Shoot tethered to control your camera from your Mac

Your digital camera and Mac can work together to capture images as well as display them. Many DSLRs, and a handful of compacts, have the ability to shoot tethered, which means you connect a camera to your Mac via a USB cable, then control the camera remotely. With this kind of setup you can save files directly to your hard drive, preview the images on the computer screen, and even control your camera from an iPhone.

When to Tether

Tethered shooting is useful for situations when regular handheld photography isn't convenient. If you want to shoot birds visiting a feeder, for example, but know your presence will scare them off, position the camera on a tripod and snap the pictures from your Mac a safe distance away. The birds aren't aware of your presence and you're able to preview and capture images as if you were standing right next to them.

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Your digital camera and Mac can work together to capture images as well as display them. Many DSLRs, and a handful of compacts, have the ability to shoot tethered, which means you connect a camera to your Mac via a USB cable, then control the camera remotely. With this kind of setup you can save files directly to your hard drive, preview the images on the computer screen, and even control your camera from an iPhone.

When to Tether

Tethered shooting is useful for situations when regular handheld photography isn't convenient. If you want to shoot birds visiting a feeder, for example, but know your presence will scare them off, position the camera on a tripod and snap the pictures from your Mac a safe distance away. The birds aren't aware of your presence and you're able to preview and capture images as if you were standing right next to them.

Tethering is also handy when you need to position a camera in an awkward location, such as up high for a sporting event or a wedding. Some studio photographers use tethering to show their clients large screen views of the images on the computer monitor right as they're shot. Finally, tethering is helpful when you are shooting large files and want to save them directly to your computer's hard drive instead of constantly swapping full memory cards in and out.

Tethering is primarily a DSLR activity. There are a few compact cameras, such as the Casio EX-F1 that have this ability, but they are in the minority. And if a camera, such as the EX-F1, does advertise this capability, read the specs carefully to make sure that the Mac necessary software is included with the hardware.

Use the Right Software

(Image Caption: Canons EOS Utility)

If you have the right software, the setup is remarkably easy. Canon, for example, includes its EOS Utility with DSLRs, which is a terrific application for remote control photography. Just connect your Canon DSLR via its USB cable, launch EOS Utility, and choose Camera Settings/Remote Shooting. Click on the Remote Live View Shooting button, and you're seeing the world through your camera's lens on your Mac display.

You can also change many of your camera's settings, such as exposure compensation, white balance, and ISO, using the control window on your Mac. Once you take a picture via the virtual shutter release button, the image re-appears on your Mac for review. You have the option of saving the files to your Mac, or to both your Mac and the camera's memory card, creating an instant backup for every shot recorded.

Nikon DSLRs can also be tethered, but unlike Canon, they don't include the software with the camera. You can purchase Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 ($150) for remote shooting, or try a third party application such as the free Sofortbild, which gets high marks from Nikon users. You can also use the photo management application Lightroom with the free plug-in LightroomTether by Mountainstorm.

Some Nikon and Canon cameras can be tethered to your Mac using Aperture 3. Refer to this Apple Support Document to see if your particular model is supported. As Apple states it on its Aperture 3 tech specs page: "Tethering requires compliance with standard protocols that are not supported by all camera models."