Google Clips ($249.99 at Verizon Wireless) is a hands-free camera that can capture spontaneous moments throughout your day. There are a few rules you need to follow to get the best shots.

Plan on photographing things with faces

If you want Clips to take photos of your dinner or that fabulous sunset, you're out of luck. The tiny cube camera is only programed to recognize faces. 

Now, this can mean human faces or even cat and dog faces, but the Clips won't snap a photo without a face. 

Teach it what you love

Clips can also learn which faces you like best. You can train it before letting it shoot by holding it in front of the faces you most want to capture for 3 seconds each.

Be choosy about placement

Google designed Clips to record people and pets around 3 to 8 feet away from the lens. This means that you need to get crafty with your placement. 

For example, if you want to catch your toddler doing something cute when she's supposed to be napping, clip the camera to the bed railing or the back of a chair that you can scoot near the crib.

Use it as a backup camera

Google readily admits that the Clips isn't designed to be your go-to camera during special events. It's intended to capture moments that you may miss, so it's the perfect backup camera. So put it near the action, but keep your regular camera handy, too.

Choose the perfect moment

Some people think that you can just put the Clip somewhere and let it go for the 3-hour battery life. Google did some research though, and found that you should plan on 10 to 15 minute shoots while something interesting is happening to get the best results. Otherwise you may end up with a bunch of shots of nothing much happening.