Lesson 4: Common Digital Photography Problems and Questions Answered

Common Camera Problems

This list is in no particular order, but covers many of the more common camera problems and issues I’ve been asked about. If you have a problem with your camera I’ve not covered, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

My Camera Has Difficulty Focusing or Won’t Focus

There are a number of reasons that a camera will struggle to focus, or won’t focus at all.

The first of these is due to the light. Most camera focusing systems require a certain amount of light to work properly, and if it is too dark they won’t be able to focus.

If you find the camera is not focusing and you are in a dark environment, you can try turning the flash on, or using something like your smartphone’s light or a flashlight to illuminate your subject so the camera can focus on it.

If your camera has a night mode, like many smartphones and compact cameras do, enabling this may also help.

Another option if the camera won’t focus in a dark environment is to switch to manual focus. Most mirrorless and DSLR cameras support manual focus, as do some compact cameras and smartphones. If your camera has manual focus, you can enable it either as a menu option in your camera’s settings, or via a switch on the lens.

Darkness is not the only time that a camera might struggle to focus.

For example, there are certain scenes that a camera will always struggle to focus on. This is usually when you try to focus on something that is of a uniform color with no edges or points of contrast. For example, if you try to focus on a plain blue sky with no clouds, or a featureless surface, the camera will usually fail to focus. This is because the focus mechanism needs something to focus on.

To solve this problem, try to focus on something like a cloud in the sky, or some bit of texture in the scene. You can always focus on something a similar distance to your subject, and then recompose. This is easier to do if you are able to take advantage of back button focus.

Again, if your camera is struggling to focus and you can’t find a feature that it will focus on in your scene, don’t forget you might be able to switch to manual focus.

One last tip related to focus. Sometimes I’ve found myself flummoxed because the camera won’t even try to focus, even when there is plenty of light and there is something to focus on. This usually ends up happening because I’ve accidentally toggled the camera from automatic to manual focus.

So, if you find your camera isn’t focusing, always check to be sure you haven’t accidentally enabled manual focus! On a DSLR or other camera with an interchangeable lens, there might be a focus toggle switch on the lens. Otherwise, it might be on the camera body or in a settings menu somewhere.