A method for autofocusing a camera of a mobile device while imaging a low contrast or less well-defined surface includes the steps of: providing a mobile device software application for image capture; affixing or printing at least one or more marker patterns on the low contrast or less well-defined surface; imaging by the mobile device camera the low contrast or less well-defined surface; identifying by the application the at least one or more marker patterns; focusing the mobile device camera by the application based on the at least one or more marker patterns; and acquiring an in focus image by the mobile device camera of the low contrast or less well-defined surface. An adhesive strip imaging assist device for autofocusing a mobile phone camera and an autofocus apparatus with marker pattern projector and marker pattern projector method are also described.