What Does A Director Of Photography Do?

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D2Lights, Camera, Action! Is that what you think of when you think of a film or photography director? You may think that a director of photography does everything to reach the creative end of a photo shoot, video, or film, or you may think that the role of director is quite a mysterious one. After all, do they do everything? Perhaps, they just “overlook” the process to make sure things are being done correctly. What does a director of photography do? Take our fun quiz below to find out!

True Or False?

  1. True or False: The director of photography does not operate a camera.
  2. True or False: The director of photography is not in charge of lighting.
  3. True or False: Basically, the director is in charge of everything during a photo shoot, or the filming of a movie or video, from start to finish.
  4. True or False: The director is responsible for the visual style of the photos or video.

Answers:

  1. False: The director of photography will often operate a camera during photo shoots or while filming a video or movie. However, this is not a must. If the budget allows there may be other camera operators
  2. False: The director of photography can be directly responsible for lighting, color, framing, background, props and more.
  3. True: When talking about a photo shoot or video, this statement can be true. However, when it comes to a feature film, that’s a different story all together. For all intents and purposes, the director of photography is responsible for the artistic and technical decisions related to the image, or video.
  4. True: The look and feel of the photo or video, or the visual style, and its effect on the viewer, is all due to the decisions made by the director of photography.

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 at doug.davis@d2studios.net.