This tutorial will walk you through the key camera settings you'll want to adjust on your DSLR for capturing photos or videos at your booth. We’ll cover essential adjustments like ISO, Exposure, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and White Balance settings on the Curator Live app, both with and without flash.

Think of this as a starter guide for setting up a Canon DSLR with Curator Live in your booth environment.

To get the most out of your DSLR, we recommend taking a foundational DSLR course to dive deeper into settings like White Balance, ISO, Exposure, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Lighting.

For demonstration purposes, we'll use a Canon EOS R100, but the process applies to any Canon DSLR model, though some features may vary by model.

You can adapt this guide to other compatible DSLR or Mirrorless cameras; however, please keep in mind that menu layouts and options might differ based on the model and its release date. Additionally, older cameras may not perform as well in low-light conditions, whereas newer models generally have advanced image processing for enhanced low-light performance.

If you’re using your DSLR in a booth setup for both photos and videos, we recommend starting with the following settings:

Begin by turning the mode dial on your DSLR to Manual (M) mode, giving you complete control over exposure settings. Next, press the MENU button to access the on-screen settings menu, where you can make necessary adjustments for optimal results.

With the menu displayed on the screen, navigate to the Shooting Settings section (look for the tab labeled '1'), then scroll down to find and select Image Quality.

Within the Image Quality section, set RAW to Off (-) and adjust JPG to S1 or S2. These settings are recommended as RAW files are very large and can be slow to process, while S1 or S2 JPEGs typically align well with the dimensions of most templates on the Curator Live platform.

If you prefer saving higher-quality JPEG images to the camera’s SD card, choose the JPEG (M) option. Keep in mind, however, that larger image files may increase both transfer time to the Curator Live app and overall processing duration.

Next, navigate to the Shooting Settings tab, identified as tab 4, and choose AF Operation. Set this option to ONE SHOT mode.

In this section, we’ll walk you through recommended camera settings to achieve optimal photo and video quality when using your DSLR with Curator. These settings include ISO, Exposure, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and White Balance.

The great part? You don’t need to adjust these directly on the DSLR, as you can control them conveniently through the Curator Live app.

Remember, these settings may need to be adjusted based on the lighting conditions at your event, so treat them as a starting point. For the best results, take some time to explore how to manually adjust these settings to fit your specific environment. Watching DSLR tutorials can help you get comfortable with these adjustments.

From either the main settings page or the summery page from within your event, choose CAMERA SETTINGS from the bottom bar and if you are using a smaller device such as a photo, click on settings button and select CAMERA SETTINGS. Then choose external Camera at the top of the page.

From the external camera page, you’ll find several options to make adjustments. The connected DSLR, in this case, a Canon EOS R100 (as shown in the reference image), should be the first option selected.

Browse for your camera if it does not auto populate. From that page these are the settings you should begin with. You will need to adjust based on several variables but again, this is a good starting point.

*other settings should be left alone as long as you followed the steps at the top of the article and as a reminder, these are settings for your camera in the M Manual Mode

These settings will provide a good balance for capturing high-quality shots with steady lighting.

Same information above although you will be setting different "Capture" view settings since your flash will flash and freeze the moment. Your view for capture view will be dark and depending on your ambient lighting, you may not be able to see anything until you test taking a photo with your flash.

If you find that your photos are blurry- you can set a subject in front of your camera and half press the shutter button to put your entire view in focus. This will only work in Manual or you can manually adjust your lens.