Blur The World: Stop Your Camera Focusing

If you want to stop your camera from focusing on anything, you'll need to disable the autofocus feature. Depending on your camera, this can be done by tapping the AF icon or by going to the Camera Control tab and tapping the toggle bar next to 'Lock Autofocus When Live'. On Windows, you can disable autofocus by accessing the Camera app and using the focus slider to manually adjust the focus level. An icon will indicate whether autofocus is enabled or disabled. It's worth noting that disabling autofocus may require you to manually focus on subjects, which can be challenging to get right.

Disabling autofocus on Apple devices

Locking Focus on a Desired Subject

On many Apple devices, you can lock the focus on a specific subject to disable autofocus. To do this, simply aim at the desired subject and hold your finger on the screen. After a few seconds, the focus will lock, and you should see "AE/AF Lock" displayed on the screen. This method works for both photo and video modes.

Disabling Autofocus in Third-Party Apps

If you are using a third-party camera app, you may have more control over the autofocus settings. For example, in the "Camera+" app mentioned in one source, you can adjust exposure and focus areas manually. Exploring the settings and options within your specific camera app may provide you with the ability to disable autofocus.

Disabling Autofocus While Using Flash

In some cases, users have reported that the autofocus feature overrides their locked focus settings when using the flash. This appears to be a bug, and there is no definitive solution provided by Apple as of yet. However, some workarounds suggested by users include adjusting capture output settings, AVCapturePhoto settings, device input settings, and more. These settings can be tweaked to try and prevent the autofocus from kicking in when using the flash.

It's important to note that the methods for disabling autofocus may vary depending on the specific Apple device and camera app you are using. The steps mentioned above are general guidelines, and you may need to explore the settings and options within your device and camera app to find the most accurate instructions for disabling autofocus.

Disabling autofocus on Windows

Disabling autofocus on a Windows device can be done in several ways, depending on the specific camera and software you are using. Here is a step-by-step guide to disabling autofocus on Windows for some of the most common scenarios:

Microsoft LifeCam HD-5000:

• Start by opening the Microsoft LifeCam HD-5000 software.
• Once the software has loaded, click on the small blue tab on the right side of the screen to access the camera's dashboard.
• In the dashboard, locate and click on the "Settings" button, which is usually identified by a blue gear icon.
• In the "Settings" menu, scroll down and find the "TrueColor" box. Uncheck this box and then click on the "Properties" button.
• In the properties menu, navigate to the "Camera Control" tab.
• Under "Camera Control," scroll down to the "Focus" setting and uncheck the box.
• Finally, click on the "Apply" button to confirm and disable the autofocus feature.

Windows 10:

• Open the Camera app, which should be installed by default on your device.
• In the top menu, select "Focus Settings."
• On the right side of the screen, you will see a half-circle scroll icon. Drag this icon up to adjust the focus manually and disable autofocus. This change will apply to all apps using the camera.

Windows 10 (Alternative Method):

• Install the LifeCam Software from the Microsoft website.
• Upgrade your camera's firmware to the latest version, also available on Microsoft's official site.
• Open the LifeCam Software and navigate to its settings.
• Within the settings, you should find an option to disable autofocus.

Disabling autofocus can be useful when the camera continuously goes in and out of focus, causing interruptions in your video feed. It gives you more control over the camera's behaviour and can help stabilise the image.

Using manual focus

Manual focus is a useful skill to have in your photography toolkit. It gives you more control over your images and can be used in certain scenarios where autofocus falls short.

How to Enable Manual Focus

First, locate the focusing mode switch on your camera or lens. It will likely be labelled with "AF/MF", where "AF" activates autofocus and "MF" activates manual focus. Switch your setup to "MF".

Then, find the focus ring, which is often near the middle of the lens barrel (if you're using a prime lens) or near the end of the lens barrel (if you're using a zoom lens).

