It can also be difficult for some people with CVI to look at an object and reach for it at the same time. Looking and reaching are sometimes accomplished as two separate acts: look, then look away and reach. People with CVI can sometimes benefit from a form of blindsight, which manifests itself as a kind of awareness of ones surroundings that cannot consciously be explained (for example, the person correctly guesses what they should do in order to avoid an obstacle but does not actually see that obstacle). However, this cannot be relied on to work all the time. In contrast, some people with CVI exhibit spatial difficulties and may have trouble moving about in their environment. Approximately one third of people with CVI have some photophobia. It can take longer than usual to adjust to large changes in light level, and flash photography can be painful. On the other hand, CVI can also in some cases cause a desire to gaze compulsively at light sources, including such things as candle flames and fluorescent overhead lights. The use of good task lighting (especially low-temperature lamps which can be placed at very close range) is often beneficial. Although people (with or without CVI) generally assume that they see things as they really are, in reality the brain may be doing a certain amount of guessing and "filling in", which is why people sometimes think they see things that turn out on closer inspection not to be what they seemed.
Other potential adaptations to improve visual function in higher environmental complexity may include strategies like clearing away excess clutter from a work spaces, or providing a plain background to view objects against, reducing noise levels, or other methods of monitoring and adapting for environmental complexity. One eye may perform significantly worse than the other, and depth perception can be very limited (although not necessarily zero). The field of view may be severely limited. The best vision might be in the centre (like tunnel vision) but more often it is at some other point, and it is difficult to tell what the person is really looking at. Note that if the person also has a common ocular visual impairment such as nystagmus then this can also affect which part(s) of the visual field are best. (Sometimes there exists a certain gaze direction which minimises the nystagmus, called a "null point.") Even though the field of view may be very narrow indeed, it is often possible for the person to detect and track movement. Movement is handled by the V5 part of the visual cortex, which may have escaped the damage. Sometimes a moving object can be seen better than a stationary one; at other times the person can sense movement but cannot identify what is moving. (This can be annoying if the movement is prolonged, and to escape the annoyance the person may have to either gaze right at the movement or else obscure it.)