Aperture Tutorial: Tethered Workflow
Step 6: Now it’s actually time to connect your camera to your Mac. The best way to do this is by using a FireWire cable. RAW files from digital SLRs are getting pretty weighty these days, which renders a standard USB connection way off the pace that you will require.
Once you’ve plugged in the cable and turned the camera on, launch EOS Utility — software that came on a CD with your Canon camera. It can be found in Applications > Canon Utilities > EOS Utility. Drag it to the Dock, like you did with the Aperture Hot Folder application. This will enable you to access and control everything without minimising or moving the Aperture window.We’re now ready to make a few decisions that will help you create a smooth, re-usable workflow. Under the EOS Utility menu, select Preferences. To start with, it’s the Camera Settings / Remote Shooting pane that we’re really interested in, so under the Basic Settings tab, make that the Start-up Action.
Step 7: Click along to the next tab in the Preferences pane. Here, under Destination Folder, you should be seeing the same folder that you told the Aperture Hot Folder application to watch over. If this isn’t so, the files will be heading to a location that the Hot Folder application isn’t looking at, and the workflow will break. Use the Browse button to select the correct folder. It’s best to avoid the sub-folder function in the Preferences, as the Hot Folder application can only look after one folder at a time.
Step 8: Before you start shooting you can take the opportunity to customise the flow of file names coming off your camera. Move to the File Name tab in the EOS Utility Preferences and click on the Customize button. There are three user-definable set-ups that you can tailor to your requirements, enabling you to specify a slightly different set-up for different days within a multi-day shoot. Press OK, then check that your new file format is selected in the drop-down menu at the top. Now press OK once more to exit the EOS Utility Preferences. You’re now ready to get going, so press the Camera Settings / Remote Shooting button to bring up the camera control window, titled with the name of your camera.
Step 9: This final window is an on-screen control pane for your camera. It’s clever in that your camera listens to this control pane, and this pane listens to your camera — changes made at either end get updated, covering White Balance, Metering, Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO and image quality. Just click on the icons and use the left and right buttons to change the settings. The minimum and maximum keys adjacent are useful too. You can even fire the camera from this pane, which means that you’ll never ever miss a frame, whether behind the lens or in front of the screen. Once the camera is fired, the file is downloaded automatically, sensed by Aperture, and imported to the relevant project, ready to view — all whilst you’re concentrating on the shoot.
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Jonathan Briggs is a former MD of The Association of Photographers (AOP). Now a director of Magic Bean — a company set up to offer technical training and event logistics for companies working within the creative industry — Briggs has over ten years’ experience working with Macs and associated software across the design, imaging and photographic sectors. This series of guides offers a real-world user perspective on how you can get the most out of Aperture.
The images seen here are by fashion and sports photographer Mark Newton, shot on location using a Canon EOS-1Ds Mk II tethered to Aperture running on a MacBook Pro. Newton works for international brands such as Speedo, Fila, Timberland and New Balance, focusing on sports, swimwear and lifestyle advertising campaigns. He is also involved in editorial projects with the world’s top swimmers and striking fashion-based projects. To find out more about how Mark Newton uses the Mac and Aperture, 
