When I take photographs at a semi-static location, sometimes I would like to see the result on a bigger screen than my camera LCD. When I was looking for a solution, I found tethered shooting. It didn’t sound familiar to me, but it the end it was exactly what I needed. If you are still frustrated about that little LCD screen, read more below about my experience.

Table of contents

1. What is tethered shooting?
2. Advantages
3. What do you need?
4. How does it work?

What is tethered shooting?

Tethered shooting in photography is nothing more than a connection between a camera and a computer for communication means. The cable between the camera and the computer provide a way of communication whereby you will be able to see and download the taken photograph directly on your computer(screen) or even a TV screen.

Advantages

• Bigger screen, more details and witnesses;
• You will be able to decide if a picture satisfies your requirements;
• Your co-workers/models can take a easier view on the just taken shot;
• Your raw photos will be directed to your hard drive/disk immediately;
• You will be able to process your RAW photos immediately, which give you a better look and feel to the final results;
• Reduce the chance of image loss;
• And so on..

What do you need?

• Camera with USB port (I use the Nikon D5100)
• Computer (I use my MacBook Pro 13-inch, 2017)
• A compatible USB cable
  • You will need a suitable cable for the job and which will fit in your computer and camera. The options you will probably have are USB-A, USB-C or a Mini-B 8-pin.
  • I bought a simple Mini-B 8 pin USB cable and it worked fine.
• Tethering software (I use ON1 Photo Raw and click on the link to download a free trial of this software.)
• Jerkstopper or learning how to tie knots (not required).

How does it work?

It really is simple. Most camera’s and software do recognize each other, but you will have to check this before buying any additional stuff. You can do this wireless or cabled, but for this example we will experiment with the cabled (more stable) option. The wireless version is less stable and photos will be transferred slower than cabled tethering, but I can imagine that the environment dictates in some situations and therefore your choice may differ.

When you have gathered all you equipment, you can connect everything and then ON1 will recognize the camera (if supported by ON1 Photo Raw) automatically. When everything is installed and ready to go, you can start shooting. Down below I will sum up all the steps you will have to take to get ready and start shooting with your camera.

1. Launch ON1 Photo Raw;

2. Connect your camera to your computer via the compatible USB cable;

3. Turn on the camera;

4. Make sure your camera is fully charged;

5. Turn on the “Tethered Shooting” pane on the left side of ON1 Browse;

6. Click the “Fire” button to begin shooting;

7. Check out the results directly on your screen.