I had to laugh when Tether Tools asked me to write about my tethered photography workflow. The truth is that I’ll do anything I can to avoid tethering. I hate tethering BUT I do it when clients are on set or want to apply preset “looks” to the shoot. I love that Tether Tools makes this as easy as possible and the spontaneity of working quickly and focusing on interacting with the person in front of my lens.
The main reason I use Tether Tools products is that they make tethering as simple and painless as possible. I dig simple and painless.
Tethering with Sony
When we tether using Sony a99 or a900 cameras, we fire up Sony’s Remote Camera Control tethering software to automatically move the images to a folder on my MacBook Pro.
If we have clients on set, we’ll run Adobe Lightroom 4 and watch that folder so that we can apply a preset to the RAW images that roughly simulate the way I want the shoot to look on import. Whether it’s high-contrast black and white or highly saturated color, the client sees something close to the final image.
Like most of you, when we have clients on set, we’ll go full-court press with digital-tech-rockin’-a-MacPro-and-30-inch-monitor-on-magliner. But man, whenever we move on the set, I feel like it’s herding elephants at the circus.
I love it when I can avoid that, which brings me to my next section…
Free the pain
Tether Tools must have been feeling my pain with their digital tethered photography tools. So they developed products that take the circus out of your production.
Tether Tables: They make Tether Tables that fit standard light stands or tripods that you probably already have on set.
Tethering Cables: Since I’ve got big feet and all the grace of a mule, I love the High-Visibility Orange TetherPro USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Active Extension Cables. They keep me from tripping and tearing down the set.
Cable Management: I really like the JerkStoppers because they keep the connection solid…and the nice folks at Tether Tools swear they didn’t name them after me.
Pro-Bracket: I’m stoked to get Tether Tools new lightweight LoPro-2 Pro-Bracket for my Tether Table Aero. It’s smaller, lighter, fits 1/4″-20 tripod screw and even fits straight into my Arca-style quick-release tripod heads.
Conclusion
Easy – just the way I like it – and so easy to transport that I’ll actually throw the Tether Table Aero into my bag every time I head out.
About Brian Smith
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith is the luckiest guy on the planet. He’s told Bill Gates exactly what to do for an entire hour, appeared on The X Factor, exhibited at the Library of Congress, dined with the President and 3,000 of their closest friends, written an Amazon Best Seller, shared cupcakes with Anne Hathaway, gotten drunk with George Clooney and married the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on. For the past 30 years, Brian Smith’s iconic portraits of famous celebrities, athletes and executives have been used in advertising, by corporations and have graced the covers and pages of hundreds of magazines including Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, Time, Forbes, New York Times Magazine, Elle and British GQ.
