10 TED Talks on Photography That Will Change Your World

From giant, magnified photos of tiny insects to photographers tackling poverty with a camera, these inspiring talks show the impact of photography today.

Photo by The Good Brigade / Wemark

TED talks continue to drive some of the most inspiring ideas on science, technology, design, and all-around cutting-edge ideas — all centered around democratizing information and world-changing initiatives. While their mainstay “TED conference” is hosted annually in Vancouver, BC, independent “TEDx” offshoots happen almost every day in cities around the world, and you can catch nearly every talk online shortly after.

Unsurprisingly, many focus on photography and cover a broad range of topics including racial and economic inequality, advice for budding photographers, technology’s impact on the medium and — as you might expect –bright, bold, awe-inspiring images from National Geographic. Wemark’s editors compiled some of our favorite photography-focused talks that will give you a thought-provoking break from whatever you’re doing, and maybe move you to create something bigger.

Renée C. Byer: The World’s Poor and the Power of Photography to Effect Change

TEDx Sonoma County. January 31, 2018.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Renée C. Byer is widely known for her in-depth photographs on the disadvantaged and voiceless and her acclaimed book Living on a Dollar a Day: The Lives and Faces of the World’s Poor, which brings light to those suffering from extreme poverty. In her talk at TEDx Sonoma County earlier this year, Byer dived into her practice, photography’s ability to bring light to the world’s most devastating conditions, and those who are working towards change.

Ryan Pfluger: Photography as a salve for loneliness

TEDx Pasadena. November 16th, 2017

Pfluger is one of today’s most active fine art, fashion, and editorial photographers, attaching his thoughtful, empathetic eye to everything he touches. He got his first major assignment over a decade ago when photo editor Kathy Ryan hired him to shoot an assignment for New York Times Magazine, and his career took off. In this TEDx talk, the photographer talks about road trips, his increasingly expansive career, and how photography has served as his personal, emotional and professional salvation.

Mikaël Theimer and the surprising outcome of photographing strangers

TEDx Concordia. March 7, 2016.

In 2014, inspired by Humans of New York, Themer quit his job at an ad agency to launch Portraits of Montreal, an ongoing project that has allowed him to connect with strangers and look below the surface.

In his TEDx talk, the photographer discusses photography’s power to unite, break stereotypes and tell stories, helping to unite us all.

Uldus Bakhtiozina: Portraits that Transform People into Whatever They Want to be

TED2017. VANCOUVER, BC

Artist and TED Fellow Uldus Bakhtiozina makes fantastical photographic portraits of everyday people and fashion models, helping them overcome their fears, life obstacles, and realize their wildest dreams. Many of her subjects are survivors, people in transition, and those “on a road to a better life.” She chooses to work with these people because, in her words, “I’ve been in that position myself. I’ve had to learn how to survive in real life.”

Charleton Churchill: Exploring Adventure Wedding Photography

TEDxCSUS. January 26th, 2018.

Charleton Churchill was the first photographer to document a wedding at the base of Mt. Everest, and has since become renowned for “extreme wedding photography.” Churchill talks about his various adventures shooting weddings in unexpected, hard to reach, and otherwise death defying locations, and shares his final breathtaking images alongside behind-the-scenes shots that give a glimpse into the process, and humanity behind his work.

Hank Willis Thomas and Deborah Willis: A Mother and Son United by Love and Art

TEDWomen, 2017.

Professor, photographer, and critic Deborah Willis and her son, acclaimed photographer and activist Hank Willis Thomas share the stage to discuss their work, how they influence one another, and how their art confronts and shatters mainstream narratives. At the heart of their talk –and what ultimately brings their work together — is love, which Willis Thomas describes as “an action, not a feeling…a way of being, it’s a way of doing, it’s a way of listening, and it’s a way of seeing.”

Levon Biss: Mind-blowing, Magnified Portraits of Insects

TED2017. Vancouver, BC. April, 2017.

Biss spent more than a decade as a commercial photographer but was only truly inspired one day when his son placed a ground beetle under a microscope, illuminating its rich, colorful details. This inspired his book, Microsulpture — published by Abrams in 2017 — a series of close up images of insects that are comprised of 8–10,000 shots per image to highlight every minute detail of the insects surface. The images ridiculously high resolution allow Biss to print the tiny creatures at gargantuan sizes. In his talk at TED 2017, the photographer shares the story behind these photographs and how they’ve served not only as beautiful visuals but as a vital tool for science education.

Angelica Dass: The Beauty of Human Skin in Every Color

TED2016. Vancouver, BC. April 2016.

Artist and photographer Angelica Dass’ project, Humanæ is a collection of portraits that capture the beauty and nearly limitless range of human colors, matching people of different hues with their Pantone color. The photographer speaks about her work and how her experience growing up influenced it, promoting open discussion about how we think about skin color and how it shapes our relationship to cultural and ethnic identity.

Anna Rosling Rönnlund: See How the Rest of the World Lives: Organized by Income

TED2017. April, 2017.

Humanitarian, visualizer and public speaker Anna Rosling has sent photographers to 264 homes in 50 countries around the world (and growing) to document an compare how people of various incomes live. Images span toilets, bedrooms, kitchens and even toothbrushes — which range from immaculately designed plastic to branches and twigs. The project illuminates economic disparity and cultural differences (as well as similarities) around the world and serves as an urgent wake-up call for what many of us take for granted while highlighting what brings us together.

Will Marshall: The Mission to Create a Searchable Database of Earth’s Surface

TED2018. Vancouver, BC. April, 2018.

Space scientist Will Marshall and his team at Planet, after using the world’s largest satellites to picture the entire earth, are developing a project to use AI to index every single object on the planet over time. What sounds like science fiction may soon become a reality, potentially allowing people to search and find houses, cars, trees, and likely everything else on the planet. It’s cool, futuristic and aimed at solving some of the world’s largest environmental problems by giving people the right tools to see them and take appropriate action.

Stay tuned for another roundup of TED talks on cryptocurrency and all things blockchain coming soon.