What do you need to be a director of photography? Well, you need technical skills, creativity, vision, patience, you need to be a team player, and you need excellent communication skills. Oh, and let’s not forget experience. A director of photography coordinates the filming on projects and works to create the style, mood, and film quality. He or she might work in collaboration with production designers, art directors, hairstylists, set dressers, and/or the wardrobe crew, and is responsible for certain elements before and after the actually filming takes place.
Responsibilities
The artistic and technical decisions that the director makes include camera operation, film stock, shot selection, lighting, and more.
The Visual: Photography is all about the visual from the hairdo, to color choice, to the background setting.
Film Stock: Color tones and graininess are achieved using particular types of film stock. Each stock is treated with light-sensitive emulsions of varying degrees depending on the mood intended for the finished product.
Lighting: Lighting also affects the mood of the piece and can be used in creative ways to set the tone.
Cameras: How many cameras are being used in the shoot is the decision of the director, as well as how, when, or if they are moving, and where they are placed. Other factors include deciding upon aperture settings, camera filters, how to frame the scene, and whether or not special equipment is required.
Skill Set
When working in photography, art, imagination, and creativity are of the utmost importance, but so is flexibility, the ability to change direction, solve problems, and think on the fly to provide an eye-catching, emotionally moving, and professional finished result. Photography and videography require energy and staying power, as well as vision, and these traits are developed with experience. If you have a project, look for the following skill set in a director: artistry, creativity, intensity, endurance, and work ethic.
ABOUT YOUR DALLAS, TX, PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER:
Doug Davis has been producing professional, engaging videos and product, food, and lifestyle photography from his Dallas, TX, studio for more than 20 years. D-Squared Studios is located at 4312 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas, 75226. Contact our office at (214) 746-6336 or email Doug atdoug.davis@d2studios.net.