Lectures & Talks

I frequently present talks and judge competitions at camera clubs and online. If this is of interest, please contact me: colin@MakeMyPicturesBetter.com

I currently have 5 talks available. They are all of flexible duration, but typically 90-120 minutes. Four of the talks are picture-based and address my approach to photography. The fifth one is somewhat technical. Audience participation is always encouraged. All the talks may be presented live, depending on location, or using an online platform, like Zoom.

The Opportunistic Photographer

This talk could have been titled "100 Imperfect Pictures". It is a personal critique of my photography over the last decade. Each picture has a story: why I took it; how I took it; what happened to it. There is plenty of opportunity for audience participation, as, with your help, the next 100 pictures might be better.

Annual Perspective

Like most keen photographers, I take a lot of pictures. Most of the time, I take shots that I like and a certain proportion of these may find their way into competitions, exhibitions etc. I was wondering how I might use and share some more images, so, for a 12 month period, I posted one picture online, with some commentary, every day. This talk is a critique of some of the images from that project and includes a wide range of subject matter. 

Observational Photography

Like most photographers, I started out shooting anything that came to hand. Over the years, I have dabbled in a number of genres, looking for my niche. In the last few years, I have begun to feel that I found it: Observational Photography. This is defined [by me] as: “Seeking and finding images in unexpected places”. This talk is a tour through some of my recent work as I home in on this genre.

Observational Photography 2

This is a continuation of my Observational Photography talk in which I further refine my ideas and show more recent work. I endeavour to explore my assertion that "Photography is about showing what you see, not just illustrating what is there".

Image Sizes and File Formats - Myths, Legends and the Truth

Answering the question “How big is this image?” sounds like it should be simple. However, this is not the case. With digital images, “size” means a number of different things and this leads to very widespread confusion. In turn, photographers may be uncertain about resizing images, which, if approached wrongly, can very adversely affect the quality of a picture. In a recent photographic competition, sponsored by a reputable photographic company, was a rule: "All submissions must be at least 4000px on the longest edge, have a minimum resolution of 300dpi”. As this is completely meaningless, the widespread confusion is illustrated.
This talk aims to eliminate that confusion by looking, step by step, at what is meant by "size". All the basics of digital image dimensional adjustments are covered. No technical knowledge is assumed, as the discussion starts from first principles. At the end, in addition to illustrating how this understanding leads to higher quality and better presented images, possibilities for some more creative techniques are also demonstrated.