Capture One CEO: Software Built on

Capture One CEO Rafael Orta says the company speaks to thousands of photographers every year to shape its products. This direct feedback is central to developing tools like tethered shooting, which remains essential for professional commercial and collaborative work.

Orta emphasized that this engagement is not superficial. "We are a company that is truly, truly connected with the industry," he told Digital Camera World. Team members attend global events and conduct studio visits, such as recent trips to Paris, to understand workflows and challenges firsthand.

Listening Before Developing

Product development starts with listening. Capture One cultivates an abundance of touchpoints with photographers worldwide. These include industry shows, conferences, and intimate studio sessions. The goal is to grasp not just what customers need, but how the entire photography industry is evolving.

Orta is personally proud of this approach. He insists the figure of thousands of conversations annually is accurate, not an exaggeration. This continuous dialogue informs the company's future software and services.

The Technology Almost Seems to Melt Away

For Orta, ideal technology becomes invisible, allowing photographers to focus purely on their creative vision. "The technology almost seems to melt away into the background," he explained. People then discuss their photography and how to achieve their creative goals.

Tethered shooting, where a camera connects directly to a computer for instant display, exemplifies this principle. It is a central part of the Capture One experience for professional teams. The company has committed to releasing tethering support for Hasselblad cameras before the end of the year. The focus will be on reliability, speed, and stability of the file transfer connection.

"The day that we launch tethering, photographers will just be able to pick up their body, plug their cable there, and it’s just going to work seamlessly," Orta said.

A Small Company with a Global Impact

Despite having only about 122 employees and being headquartered in Denmark, Capture One exerts a wide influence. The company also has offices in Greece, London, and the US. Its software is used across commercial photography, fashion, advertising, journalism, and entertainment.

Orta argues the company's impact on global photography vastly outsizes its specialized, focused nature. He notes the software sometimes appears unexpectedly in films and TV shows during photography scenes, a sign of its status as an industry standard.

The future, according to Orta, is about continuing to support image creators through a close customer relationship. That is how Capture One aims to influence photography workflows. The company's software appears on screens in studios and on television sets around the world.