iPhone 13 pro camera -- Focusing macro lens

bethfromottawa, 

From the following article - Use iPhone camera tools to set up your shot

Adjust the camera’s focus and exposure

Before you take a photo, the iPhone camera automatically sets the focus and exposure, and face detection balances the exposure across many faces. If you want to manually adjust the focus and exposure, do the following:

1. Open Camera.

2. Tap the screen to show the automatic focus area and exposure setting.

3. Tap where you want to move the focus area.

4. Next to the focus area, drag up or down to adjust the exposure.

To lock your manual focus and exposure settings for upcoming shots, touch and hold the focus area until you see AE/AF Lock; tap the screen to unlock settings.

On iPhone 11 and later, you can precisely set and lock the exposure for upcoming shots. Tap the up arrow, tap the +/- icon, then move the slider to adjust the exposure. The exposure locks until the next time you open Camera. To save the exposure control so it’s not reset when you open Camera, go to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings, then turn on Exposure Adjustment.

However, when using the macro feature, the articles and user guide do all say the camera will autofocus on the subject. When you're out though, give it a try and see what is going to work best for you to get exactly the shots you want based on depth of field.

Thanks. 

Hey there, bethfromottawa.

Does turning restarting your iPhone 13 Pro help with taking macro photos? Restart your iPhone - Apple Support Restarting can seem like a simple step, but it can refresh the iOS and possibly resolve unexpected issues.

Have you noticed an issue with macro photos/videos in multiple locations and lighting? Understanding if this happens in multiple places with different lighting can help possibly isolate the issue and learn how to resolve it.

Another step you can take is to ensure your iPhone is fully updated, to see if that may help as well. You can check for an update in Settings > General > Software Update. If there is an available update, you'll want to backup before updating as seen in here: How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

This article also shows how to update with a computer if that is your preferred method: Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Take care!