Camera to cloud
C2C
Camera to cloud is a workflow where each photo or clip uploads from the camera to cloud storage, a client gallery or a server as it's captured, rather than after the shoot.
In a camera-to-cloud workflow there's no "offload later" step: the camera is tethered (over USB or Wi-Fi) to a device that uploads every full-resolution frame the moment it's taken, so images are in the cloud within seconds of the shutter.
The term was popularised in video production, where Frame.io Camera to Cloud sends footage from set to editors. For stills photographers it means the same thing applied to photos: an immediate off-camera backup, client galleries that fill in real time, and frames on an editor's desk before the shoot ends. Security-camera makers also use "camera to cloud" for IP cameras that record to a cloud service — a different thing altogether.
CloudTether does camera to cloud for photographers from a phone: connect a Canon, Nikon, Sony or Fujifilm and every shot is delivered to Dropbox, Google Drive, a gallery or an FTP server as you shoot.
- Shutterthe camera writes the frame
- Phonecopied off in seconds
- CloudTetheruploaded once
- Every destinationstorage, gallery, server
How it works with CloudTether
Camera to cloud has two legs. The first moves each photo off the camera — over USB or Wi-Fi to a phone, or from a camera with its own uploading. The second pushes it to the destination over mobile data or an internet connection. CloudTether uploads each photo from the phone once; its servers then deliver it to every destination on the shoot, so sending to Dropbox and a gallery doesn't cost twice the mobile data. If the signal drops, shots wait on the phone and send when it returns.
An example: a youth-sports tournament
A sports photographer covers a day of matches and wants parents to find their photos before they go home. With JPEG only switched on, each frame is on the phone within seconds and in the ShootProof gallery shortly after, while the RAWs stay on the card. By the final whistle, parents are already browsing the gallery.
What to send where
Not every destination needs every file. Storage such as Dropbox or Google Drive can take everything, RAW included; gallery services such as SmugMug, ShootProof and Photohawk get the JPEGs. Delivered copies can be sized down so galleries load quickly, and on Canon and Nikon you can send only the shots you rate in camera. See Dropbox and all destinations.
Why photographers use it
The first reason is safety: a second copy off the card within seconds means a lost or failed card doesn't cost the job. The second is speed to the client — galleries that fill during the event, frames on an editor's desk before the final whistle. The third is time back: no evening spent importing cards and uploading, because the upload already happened while you were shooting.
Tips and common mistakes
- The fastest file is the one you don't send: JPEG only does more for speed than any network trick.
- Connect destinations and create the shoot before you lose signal.
- Check the phone has room — shots waiting to upload are stored on it.
See also
Put it into practice
CloudTether tethers your camera to your phone and delivers every shot to the cloud, live as you shoot — no laptop.