Presentation to audience

[someese]

I have been asked to deliver a presentation of a digital photography project. What is the best method of presenting a digital slide show to an audience. I am thinking along the lines of a DVD with manual slide change feeding a digital projector or a Powerpoint type presentation again to a digital projector. Any thoughts?

[AndyStevens]

I generally use Keynote for presentations (or PowerPoint). I try to automate a lot of the slide changes / transitions as people don't really like you constantly clicking away - just make sure you're not automating a potential question raiser as it's frustrating to watch your lovely presentation go on behind you while someone asks a daft question

Or you may be able t use your mobile as a remote control - some phones/laptops allow this by Bluetooth.

Just try not to do 'Death By Powerpoint' !!

[GeoffWessex]

I've seen quite a few different methods, many by professionals....
If it's a 'proper' slide show, with sound, WMV format is usually fine.... but you just start it and it runs in its own time - stopping and starting isn't a good idea.
If it's just a lot of pictures, take them on a USB stick or DVD and open them as a folder. You can then opt to show the whole folder 'as a slide show', and click forward and backward as you like. (Certainly Windows, not sure about Mac).
Powerpoint (or similar) can do a good slide show but there's not a lot to be gained except that you can move at your own pace with a mouse click forward (tricky to get back, though, if you're trying to demonstrate something or, more likely, somebody asks a question about a picture one second after you've gone on to the next!)

[someese]

Thanks for the replies to date. I envisage using the photos to illustrate what I am talking about so I need to be in control of when the slides change. The DVD route has a problem in that my photos are originally 18Mpixel and a DVD can only show approx 780 x 576 in the U.K. without upscaling. Can Powerpoint type presentations allied to a digital projector handle files of 18Mpixel? I think the weak link might be the projector.

[AndyStevens]

There's no problem with file size in Keynote/Powerpoint. You might want to Downsample a bit to speed up transitions though.

[OldBoy]

You could use Windows Media player to show the images and they only go forward when you click for next picture. You can also go backwards by clicking the back key. If you have a large LCD TV screen then should be able to conect the PC/Laptop to it to show the pictures, like connecting an external monitor to your PC/Laptop.

[KeithT]

In teaching the old adage is to tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em ... tell 'em...and then tell 'em what you have told them. I guess this will be the same with a photographic presentation. Whatever you do, don't let it just be a showing of your favourite pictures. Good luck and once over any nerves (I always had them before I started a workshop) it is great fun. Good tech advice above.

[ABERS]

...and always remember

ABC and XYZ

Always Be Cheerful
and
Xamine Your Zip!