Tethered Shooting

I Can See Better Now

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Today my photographing buddy--Rob Miller and I shot tethered for the first time and it was a great experience.  What tethered means is connecting your camera to your computer and when you press the shutter button, the image goes directly to your computer screen so that you can instantly view it.

So, just how do you shoot tethered?  Well typically you will start with four things:

1. A DSLR--Digital Single Lens Reflex--camera

2. A cable, USB or in some cases Firewire

3. A Computer, generally laptop but a desktop works just the same

4. Tethering software (something has to communicate between the camera and computer)

Items 1-3 are self explanatory, but item 4 deserves a little more of an explanation.  Canon supplies with its DSLRs a utility CD that contains the needed TWAIN drivers to connect their cameras to computers and the software running on those computers.  They even have a program called DPP that will give you most, if not all, the functionality that you need to shoot tethered.  Nikon on the other hand makes you purchase the drivers and software.

If you have Adobe Lightroom ver 3.0 or Apples Aperture, you are in luck you can shoot tethered out of the box (although you still might need a driver to make your computer recognize that it is connected to your camera, so check with your manufacturer)

Why would you want to shoot tethered?  Well, the main reason is to be able to see the image you just shot in a larger size than that of the small LCD on the back of your DSLR.  

Another reason is so that the model can see herself after the shot is taken. Many times you will set up the shot, take some shots and then have the model come over and review the images with the model wrangler, hair and makeup artist, and of course the photographer.  By looking through the images together all involved can get a better understanding of what is going on and what adjustments need to be made.  Sometimes no adjustments are needed, but suggestions for the next series of shots can be made.

If you are shooting with a macro lens, then shooting tethered is a great way to see what your depth of fields is.  Often times it is difficult to see exactly what is in focus when shooting in macro mode.  By having a big screen and the image instantly viewable, the photographer can make adjustments right away, this is a big time saver.

Shooting tethered also allows you to use your histogram better.  Generally the histogram on the back of your DSLR is based on the JPG file that the camera creates and not the RAW file.  When connected to a good program like Lightroom or Aperature, the histogram is based on the RAW file itself and thus give you a much more accurate representation of what is really going on in your image.

As with most things good, there comes along with it something not so good.  This is true when shooting tethered as well.  One thing I, and many photographers, hate is stepping on or tripping over the tethered cable.  In my case I generally step on it and pull it out of either my camera or computer.

Another downside of shooting tethered is that it is not really usefull when trying to capture a moving subject, like children or animals.  I guess you could find a way to strap a laptop to you waste and then you would be “mobile,” but generally you are confined to the length of your cable.

Typically a USB cable is around 5-10 feet, and the typical max is 15 feet.  You can get special cables and also “booster” or “repeaters” for USB but there is not telling how they will work for you. 

One way to combat the cable limitations is to go wireless.  Both Canon and Nikon sell proprietary systems to accomplish this, and they are pricey, about $700.  However, with a little elbow grease you can actually build yourself a DIY wireless USB system for under $100.  I will have a post on this soon, as now that I and Rob are hooked on shooting tethered, we are going to be building two sets of them!

In the end, the reason to shoot tethered is a personal one.  I have found that for me, it helps me create better photographic images.  I can check my lighting better.  I can check my exposure settings better.  I can communicate my intentions to my model and support personnel better.  Plain and simple, my pictures just come out better, and in the end that is what we are all striving for.

Some added information for you:

Notes on Canon cameras

-5D, 20D, and Digital Rebel XT (350D/Kiss Digital N) must be set to PC Connect Mode before using.

-5D, 1D Mark II, 1Ds Mark II, EOS 350D (Rebel XT/EOS Kiss Digital N) on Windows require a driver downloaded from Canon. This driver is not available for 64-bit versions of Windows.

-20D is not supported on Windows.

-Using the 50D in Windows, images can fail to come into the computer if the CF card is inserted or removed during the session.

-1D Mark II, 1Ds Mark II must be connected via Firewire for tethered support.

Notes on Nikon cameras

-If you trigger the shutter with the tether bar capture button, the image must finish downloading before another photo can be captured. Triggering a capture with the shutter release button on the camera does not have this limitation.

-Images do not save to the CF card. They are only downloaded to the computer.

-D200 is not supported on Windows.

-Only one Nikon camera can be attached at a time.

-Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.6 are not officially supported for the D3x, D90, and D5000, but they can still work.

Here are two good sources of additional information:

http://pixsylated.com/2008/08/benefits-shooting-tethered-into-lightroom/

http://tethertalk.com/category/tethered-photography/