A Director of Photography (or Cinematographer) is responsible for crafting the visual language of a film through lighting, camera angles, camera movement, camera framing, and lens choices.

DPs work  with the Director to create the film’s visual style and carry it through each stage of film production.

What Does a Director of Photography Do During Pre-Production?

• Meet with the Director to discuss the theme, characters, story, and visuals of the film
• Help the Director break down each scene through shot lists, storyboards, and visual references
• Partner with Previz Artists to visualize complex scenes through drawings or renderings, especially when the scenes involve VFX
• Join the Director during rehearsals or location scouts as needed to appropriately plan shots
• Help select key crew members for the camera and lighting department
• Choose and secure lighting and camera equipment

What Does a Director of Photography Do During Film Production?

• Manage the camera and lighting departments, including the Camera Operator, 1st AC, 2nd AC, Gaffer, Best Boy Electric, Key Grip, and sometimes Drone Operators and Drone Pilots
• Work with the Director to make sure each shot satisfies their vision
• Offer ideas and creative solutions when unexpected obstacles arise
• Collaborate closely with the Production Designer and other Department Heads including Costume Designers, Hair/Makeup Artists, Visual Effects Supervisors, and Stunt Coordinators

While many DPs stop their work once the shoot is wrapped, some might offer their opinions on the film’s edit during post-production if requested by the Director. Because of these vast and crucial responsibilities, a DP must understand both the creative and technical sensibilities that go into filming a movie, TV show, or other type of content.

To learn about what it takes to become a Director of Photography, we spoke with the following professional DPs you’ll hear from throughout this article:

• Paul Hughen (WandaVision, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame)
• Polly Morgan (A Quiet Place Part II, Legion, American Horror Story)
• Chris Seager (Carnival Row, Watchmen, Six Minutes to Midnight)

The salary range for a Director of Photography working on a studio feature can fall anywhere between $5,000 and $30,000 a week. According to Polly Morgan, the weekly rate for DPs is usually higher during production than when they are prepping with the Director prior to shooting.

However, Directors of Photography who work on studio-backed films in a given year comprise a fraction of total working DPs across all mediums. As such, the average annual salary for a DP is around $65,000.

Directors of Photography who work on commercials, shorts, or music videos are usually paid a day rate, as opposed to a week rate. The daily rate of pay for Directors of Photography varies greatly because of several factors, including the type of production, experience of the DP, and whether or not that DP is part of a union such as the International Cinematographers Guild, or IATSE Local 600, which will establish a base rate for its members.

Many emerging DPs may work for a nominal fee at the beginning of their careers. Especially if they start out in student or short films, their daily rate might be as low as a few hundred dollars. If they are trying to build their body of work, they might even work for free.

DPs who are a bit more established, such as those who shoot commercials or music videos, may earn a daily rate of up to $1,500. Once a DP joins higher-profile projects like a TV show or a feature film, they can then earn higher daily rates. For such professionals, a daily rate of $3,500 or more is not unusual.

Project-Based Freelancers

Most DPs work freelance, which translates to a somewhat unpredictable career outlook. Their day-to-day depends on whether or not they are currently working on a project, as well as the sort of project they’re working on.

Says Morgan, “I travel all around the world and shoot in all kinds of places. If you want to do this job, be prepared to be nomadic because production happens everywhere.”

Because of this, becoming a Director of Photography requires an adventurous spirit. Sometimes DPs can go several months without work, and don’t benefit from sick pay, employee health insurance, or maternity leave.

However, for those who love cinematography and the unpredictable nature of filmmaking, the pros often outweigh the cons.

Requires Highly Advanced Skillset

While most people look to the Director as the most important person on a film or other type of entertainment, the truth is that a great DP can have as much influence on that piece of content.

For this reason, those seeking to become a Director of Photography can reach incredible levels of career success. That being said, to gain that success, they must understand how to master the moving image, which takes both technical and creative expertise.

To gain that comprehensive understanding of both how an image is formed and how it can achieve a desired emotional impact, many aspiring DPs begin their careers with some type of formal training such as film school or photography school.

