Inspired Tethered Photography Setup: Mike Isler

Posted by: on Sep 05, 2013

Inspired Tethered Photography Setup: Mike Isler

This post was provided by Mike Isler for the Better When You Tether Series: Inspired Tethered Photography Setup by professional photographers/videographers. 

YouTether_Logo_082613-02Background of the shoot

“This shoot was for a German department store, Appelrath-Cüpper. The project was creating a “Fashion in New York” story for their Christmas promotions. Our locations were mostly on the streets of New York City. This image was from the Meatpacking area of NYC. Clients on the shoot requested printouts as we went, so I brought my Canon printer for instant 4×6 prints. We spent two 12hr days on the street, almost entirely away from AC power but extended batteries kept the laptop going the whole shoot.”

isler-mike-tether-tools-setup-table-tethering-05-web
Photo courtesy ©Mike Isler

How did your set up impact this shoot?

As a Digital Technician, tethered photography not only allows me to provide instant previews and feedback to the photographer, but also shape the final image with accuracy not available when shooting solely to a card. Through the use of image controls and raw adjustments, clients on set see images closer to “final” than ever before. Shoots run more efficiently, image quality is improved, and clients are happier. – Mike Isler

The Gear

My tethered setup has a Manfrotto 131DDB all mounted on Gitzo G1348 Mk2 tripod (discontinued but replaced by Gitzo GT3541LS).

Left Side:

Right Side:

About Mike

Photo of Mike Isler
Photo of Mike Isler

I’m a New York City based Digital Technician. For the past 7 years I’ve worked with numerous high end editorial commercial and editorial photographers, helping them capture their vision. The type of projects I regularly work on range from fashion to architecture, beauty to still life, aerial to cosmetics, and everything in between. Having an efficient tethering computer station is essential to my productivity. The equipment I work with goes with me to both luxury studios as well as remote locations well away from AC power. My projects spread well beyond NYC, and in the past year I’ve worked in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Orlando, Omaha, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Richmond.

My experience also extends to helicopter-based shoots, and I do a significant bit of technical consulting for those productions. I hold a pilot’s certificate for fixed-wing aircraft, and also spend a considerable time in the back of helicopters orchestrating those shoots. In addition to working as a digital technician, I work as a 1st AC (Assistant Camera) and media manager on film productions.

You can connect with Mike at his website or on Twitter.