Tethered shooting

How a tethered session runs

The camera is connected before the first frame and stays connected for the whole session. Each capture is copied to the host as it's made, so the session builds up off-camera in shooting order. In a studio that host is usually a computer: an art director watches a big monitor while the photographer shoots, and the capture software applies a preset to each frame as it lands. On location the host is more often a phone, and the job is backup and delivery rather than on-set review.

An example: a corporate headshot day

A photographer shoots eighty staff headshots in a meeting room. Tethered to a phone, every frame is copied off the camera as it's taken and uploaded to a shared Google Drive folder, so the HR team can start picking favourites from their desks before the session ends. With “JPEG only” switched on, the RAW files stay on the card for retouching later and the phone sends only the smaller JPEGs over its mobile data.

Tethered shooting with CloudTether

CloudTether runs a tethered session from an iPhone, iPad or Android phone: connect the camera, start a shoot, pick its destinations and keep shooting. Shots keep coming off the camera even with no signal; they wait safely on the phone and upload when it's back online. CloudTether focuses on capture and delivery: you compose and fire on the camera as normal. More in tethered shooting from your phone and tethering with no signal.

Where it's used

Studio product and fashion work has tethered for years, because a client or art director signs off each set-up on a big screen. Weddings, events and sports have taken it up more recently in its mobile form, where the point isn't review but speed: a backup off the card within seconds, and photos with the client while the event is still going.

Tips and common mistakes

• Decide what the session is for. If the client needs a big screen on set, use desktop software; if they need the photos, a phone tether gets them there sooner.
• Plan for file sizes. RAW files from a high-resolution body are large, so send JPEGs live and RAWs later — see JPEG-only and resized delivery.
• Secure the cable so a tug can't strain the camera's port; on a phone tether, a hot-shoe phone mount keeps everything in one hand.
• Shoot a test frame and check it arrived before the subject walks in.
• Keep the phone charged: a long tethered session with uploads running uses more battery than a day of normal phone use, so bring a small power bank.