One day, he picked up a picture postcard book by veteran photographer S. Paul, which sparked his curiosity about photography, and he convinced his father to buy him a Yashica point-and-shoot camera.

Though Adnan received no formal training, he learned through trial and error with guidance from senior photographers.

Adnan has mentioned that in his first job at a local newswire agency, he was often given only limited leftover film, which he credits for teaching him "the habit of being selective".

[6][7] He won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for his coverage of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.

[2][9] In 2022 Abidi’s work titled ‘Covid Horror in Delhi’ won NPPA Best of Photojournalism first place in the Breaking News Story category.