month happened.

Some readers keep a short list of rules on a sticky note beside the computer. Ours says: faces first, then places, then anything that made us laugh. It is not scientific, but it stops the session turning into an evening of second-guessing.

Keep it simple

Print sizes matter less than you think. A small photo surrounded by white space can feel more special than one stretched to fill the page.

On the second pass, look for variety. A month of the same room and the same faces feels flat, even if each photo is lovely on its own.

Quick tip: star photos on your phone as you take them. Picking takes half the time at the end of the month.

Start with what you already have

Set aside a fixed time for it. The last Sunday of the month works for a lot of readers because the week is quiet and the month is complete.

If a month feels thin, look again at the photos you took without thinking. The best ones are often hiding there.

1. Delete the obvious misses: blurs, pockets and thumbs.
2. Star one photo per day, even on dull days.
3. Pick the cover last, once the month has a shape.

Try it this month

If you miss a month, do not try to catch up all at once. Start again with this month and fill the gap later if you feel like it.

It helps to know what the book is for before you start. A book for grandparents wants faces and clear captions. A book for yourself can hold the odd corner of the garden, the shadow on the wall and the plate of food that only makes sense to you.

One more thing

Ask someone else to look at your shortlist. They will spot the photo you were about to drop and the one you only kept out of habit.

Write the year on the spine. It sounds obvious, but without it a shelf of books quickly becomes a puzzle.

• Back up before deleting anything
• Write a few words beside the best ones
• Pick a fixed day each month

What we got wrong

Most people find the first month the hardest. You are learning what you like, and every photo feels important. By the third month you will notice yourself moving faster, trusting your first reaction and spending your time on the handful of close calls instead of on every single picture.