While it may take several years for them to become proficient, ultimately it can be to an emerging DP’s benefit, as they can more quickly establish a daily rate for themselves on account of their education. Given that a formal education also affords emerging DPs the chance to work on a number of student films, this too can help them hit the ground running after graduation.

From there, it’s often a matter of continuing to both nurture their professional relationships and develop their skills that will help young DPs build on their foundation of success and be asked to shoot bigger and more complex productions.

With these higher-profile projects, DPs will invariably be paid more as well. Depending on the career aspirations of a DP, some will go on to shoot acclaimed films or TV shows or even transition into the Director’s role.

As with virtually every other specialty in the entertainment field, the success of a DP relies on a combination of their work ethic, ability to form and maintain professional connections, and the mastering of multiple skillsets.

No Room For Ego

While Directors of Photography are incredibly important and hold a lot of authority on a film set, a successful career requires collaboration and empathy over ego.

“In the old days, some people could get away with behaving disrespectfully on set (and we still see a bit of that), but these days, we want to work with people who are easy and collaborative,” explains Morgan. “I would say, spend time on set to understand the intense conditions, drop the attitude, know your role on the team and understand that anyone can have a good idea. Even a PA can have excellent input if you stay open.”

There are many career paths one can take to become a Director of Photography. All it takes is developing the right technical skills and voice to tell a story visually and competently lead the camera and lighting departments.

While everyone’s career path is different, there are a few steps recommended by professional DPs.

Consider Film School

Film school is an incredible place for aspiring Directors of Photography to learn the principles of cinematography and test their craft in a low-risk environment.

“I advise anyone who wants to become a Cinematographer to try to attend film school to learn the craft of the DP,” says Director of Photography Paul Hughen, who led the second unit camera and lighting teams on recent hits like Thunderbolts and Ahsoka. “Film school classes are taught on lighting, camera and shooting.”

Work Your Way Up Through the Camera Department

Whether or not an aspiring DP decides to forego formal education, on-set experience is priceless. Usually, it takes 10-15 years for a filmmaker to build their resume of work and climb in rank to a feature Director of Photography position.

A common career ladder for Directors of Photography could look like the following:

• Production Assistant
• Camera Trainee
• Film Loader
• 2nd Assistant Camera
• 1st Assistant Camera
• Camera Operator
• Director of Photography

Shoot Independently

Because experience is so vital to the growing and continued success of a DP, it’s important to take on a variety of jobs that can expose them to different types of projects and genres that will help to develop and hone their skills.

“Many Directors of Photography start on smaller projects and work their way up to bigger shows, commercial or television programs,” explains Hughen. “You can shoot short films or documentaries to work on your craft or style.”

Build Positive Relationships With Filmmakers

Along with being open to gigs that can deepen their expertise, DPs must always be nurturing their professional relationships, as it’s often the Directors, Producers, and Gaffers they work with on a project who are likely to be the people recommending them for the next one.

“Working in production is tiring and there’s a lot of pressure involved, so you really need to get on well with the people you’re working with,” explains Morgan. “When I choose a project, I’m not only choosing a story that speaks to me, I’m choosing the person I’m going to be working with. There has to be a connection.”

To varying degrees, many specialties in production involve a combination of technical and creative skillsets, and that of a Director of Photography is no different.

Technical Mastery of Cinematography

As mentioned, a DP must understand the technical aspects of the equipment they use to capture a moving image. That means how the camera and lighting equipment work separately and together to produce the intended image in every shot. While a DP works in an industry with moving images, often they can gain a strong foundation of knowledge by understanding still photography.

Effective Collaborator

Outside of these technical skills, DPs must also understand how to create an emotional tone to each project they work on. On some productions, a Director might want the imagery to capture very realistically what is being shot. On other projects, the Director might be inclined toward creating visuals with a more stylized look intended to draw the attention of the audience. It’s up to the DP to carry out the instructions of the Director by understanding their creative vision and knowing how their equipment can achieve it through technical means.

Creative Voice

While a Director of Photography’s main responsibility is to elevate the vision of the Director, they should also develop their own unique voice.

