Camera Club Talks
I love giving talks on sport and music photography – in person to camera clubs within the Southern Counties Photographic Federation area, and further afield via Zoom.
I currently offer 3 talks. In each case, my aim is to enthuse listeners to want to have a go themselves, and for them to have sufficient confidence to go out, have fun and capture some really good images.
‘An Introduction to Sport Photography’.
The talk is about how to get started in sport photography and provides examples of what works and what doesn’t. The first half sets out the key principles and is illustrated with photographs of football, cricket and basketball. During the second half, I cover about four or five sports chosen by the Camera Club that are available locally and therefore easily accessible to club members.
Sports I have covered are: archery, athletics, city cycling, climbing, golf, ice hockey, motorsports, polo, rugby, speedway, surfing/windsurfing, track cycling. Other sports may be available on request.
‘Sport Photography’.
This talk provides an insight into my life as a freelance sport photographer. It is structured around:
Before - what I do to prepare before going out on assignment (my kit, doing my homework, clarifying requirements etc);
During - what happens during the shoot itself (arrival routine, camera settings, shooting plan);
After - what I do after the assignment (post production workflow, what to do with the photos, charging).
‘An Introduction to Sport and Music Photography’
This talk brings out the similarities between photographing sport and music. It is structured along the lines of the ‘Introduction to Sport’ talk, but does not cover basketball in the first half and covers fewer sports selected by the Camera Club in the second half.
The music sections include an insight into photographing at The Joiners music venue in Southampton, and address the challenges of operating in an environment where the lighting is completely outside your control.
All talks are profusely illustrated with images taken over the last few years, to illustrate what works – and what doesn’t. Metadata is provided for each photo, to show how it was taken.
Please contact me for further information and for prices. Short notice talks considered, subject to availability.
Testimonials:
“Keswick Photographic Society enjoyed an excellent talk, “An Introduction to Music and Sports Photography” from Michael Berkeley the other week. Although delivered by Zoom, Michael’s dry humour and obvious expertise kept us well entertained throughout and the inclusion of plentiful advice both technical and compositional made it a valuable learning experience as well.”
Keswick Camera Club, March 2023
“Many thanks again for your presentation to Reading Camera Club yesterday evening. I know from the comments I got after the talk, that our members found it an enjoyable and entertaining evening but also very useful for their own photography as you gave us great advice on the challenges of taking pictures at sports events.”
Reading Camera Club, March 2023
“Michael is an excellent, very knowledgeable speaker. We were treated to a very interesting and varied evening, not simply of some excellent sports shots, but much more importantly, how to get great shots, what to look out for, and what the main pitfalls are, along with a lot of tips, settings, and gear advice. He freely answered all our questions, and gave us the tips and advice gained the hard way, from years of sport photography. I know that this fantastic insight into the world of the sports photographer will inspire some of us to get out there and give it a go, I certainly hope so!”
Penwith Photographic Group, December 2022
“Thank you so much for your time on Tuesday, for coming to Cricklade and sharing your sports photography with us. I have received so many lovely comments about the talk. Everyone loved it and thank you for sharing so much information and practical tips with us. All the members I have spoken to appreciated how honest you were about your pictures, which were absolutely amazing, but they learned so much from hearing you talk about the things you wished you’d done differently and from the different conversations going on afterwards I suspect we may start to see more sports pictures in up and coming competitions.”
Cricklade Camera Club, September 2022
“Michael attended our club night to present a thoroughly engaging evening about Sports photography. He was easy to listen to and 9.45pm arrived quickly, which is a good sign that we were absorbed in what he presented. Michael has an engaging, clear articulation and a friendly demeanour. Michael was generous in sharing his techniques which can mostly be applied to other genres such as wildlife photography. Many members found it really useful that he showed the camera settings at the top of each slide so you could see the outcome of using the different settings/lenses. A very good club photography speaker, ‘talks our language’. He made us feel that you could do the same but you had to get organised and know your sports. He gave an insight into his world that some of us had not considered, along with some really useful tips. An inspiration to us.”
Newbury Photography Club, April 2022
“Michael provided an informative and entertaining evening when he presented his talk, ‘An Introduction to Music and Sport Photography’ to Kettering & District Photographic Society. Michael’s talk was delivered over Zoom onto a large screen where we meet as we’d recently resumed face to face meetings. He covered a number of music events and various sports including Rugby, Football, Cricket, Windsurfing and Basketball and presented some technically incredible images with a clear explanation of how they were captured. His talk was very well received by our members and is highly recommended.”
