Scouting cameras are used by hunters to capture photographs and images of the game that they are pursuing out in the wild. Sometimes scouting cameras work and sometimes they don't; however, there are a few things you can do to ensure that you get the most out of your camera.

1. Place water nearby in the warmer months to increase game traffic.
2. As long as it's legal where you live and where you are hunting, use mineral and food attractants to make certain that when deer come up, they’ll pause – and hey, maybe they’ll smile for the camera!
3. Use liquid food scents (as long as it is legal in your state) to coax deer into lingering around for quality photographs. These can be poured near the camera on logs, stumps, etc.
4. Use more than one camera when in large, open woodlands to avoid missing something.
5. Make sure that the area surrounding your camera is clean so that it can shoot accurately, resulting fewer images that are blank.
6. Consider using a lower MP setting so that your images are sharper.

To get the best possible images, you must first have to understand that most game, especially mature whitetails, are much smarter than you and your scouting camera. They are programmed to see everything, hear everything and smell everything – including you, your presence and the presence of your items. So, here are a few more scouting camera tips and tricks that will help you as you search for trophy game.

1. Be discreet. Don't check the camera every single day. Give it a few days (in fact, a week or more is best) before you go check back because your human scent lingers in the woods and deer won't go near it until that foreign scent vanishes.
2. Consider using a scent blocking spray. To keep your scent away, take a scent blocking spray with you and use it on the mount and the camera unit to keep your scent away.
3. Opt to mount your scouting camera higher. This will reduce the chances of your potential game detecting the flash's origin. Plus, it can help prevent the deer from smelling any scents from the foreign object.
4. Consider creating a bedding area near food. By doing this, bucks will be encouraged to sleep closer to the food and to your camera resulting in the higher likelihood of the buck appearing in your range just before and just after dusk increasing your chance of successful strike.

While you could go out and sit for hours waiting for deer to find you, using scouting cameras can drastically improve your chances of obtaining game. It's rare to see deer during daylight hours, and a scouting camera can help you effectively pinpoint where they are before and after dusk and what types are in the surrounding area. This will limit your stress and shivering on cold nights when you know that you have a prize-winning buck right around the tree!