12 HELP! I've got a huge group of people to photograph, but no wide-angle lens.
Treat your group shot like a panorama. Stand as still as you can, and pivot your camera a little bit to take multiple shots of the group, taking care not to cut anyone in half. Combine the shots with software. If you do it fast enough, you'll outwit the monkey who wants to run to the other side to get in both ends of your picture.
13 HELP! My SLR is stuck to my tripod.
If you don't have a quick-release plate or a toolbox, and you've over-tightened the º-20 bolt that holds your camera, there's still hope. Make your tripod as short as possible, sit on a chair with the 'pod tight between your knees, grasp your camera on both sides, and turn it carefully, counterclockwise (looking down at it). Be sure to turn it in that direction or risk cracking its base plate.
14 HELP! My digital camera is totally freaking out.
Is the menu suddenly in Japanese, or does your autofocus function only when you hold down a certain button? Chances are some prankster (or you, in a bout of confusion) set something wrong. If you can't figure out what, simply reset your camera to its default settings. If you can't read the language, drag out your manual and start counting menu items.
15 HELP! I'm looking at a gorgeous landscape, but I've only got five minutes to shoot -- and it's high noon.
Adjust your composition accordingly: Make sure at least 60 percent of your photograph is either in highlight or in shadow, and expose for that portion. If you just can't get a good composition that way, bracket your shots in burst mode, then use software to composite the different exposures into a high-dynamic-range image.
16 HELP! My kid's team plays only at twilight, and even the camera's highest iso isn't enough to freeze the action.
If the star player's too far away for your flash, it's time to pan. Set your camera to a shutter speed of anywhere from 1/30 to 1/8 sec, and pivot the camera to follow the player. Your action shots will look great when they work, but this is a tricky maneuver, so we recommend practicing in your spare time.
17 HELP! The little child I'm photographing won't stop crying.
Let her mother hit you! Nothing's funnier than the big scary character with the camera getting what-for from Momma. Just ask her to go easy on you.
18 HELP! I want a color photo, but the light's coming from different sources.
White balance can be tricky. If your subject is backlit by daylight and frontlit by a lightbulb, you run the risk of a yellowish face and a bluish background. Save yourself with flash: Its color temperature will balance the backlight. No flash on hand? Shoot with RAW, process for each kind of light, then combine the different versions with image-editing software.
19 HELP! My portrait subject has a huge schnoz and I want to flatter him.
Avoid profiles! Use a long lens, get as far away from the subject as possible, and shoot straight on. If that's not enough, ask the nose-bearer to tilt his head slightly down, and hold the camera slightly above his eye level.
20 HELP! When I shoot the whole family together, my sister always blinks and wrecks the picture.
If one of the people in a group shot can't help but close her eyes when the flash pops, have everyone close them. Count down from three, and have them all open those peepers when you get to one.
21 HELP! I changed my batteries, but my camera still doesn't turn on.
Chances are you loaded those puppies in backward. Check the diagram and try again. Problem solved? We thought so.
22 HELP! My camera fell off my boat -- But at least I managed to fish it out.
If you dropped your digital camera into fresh water, you might have half a chance: Turn off the camera immediately, remove the battery, put it in a dry place, and leave it alone for a few days to air out. If the camera works after that, consider yourself cosmically lucky. There's an urban legend that contends that if you drop a camera in salt water, you can flush it by plunging it in fresh. The folks at Essex Camera Repair in Carlstadt, NJ, say that's bunk. But since they also say that salt water messes up your camera so badly that you shouldn't even bother to fork over money for a repair estimate, we think it can't hurt to give it a dunk.
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