The invention discloses a mobile terminal and a shooting method thereof. The shooting method includes the steps that after shooting is started, a camera continuously collects image data; additive operation is carried out on the current image data and previous image data to generate a composite image; the composite image is displayed in real time. Thus, time exposure can be simulated through the image addition technology, a light painting shoot function is added to the mobile terminal, a user can carry out artistic creation by utilizing the light painting shoot function of the mobile terminal, the creation effect can be previewed in real time, and user experience is improved; meanwhile, the collected image data are subjected to mirror image processing and then generate the composite image, the displayed composite image can be completely consistent with works actually created by a creator, the creator does not need to carry out mirror image processing on the created works in advance, the difficulty of carrying out the light painting creation by the user is reduced, and the user experience is improved.