Can’t take photographs

Diane74
Contributor

Hello all!

Allow me to begin by saying that I don’t have a clue about what I’m doing, so please be gentle!

I bought a lovely 77d a couple of years ago. The guy in the shop kindly set everything to auto and I’ve had no trouble since. I got the camera with the kit lens and I bought an additional 70-300mm lens which I use more often. 

Yesterday, I was at a horse show, happily taking shots and then I took it back out of the bag and it just wouldn’t work. 

I changed the memory card, took the battery out and then back in and removed and reattached the lens, but all to no avail. 

If you could give me some guidance I would be very grateful. Thank you! 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

TCampbell
Elite
Elite

I suspect this may be related to auto-focus (AF).

 

By default the camera will not take a photo unless it is able to confirm that it has focused (this behavior is known as "focus priority").  The behavior can be overriden (in a couple of ways).

 

In order to lock focus ... the camera will need enough light and a subject with some contrast.  

 

If you test the camera outside on a bright sunny day ... it may have no difficulty quickly locking focus.  Do the same thing in poor lighting (e.g. inside with poor lighting) and it may struggle to lock focus.  Sometimes you'll hear the focus motor trying to find focus ... and then it gives up.

 

There could be other reasons for it's failure to let you take a photo ... this is just one possible reason.

 

There is a switch on the side of the lens barrel labeled 'AF/MF' (auto-focus vs. manual focus) and if you switch it to manual then it should take a shot the moment you press the shutter button (it wont try to focus if using manual focus mode ... of course it also means you have to manual focus or you'll get blurry images).    If the focus mode is changed from the factory default mode of 'One Shot' to instead use 'AI Servo' mode then it will also immediately take photos (but it is highly recommended that when using AI Servo mode, you first half-press the shutter ... wait for the camera to focus ... then fully press the shutter when you are ready to capture the shot.  AI Servo will continuously keep focusing as long as you keep the shutter button half-pressed.

 

Note that if the camera is in full 'Auto' mode, many settings are locked out.  

 

The camera also has Program mode (P).  P is nearly identical to full Auto mode ... *except* you can change settings and override camera defaults.  

 

You'll benefit enormously from learning the ins and outs of your camera.  There are some books that are great for beginners.  Bryan Peterson's book 'Understanding Exposure' is very good for beginners.  Scott Kelby also has a 'Digital Photography' series of books.   These books are not Canon model-specific ... they're generic books that would apply to most any Digital SLR camera user.

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

View solution in original post

25 REPLIES 25

Diane,

 

I second the suggestion to spend some time with one or two good photography books because once you understand the entire process you will also understand the various choices and options provided by your camera and lens combination and this will enable you to achieve the results that your camera equipment was designed to provide.

 

There are a lot of Youtube videos and internet sites offering information but all of these offer ONLY bits and pieces of "the whole" that you need to know while a well edited book will present relatively complete information in a logical and organized fashion which is what you need most now.  Once you have that down, then using the web to address specific questions and issues will work well for you but right now those sites which WILL be very useful to you later will now just create more questions than answers since they will all assume knowledge and experience not yet acquired.

 

I just relearned this recently because although I have spent decades in photography I have never gotten heavily into lighting. That changed a short time ago when I bought a set of three Hensel D-500 studio strobes and associated equipment and after spending a couple of days using the internet I realized what I really need to do is find a couple of really good books on studio lighting to provide the basics and fill in the blanks. Like I told my university students for years when covering the cultural knowledge area of international marketing, when they are abruptly exposed to a radically different culture they won't initially know enough about this new culture to even know what questions they should be asking. The same is true for all of us when we hit a new knowledge area.

 

I have some free time coming up this weekend and that is how I will be spending my reading time.  Unfortunately the web has killed off many of the great old book stores and crippled others but since I am near a university town I expect a used book store will have what I need.

 

Rodger

EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video

Thanks Rodger,
Yes, I think a good book would be a great starting point in my education and essential for reference!

HPL
Enthusiast

Joining a club is a good idea, and hanging out with folks that shoot the same brand will certainly help.  When folks ask me what camera to buy, I always suggest that they see what brand their friends are using and at least consider that brand as it may help when questions come up (also may allow you to use each others' lenses).

Thanks HPL, I have contacted two local clubs. Unfortunately they are both about to wind down for the summer and resume in the Autumn. But I plan to educate myself through reading in the interim and hopefully join them then as less of an idiot lol!

First, is your camre functioning now?  Perhaps you could find a member of one of the clubs who would let you spend some time with them.   

Hi HPL, yes, it’s working now. Thing is, I have no idea why it stopped working yet. It fixed itself! As others above have mentioned I guess it was a focusing thing, maybe I bumped off a button!
That’s a good idea, I will ask the question!
Announcements