SpotMyPhotos has been one of the very best things for my business. Being able to deliver images in real time to my clients is something I’m sought out for now. If you want to try using SpotMyPhotos for your business here’s the gear I use and recommend. And if you want to see how to put all the gear together I’ve created this video to help you.
Events
The first thing you need is a means to get your images up to SpotMyPhotos. The way to do this is by connecting your camera to a mobile device.
The iPhone 15 is my preferred way to connect as it has a USB-C port instead of the lightening port. This eliminates the need for the apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter dongle. It works great with older models of iPhones too.
You will need a dongle though, and you should buy multiple of them as they often break. I have found this third party dongle to work and is much less expensive.
If you are looking for something that will work for just about every camera out there and will cover all your bases, go with the mobile tethering kit from a collaboration between SpotMyPhotos and TetherTools. This package has the wifi spotter SD card, 1 Tether Tools USB C to USB 2.0 Micro B 5 Pin, Tether Tools USB C to USB 2.0 Mini B 5 Pin, Tether Tools USB C to USB 2.0 Mini B 8 Pin, Tether Tools USB C to USB 3.0 Micro B, USB C to USB C, 3-Way Adjustable Phone Holder Clamp and Mounting Bracket, 2 SMP-Brand USB C to USB A Adapters, and a Spotter Band. It does NOT include the dongle though.
If you don’t need all the different tether cable connections you can try high-quality short cables from Kondor Blue USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A for use with iPhone models with lightning connections.
You will need a way to mount your phone to your camera. I love this rotating one from Atoll because it keeps very close to the camera and doesn’t impede how I hold the camera normally. I can also use it in my studio when shooting portraits to easily go from landscape to portrait orientation on my tripod. I leave it on my R6MKII at all times.
I then attach this small rig powerbank holder onto the Atoll which allows me to position the phone or phone/power bank combo along the side of my lens.
If you are looking for a less expensive way of attaching your phone to your camera try a dual camera mount in combination with a smart phone mount.
Headshots
When I shoot headshots off-site I use SpotMyPhotos for ease of use and so that I can do instant delivery of their galleries. I can even turn on auto-optimize so it does a little bit of retouching automatically that is subtle. I worked on making this preset in collaboration with SpotMyPhotos and Perfectly Clear. It lightly reduces dark circles, lightly whitens teeth, and lightly decreases skin blemishes. I made it so it doesn’t touch exposure or white balance since when you are shooting headshots you are typically in a controlled lighting environment so the exposure shouldn’t be changing from shot to shot. And the white balance most photographers set in camera or in their tethering software, which in my case is Capture One. For tethered capture I use a long tether cord. The 15′ Tether Tools cable is a good length.
I connect the cable to my 16″ MacBook Pro. I recommend getting the largest screen laptop possible so you can see the images very clearly while off site without an external monitor.
I use this pistol grip tripod by Alta Vanguard so that my shots are just at the right height and angle and I can adjust the camera with a single hand.
