In 1975, Lai Wing Chiu began serious study of the medium of photography. When, in 1976, he took first prize in both the colour and black-and-white divisions of the all-Macao Photography Competition, and then went on to win first prize in the first Macao Slide Photography Competition, his talent was immediately recognizable to everyone. In 1978, he and some fellow photographers organized the Photography Salon of Macao, of which he became Chairperson; he also chaired the organizing committee of the First Macao International Salon of Photography. He currently is the Lifetime Honorary Chairperson of the Salon, and a member of the Cultural Council of the Macao Special Administrative Region government.

Over the years, Mr. Lai has met with great success in international photography salons. For several years now he has been named one of the ten best photographers by World Salon, and in 1985, 1986, and 1988 was first on this list. His works have been exhibited in international salons around the world more than 1,300 times, and have won over 500 prizes, including gold, silver, and bronze medals. Since 1992, when he won a Diamond Star rating from the Photographic Society of America, he has been honoured by over twenty prestigious photography societies around the world, including the Royal Photographic Society in England (where he was made a Fellow) and the New York Institute of Photography. Mr. Lai has been invited to sit on juries for World Salon competitions, and has been honorary consultant for numerous photography associations. In June 2000, he published a collection of his photographs entitled “Sentimental Journey: Twenty-Five Years of Photography.”