Game of Thrones Cinematographer Chris Seager illustrates this point with the following example: “If you sit a model at a table and frame up a shot with a locked off camera and ask 4 top DPs to individually romantically light the subject you will undoubtedly get 4 different interpretations of romantic lighting. They are all “good” DPs and you could argue for some time to say who is the best.”

Having a particular creative eye or expertise can be extremely beneficial in landing gigs and developing long-term relationships with Directors.

“It’s your unique eye and voice that will make you stand out, so take time to do the things that nourish you as a person,” says Morgan. “Travel, ingest art and have a solid sense of who you are and what you want to say. Life experience informs your art.”

Management Skills

A DP must also know how to manage others. Though larger productions will provide support to a Director of Photography so that they can concentrate more thoroughly on the task at hand, a DP must still run the Camera and Lighting Departments, which means understanding how to communicate with the crew and making sure they’re able to carry out their responsibilities to achieve each desired shot.

When Hughen worked on Marvel films with over $300 million budgets, this meant managing 250-400 crew members in several departments on a daily basis.

All these skillsets — technical know-how, creative vision, crew management–can only really be developed with time and experience. That is why it is so important for DPs to take on all the opportunities that they reasonably can handle to gain that expertise and deepen mastery of their specialty.

Formal Education

Cinematography is universally acknowledged as a fundamental part of the filmmaking process, which is why many film schools have programs with a heavy focus on it. Institutions big and small have film production options that will allow students to explore the world of cinematography, but certainly the globally-known schools like UCLA, USC, NYU, and AFI can provide a top-notch education for aspiring DPs.

Learn by Doing

But you don’t have to attend a top five film school to gain the experience necessary for becoming a proficient DP. What really matters is making the most of whatever opportunities you do have. That largely translates into saying yes to whatever productions you can that will allow you to flex those DP muscles. Especially for beginner DPs, it’s important to gain experience with student and short films.

If going to college to learn cinematography isn’t an option, aspiring DPs can absolutely still gain the training they’ll need through more compact courses or an abundance of on-set experience. In particular, for someone just starting out who has decided to forego a formal education, their initial training as a DP will likely come in the form of being an Intern or PA on set.

While Production Assistants are typically called upon to perform basic tasks such as grabbing lunch or helping with cleanup, aspiring DPs should pay particular attention to the needs of the Camera and Lighting Departments. By anticipating the needs of those crew members, an emerging DP can form connections with them and potentially be tapped to work on future productions as a PA for those specific departments, which can foster the learning process.

Learn by Watching

Sometimes, the greatest education is watching and analyzing films.

“When I wanted to be a Camera Operator I watched The Godfather five times with no sound,” explains Hughen. “It is a beautiful movie with no sound. Like visiting a museum and looking at paintings all day.”

Watching films without sound is a great exercise for aspiring Directors of Photography. It allows you to focus entirely on the visual storytelling. As you watch, pay attention to the following elements of cinematography:

• Lighting setups
• Color
• Shot composition
• Camera movement

No matter where an aspiring DP begins, they should keep in mind that their education never really ends. Especially with continual advances in camera technology, even the most veteran DPs must keep on top of all the latest trends and evolutions in filmmaking.

Morgan explains that you enter the Local 600 Camera Union under different roles:

“It takes time to be accepted into the union as a DP. I started in the union as a Camera Assistant and eventually moved across the union to a DP classification. You have to pay a fairly hefty sum of money to join the union, but you do get a pension and health insurance thereafter. If you join too early, you have to pay a lot to join as annual dues can be costly at first.”

If you are at the start of your career, Morgan advises, “Don’t be in a hurry to join a union or get an Agent — it eats up your money if you’re not working enough. Build up your non-union days first and, once you’re working regularly, consider joining.”

The criteria for joining the Local 600 change all the time, so check the website for up-to-date information.

There are also many online resources worth checking out, including…

• Werner Herzog’s Masterclass on Cinematography
• Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut’s Filmmakers Academy
• Cinematography YouTube channels like Every Frame a Painting

Lastly, if you live in Los Angeles, Hughen extends the following invite: “Come to the ASC clubhouse on open house afternoon (usually in February) and speak to dozens of Cameramen who are there to answer questions. Good luck and of course, always have a great attitude and love what you do and do it well.”