How To Focus Images
One of the first and most important steps in microscopy is properly focusing on your specimen. Focusing just refers to the process of making the image that you see clearer and less blurry. If the image is unclear and blurry, then it’s unfocused and if it looks just like a well taken picture, then it’s focused. Here's some tips to focus your microscope:
Step One
Locate the coarse and fine knobs on your microscope. To see what they look like, the New York Microscope Company has a nice diagram here.
Step Two
Place the slide on the stage of your microscope. Make sure that the slide is centered on so that the light passes through the specimen.
Step Three
You can focus your microscope by using the coarse and fine knobs to bring the stage closer or farther away from your lens. The coarse knob will bring it closer to your lens very fast but won’t give you much precision while the fine knob will move it slower but with much more control.
Step Four
Once you can see the specimen clearly, you can adjust your view of it from there.
See here for extra tips