Better When You Tether: Simplicity is Underrated by Jeff Rojas

Jeff Rojas is an American portrait and fashion photographer and educator based in New York City.  Jeff has taught on various photographic platforms including: CreativeLIVE, WPPI, PhotoPlus Expo, Gulf Photo Plus and APA. Below is a behind-the-scenes, educational article from photographer Jeff Rojas titled, “Simplicity is Underrated” from the recently re-released Better When You Tether series. Download now for FREE and read this, and other articles from photographers such as Joe McNally, Clay Cook, Lindsay Adler, Moshe Zusman and more.

Simplicity is Underrated by Jeff Rojas

As a photographer, simplicity is of the utmost importance. Between shooting, editing, delivery, marketing, accounting, cold calling, etc., even a typical day can feel extremely overwhelming. I’ve learned to value tools that can make my assignments and business run smoothly, so that I can focus on what’s important — the client. On my commercial sets, tethering isn’t an option, it’s a requirement. The ability to show my creative team: the makeup artist, hairstylist, wardrobe stylist, etc., the images displayed live means that they can visibly see how the shot is looking without having to squint at a small LCD screen on the back of my camera. Long gone are the days of arriving back to my workstation and seeing excess foundation on the models face, or a stray flyaway that had gone unnoticed. This also gives me the ability to use color presets in Adobe Lightroom or in Capture One. Depending on the creative direction of the shoot. If my client requests that an assignment is photographed in black and white for example, I can preload presets in LR or CO so that my images are automatically loaded to fit their vision. Keep in mind that I always shoot RAW. Aside from aesthetic reasons, tethering is one of the safest solutions for immediately backing up your work. Regardless if I’m using a Medium Format or 35mm camera, tethering to my laptop gives me the ability to make sure that my images are backed up directly unto my computer. Then I create a minimum of 2 copies and save them onto two external G-Tech drives. Taking this additional step provides me with peace of mind. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having CF cards corrupt immediately after a shoot and nothing is more nerve wracking or embarrassing than trying to explain that to a client. Tethering doesn’t have to be difficult. Tether Tools has designed simple solutions to help photographers manage their tethering process. At minimum, I’d recommend investing in a TetherPro Cable and a JerkStopper to make your workflow infinitely easier and safer.

Starter Tethering Kit

Tether Tools’ Better When You Tether educational series featuring behind the scenes articles from professional photographers is now available in an easy-to-read downloadable guide. Download for FREE here.

Watch below and take a peek behind the scenes of a Men’s Portrait and Fashion shoot by Jeff Rojas!

https://youtu.be/dDPTvU9ErBA