We all take utterly, useless museum photos.

Everyone is a photographer now. We keep taking pictures of each damn vaguely interesting thing that goes past, documenting every moment of our lives by the minute. What happens when you enter a museum? Going into autopilot and snapping every exhibit could bog down your SD card and... well, flood your disc space with very useless photos that you will never ever go through again. I go to the National Gallery of Victoria so frequently, I have a ridiculous pile of very meaningless photos in my folders now. I keep telling myself - oh let's grab a picture of this so that I can google about it later - Never happens. The next time I'm going into the museum, I'm going to take a few strategies:

Caution yourself at the entrance. Remember to deactivate your tourist-autopilot mode, keep calm and proceed with these in mind.

David Shrigley exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

David Shrigley exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

Nordic Cool: Modernist Design

Nordic Cool: Modernist Design

Conversation in the mountain poem by Li Bai

If you absolutely must, stick with taking a picture that best represents the entire museum space, or each unique room within the museum. Five is the maximum you should ever reach because beyond that your attention span will plunge when sorting these photos. Just imagine the last time you had to tap on the 'right' button on your keypad for two-hundred times when showing someone your travel photos.

A Golden Age of China exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

A Golden Age of China exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

A Golden Age of China exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

A Golden Age of China exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

A Golden Age of China exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

A Golden Age of China exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

For those who have the resolve to go cold-turkey with photo-taking obsessions, make sure to give your camera a rest and truly enjoy the museum experience by immersing yourself in the material. None of that technological distractions, just unadulterated connection. Remind yourself that there are always higher-resolution photos from the official website if you ever need to recall what you've seen.

Oh, the epitome of not doing justice to the original paintings itself and cluttering your memory card with absolutely meaningless pictures. That's a double-crime, y'know? Restrict yourself to a very, very small number of photos, and perhaps only those that are particularly striking and worth sharing with your friends in the near future (when you actually get over procrastination and do it).

Some people cannot live without taking some photos (by 'some' it means at least five per room). I know because I am one of those who have to take pictures wherever I go, so another method to slowly wean off from that habit is to take more mood shots - capturing the other people sharing the same space as you, their movements, what they are captivated by, and how the artefacts are arranged. These photos would serve as better recollection of your museum trip, thereby achieving the original purpose of photographs.

Express Yourself: Romance Was Born For Kids exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

Express Yourself: Romance Was Born For Kids exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

Express Yourself: Romance Was Born For Kids exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

Express Yourself: Romance Was Born For Kids exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria

Carsten Höller's Golden Mirror Carousel

Carsten Höller's Golden Mirror Carousel

Involving you and your museum companions in photographs are the best...because human beings are narcissistic by nature. Don't we all linger more on photos with our faces on it? Admit it. Take pictures of the more interactive times and most memorable moments during the museum trip. Or we can all trust our brains a little bit more and remember to live a life beyond the lens.