Tips and Tricks: Your Most Important Piece of Equipment

The following is one of the tips that Mason Resnick, a photographer and editor of the Adorama Imaging Resource Center, contributed to the 100 in 100 feature on the Adorama website. We've peppered Mason's points with a few fine examples from some of our team members.

Science - lightleaks

Nowadays, sophisticated cameras offer many options. We are dazzled by artificial intelligence-based metering, exposure focusing, and autofocus. We have long-reaching zoom lenses, face recognition, fast burst rates and seemingly infinite image storage on cards that have so much space our "shots left" readouts say 999 because our cameras don't have enough digits to reflect our 16MB memory cards' capacity. We have image sharing web sites with millions of photos, and tens of thousands of new images added daily.

And yet, one of the most successful photographers of the 20th century, Henri Cartier-Bresson, had a single camera--a Leica rangefinder--and a 50mm lens. He didn't even have a light meter. He shot black-and-white film, hand-holding for every frame. He stopped every 36 exposures to rewind and reload. He had to wait until that night or the next day, or perhaps longer, to process the negatives, make contact sheets and study them with a magnifying loupe to see the results. And with that simple set-up, he built a body of work that would influence generations of photographers and help to define photojournalism.

What piece of equipment did HCB use that we should use more?

To the Last Drop - Paintedwithlight

acrobat - emporium51

In these days of technical marvels, we tend to forget to use our brains. A camera can't compose, see how colors, light and shape interact, and yet we rely on its sophistication to "take great pictures" for us when all it is capable of doing is making a technically correct exposure. It's up to us to modify exposure to fit a mood or situation, find a good place for the camera relative to the subject, and decide what to include within the frame, and what to leave out. What was HCB's most important piece of equipment? His brain, of course!

Fuzzy - EverydayKumquat

Milling About - ELBfoto

So whether you're using the latest high-end DSLR, a sub-$100 compact, or an old all-manual film camera, don't forget that the most valuable piece of equipment you own is sitting there, right between your ears.

Use it wisely.

Yellow Walls, Morocco - PPDesigns

Tips and Tricks: Getting Vertical

The following is one of the tips that photographer Bob Atkins contributed to the 100 in 100 feature on the Adorama website. We've peppered Bob's points with a few fine examples from some of our team members.

Candlelight notecard - ANJacobsen


Lovebirds - JMcGuinness

The natural tendency of most photographers is to shoot images in a horizontal (landscape) format rather than a vertical (portrait) format. There are probably at least two reasons for this. First, the most natural way of holding almost all cameras results in a horizontal format image. Second, we tend to see in a horizontal format mode (our field of view is wider than it is tall). Traditional art theory says that horizontal lines tend to suggest rest, calm and strength, while vertical lines tend to give an impression of height, grandeur and drama. By not turning the camera on its side and shooting a few verticals, you may be missing some great shots.

Peel Her Apart - lightleaks


At the Top - pfeifferphotos

Salt Girl - enaandtheswan

Of course you can always crop your images to a vertical or horizontal format, but for maximum quality it's good to shoot the images as close to the final composition as possible. Besides simple aesthetic considerations, remember too that if you have hopes of one day getting your shot on the cover of a magazine, they usually want verticals!

Fall Bokeh - Kristybee

My Favorite Place - barbraziemerphoto

Tips and Tricks: Humor in Photography

The following is one of the tips that Mason Resnick, a photographer and editor of the Adorama Imaging Resource Center, contributed to the100 in 100 feature on the Adorama website. We've peppered Mason's points with a few fine examples from some of our team members.

Venezia III - evesimone

Is something funny going on? Photograph it!

Stapler Suicide notecard - dreadsky

Humor has always been a theme for photographers, be it funny signs, juxtapositions or situations. Look for contrasts, visual non-sequitors, or just moments that make you go, "huh?"

Free the Gnomes - chicalookate


Free Whisky - hlkparis

It isn't always easy to find humor (ask any comedian) but it exists everywhere if you know where to look. Animals and children are a good fodder for funny photos. A wide-angle lens can cause distortion which may not be desirable for portraits but can create funny faces if your subject is willing.

Joy (Study of Motherhood 07) - ljdesignphoto


laughing - allieart4children

As you roam around with your camera, always be on alert for silly situations. Don't worry, you'll find them.

Laughing out Loud - ara133photography

Remember to share your best humorous pictures. Laughter and humor is the secret to long life. Don't keep it to yourself!

Discussion - jenniferdennispotter

Tips and Tricks: Sepia

The following is a tip that Jon Sienkiewicz, a photographer and avid professional writer and photographer, contributed to the 100 in 100 feature on the Adorama website. We've peppered Jon's points with a few fine examples from some of our team members.

Abandoned - JMcGuinness


Lone Tree - jenniferdennispotter

To give photos an old-fashioned appearance, use the Sepia Mode. All of the colors will be replaced with varying shades of sepia (sort of a dark brownish-yellow) that’s commonly found in some antique photos. Choose your subject carefully. Old barns, antique furniture and city skylines look great in sepia, for example, but people, food and pets generally do not. Vary the exposure to alter the outcome. Slight underexposure will exaggerate the effect. Some cameras--Sony models, for instance--favor brown tones, while Casio and others are a bit more orange.

City Serenity - AriaImages


solitude - rainwolf

Be careful when you edit your images. Some editing software attempts to counterbalance the sepia coloration, especially if you are using any type of Auto Fix setting. Those Auto Fix results will be a boring black-and-white monochrome. The same holds true when you have your digital images printed. Whenever possible, inform your printer that you used a special effect so they won’t try to “correct” the colors by removing the sepia.

The Golden Days - SusannahTucker


Untitled - houseofsixcats

Tips and Tricks: Shooting Mirrors

The following is a tip that Jon Sienkiewicz, a photographer and avid professional writer and photographer, contributed to the 100 in 100 feature on the Adorama website. We've peppered Jon's points with a few fine examples from some of our team members.

Reflective surfaces--like windows and water--can be very challenging to photograph. Especially in dim light, when you're tempted to use flash, shiny objects can present real problems. But there are times when you want a reflection to tell the central part of the story. That's why it's important to learn how to photograph mirrors.

serendipity by ellemoss

Rule number one: Make sure that you're not included in the scene. While Count Dracula never had this problem, for many of us the excitement of getting a fleeting shot makes it hard to confirm perfect composition. To be on the safe side, shoot, move and shoot again.

reflection by racergirl1313

Rule number two: Make sure you're focusing on the reflected image and not the mirror frame. If you use a DSLR you have a leg up.

Upon entering wonderland by jacqleenbleu

Rule number three: Keep the subject moving (or keep moving the subject around) until you achieve just the angle you want. Things move backwards in mirrors, so practice patiently.