When to Use Manual Focus

There are several situations where using manual focus can be beneficial:

• Low-light situations: Autofocus struggles in low-light scenarios, especially if there is no form of illumination. Your lens will hunt and never lock on to anything, so manual focusing is a must. Use the Live View technique to preview the shot via the LCD, zoom in, and be certain you've nailed the focus before proceeding.
• Macro and close-up photography: When shooting at high magnifications, lenses tend to hunt for focus and when they do finally lock on, it's often in the wrong place. Manual focus allows you to gain focus more quickly and set it precisely where you want it.
• Shallow depth of field scenarios: Working with an ultra-wide aperture can be artistic, but it also requires precise focusing due to the ultra-narrow window of sharpness. Manual focus allows you to carefully set your point of focus and ensure you nail the shot.
• Wide-angle photography: When shooting with a wide-angle lens, your subjects are often large objects shown on a small scale, such as trees or buildings. In these situations, it can be hard to control your lens's autofocus, as it might lock focus on an unwanted area of the image. Manual focus gives you more control over the point of focus.
• Panorama photography: When shooting panoramas, consistency throughout the shots is key. Manual focus allows you to pick your point of focus and leave the lens focusing on the same spot, no matter how the scene changes as you rotate your camera.
• Low-contrast situations: Autofocus relies on contrast between dark and light tones in an image. In low-contrast situations, such as a white car against a snowy landscape, autofocus may fail. Manual focus allows you to achieve the sharpness you desire without the hunting.

Tips for Using Manual Focus

• Practice: Manual focus is a skill that requires developing a bit of dexterity, especially when working with moving subjects. The more you practice, the better you'll become at intuitively knowing which direction to move the focus ring and how much to turn it.
• Use Live View and zoom in: When in manual focus, you can use your camera's Live View function to preview a live feed of your camera's sensor on the LCD. Magnify the image and adjust the focus until you see perfect sharpness while zoomed in.
• Narrow the aperture: Shooting at a wider aperture, such as f/2.8, requires precise focus. By narrowing the aperture to f/8, for example, you give yourself a larger margin of error and can stray slightly in front of or behind your subject without worrying about losing focus.
• Use focus peaking: Many modern cameras support focus peaking, which is a graphical representation where objects that are in focus are outlined in bright colours. This can be a great aid when using manual focus, especially with fast lenses that have a correspondingly narrow depth of field.
• Widen your depth of field: If you're still having difficulty achieving sharp focus, try widening your depth of field by stopping down your lens to a smaller aperture, taking a step back, or using a wider-angle lens. This will give you more leeway when focusing.

Adjusting aperture

Aperture is the physical size of the hole inside your camera lens. The size of this hole can be changed, and this is controlled by the photographer using the camera. Aperture is measured in number increments called f-stops. The higher the f-stop or "f" number, the smaller the hole, and the less light comes in. Conversely, the lower the f-stop or "f" number, the larger the hole, and the more light comes in.

The aperture setting impacts the depth of field in your photograph. The larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field, and the smaller the distance between the nearest and furthest objects in a scene that appear sharp in an image. This can be useful for isolating a subject from its background. Conversely, a small aperture (large f-stop number) results in a large depth of field, with almost everything in the frame in focus. This is often desirable for landscape shots, group photos, and other situations where you want everything to be in focus.

To adjust the aperture on your camera, first switch to manual mode (M). Then, hold down the AV +/- button or the +/- button to the right of your camera display. As you hold down that button, turn the control dial on the top of your camera to the right to get a higher f-stop/smaller hole, and to the left to get a lower f-stop/larger hole.

It's important to note that the range of f-stops you can shoot with depends on your camera lens. The lowest f-stop your lens can shoot with is called the maximum aperture. Many zoom lenses have a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or f/4, while a prime lens, or a lens with a fixed focal length, can typically handle a wider aperture.

Adjusting focal length

There are two types of lenses: prime and zoom. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, while zoom lenses have variable focal lengths. Zoom lenses are ideal when photographing a variety of subjects, such as landscapes and portraits, as they offer versatility and reduce the need to frequently change lenses. Prime lenses, on the other hand, tend to be more compact and lightweight, with larger maximum apertures, making them suitable for low-light conditions and achieving a shallow depth of field.

To adjust the focal length, you can either use a varifocal or zoom lens, which allow for the adjustment of their focal lengths and, thus, offer a variable angular field of view (AFOV). Alternatively, you can change the field of view (FOV) by altering the working distance (WD) from the lens to the object, swapping out the lens for one with a different focal length, or changing the size of the sensor.

It is worth noting that short focal length lenses may introduce distortion and struggle to achieve the same level of performance as longer focal length options. They may also have difficulty covering medium to large sensor sizes. Therefore, when adjusting the focal length, consider the trade-offs between a wide AFOV and the potential drawbacks associated with short focal length lenses.

Frequently asked questions