Beecher's Handouts /

Camera / 3.3 - Focus Problems

There are several problems with focusing.

Subject Isn't in the Center

If your camera is set to focus in the middle area of the viewfinder, and you're photographing something that's NOT in the middle, the focus may be off.

The solution is to focus on the subject, and then keeping the shutter release depressed slightly.

The focus is locked as long as you keep the shutter release depressed slightly.

With the focus locked, you can move your camera to frame the scene as you wish.

Camera Can't Focus

Cameras have difficult focusing in the following situations:

1) Dim light

Some cameras have a light that turns on when there's too little light for focusing.

2) Subject with the same tone or color

Cameras need contrast in the scene to focus properly.

3) No vertical lines

If you encounter one of the above situations, switch to manual focus.

There's a switch on, or near, the lens, that's often marked M/AF (manual focus/autofocus).

Example

When I tried to focus on the top of one the eggs, below, the camera could not focus.

That's because the egg had the same tone everywhere.

The camera needs contrast, light and dark areas in the scene, to focus properly.

Poor Composition Due to Focus System

Because the focus is often set in the middle of the frame, many photographers always center the subject in the frame.

This is called bulls-eye composition.

If you were the late Richard Avedon, the fashion and portrait photographer, you can get away with it.

Everyone else should position the subjects in the frame according to what's best for each situation.