Kettering & District Photographic Society , February 2022
“At Ulverscroft Camera club we are always looking for new speakers to both inspire, and encourage members in all genres of photography, and Michael’s presentation on sports photography certainly did that. Sharing his passion and expertise across a number of sports he gave some very practical advice on how to approach both the sport itself, and the more technical aspects of capturing the action and stories. His humorous recollections of some of the more challenging moments he faced also provided learning for us all. Members were very complimentary about his open style and his willingness to answer all questions asked. A thoroughly enjoyable evening for everyone.”
Ulverscroft Camera Club, February 2022
“Michael presented his talk “An introduction to Sports Photography” to our club members last Monday. We enjoyed a great evening seeing Michael’s images and also being given a comprehensive introduction into the method and techniques he uses in their capture. The range of sports covered emphasises Michael’s enjoyment of this photographic genre and this together with his superb photographs made a great club evening.”
Salisbury Photography Club, December 2021
“Chichester Camera Club had the pleasure of Michael’s company on the 23rd September when he presented his talk entitled 'An Introduction to Music and Sport Photography'. The talk was extremely interesting and very informative, with Michael offering a range of excellent tips for taking both Music or Sport images. He shows clear examples of what not to do using his own images which did not reach his highest standard. Michael's presentation style kept the talk flowing thus maintaining the interest of his audience and was happy to take questions. Our members thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and as a club we will be happy to have him back in the future. Thanks from us all Michael for a great evening.”
Chichester Camera Club, September 2021
“Michael’s talk was engaging, enjoyable and full of practical advice based on his extensive experience in photographing many sports and music acts. It was very professionally delivered and illustrated with many excellent photographs, as well as a few less perfect images with explanations of what could have been done better. Certainly this would be an inspiration for anyone wanting to get started in sport or music photography, and also some important lessons for photographers of all genres. Particularly impressive was Michael’s efforts to make the presentation relevant to the local area of our club.”
Wantage Camera Club, September 2021
"Michael's presentation was clear and well structured, his delivery very professional, well paced and with touches of humour. He explained how he approaches work in these genres and illustrated his explanations with carefully chosen images. We especially appreciated that Michael had customised his talk for our Club, drawing links between his chosen genres and 'nature' photography, which is a particular strength of the New Forest Camera Club, also choosing sports which our members could access locally when sharing detailed advice of how we could develop our sports photography skills. Overall, a great night. I would thoroughly recommend Michael's 'Introduction to Sports and Music Photography' to other camera clubs."
New Forest Camera Club, April 2021
“May I say – and I speak for the rest of the members that were watching and listening to you – that it was one of the most interesting and informative talks that I have booked for the club, and I have been doing the programme secretary’s job for the past 12 years. I will gladly invite you back for another evening in my 2021/2022 programme. Thank you Michael again for a brilliant evening.”
Blandford Forum Camera Club, November 2020
“Michael Berkeley showed us some of his fantastic images, together with explanations of how he took them. His presentation was extremely informative, and he was very generous with his explanations of technique and general approach to his photography. The presentation was a Master Class in planning sport and music shoots - both of which, although they have similarities, for example capturing movement and getting the lighting correct, also have very different challenges: one of which is the positioning of ourselves as photographers to get the right shot. It was a brilliant evening.”
Bath Photographic Society, November 2020
“A brief formal thank you for your excellent presentation last night, which has received a universally positive response from members. It was great to hear such an honest and open talk that covered a huge range of photographic situations, and gave everyone vital information on how to set up shots that work (and how to get it wrong!).”
bh Photography Club, September 2020
“We have some top speakers and some excellent talks...and sometimes we get someone who is new to us who absolutely amazes us! Last night was one such night - we welcomed Michael Berkeley LRPS with "An Introduction to Sport and Music Photography" and I have lost count of the number of people who came up to me in the break or afterwards saying what a brilliant speaker he was. He was entertaining and gave us so much useful advice - accompanied by some excellent photography! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the evening. You could tell by the number of people who gathered round Michael at the interval that his talk really did provoke a lot of interest.”
Dorchester Camera Club, November 2019
“I have had nothing but good feedback from our members on your talk with us. Everyone found it very informative and entertaining with many of them being inspired to go and try Sport and Music for the first time.”
Wareham Camera Club, October 2019
“I have had feedback from many of our members who reckon that your presentation is up there with the very best. One guy admitted to not really having an interest in sport or music festivals but was captivated by your images and presentation, while another wished to 'have a go' at the music side of things, so thank you for providing such a great evening's entertainment.”
Highcliffe & Infinity Camera Club, April 2019