Choosing Manual Focus on Your Camera

Your autofocus on your camera is not working for your shot.  What do you do?  No problem.  Most cameras, except the most basic, have a manual override feature you can choose.  Read your manual (or go to the manufacturer online) to find out how to do it.

Try your manual focus if:

• You’re shooting through a window or there is an obstacle in the way.
• You want fine details in a close up shot.
• Your autofocus is confused by design elements e.g. complex architecture.
• Your subject is high contrast or sharply contrasting.
• There is no contrast e.g. white on white. My Canon DSLR stumbles on this regularly.
• You have a prominent subject e.g. person in the foreground, and your camera focuses on the background.
• You are shooting at night.

If your camera has a manual focus option, experiment with it.  And let me know about it.