How to Hire a DP: What Separates a Great Cinematographer from a Competent One
A field guide for directors and producers hiring a DP.
Most directors hire a DP based on the reel. The reel tells you what they have shot. It does not tell you whether they will be the right person on your set.
Here is what to look at instead.
How they talk about light
Sit a DP down for thirty minutes and ask them to describe a scene from a film they admire. A competent DP describes the gear used. A great DP describes the light direction, the time of day, the relationship between key and fill, what the light is doing emotionally.
The way a DP talks about light tells you what they will see when they walk onto your location.
How they prep
Ask any DP for an example of a shoot day where prep saved them. A great DP will have a story about a location scout that changed everything, a lens choice that landed late in prep, a conversation with the gaffer that prevented a problem. A competent DP will tell you about gear they brought "just in case."
Prep is where the work gets made. The DP who treats prep as the most important phase of the project is the DP you want.
How they handle a director's note
The right test is not how they take direction. It is how they translate it. Hand a DP a note that is half-formed and watch what they do with it. A great DP will translate "make this feel weightier" into a specific lens choice, a specific blocking change, a specific lighting adjustment. A competent DP will ask you to be more specific.
You should not have to be more specific. That is the DP's job.
How they collaborate with the gaffer and key grip
A DP without a great gaffer relationship is a DP who has not figured out what cinematography actually is. Ask who they regularly work with and why. Ask what the gaffer brings that they do not. The DPs worth hiring talk about their gaffer the way a quarterback talks about their offensive line.
What to ignore
Ignore the equipment list on the reel. Camera body matters less than light. Ignore the credits if you are looking at a junior DP. They will have shot fewer projects but their taste might be sharper than a more credited DP. Ignore claims of "I can shoot anything." Specificity beats versatility every time.
The two questions that will tell you most
- What is the last thing you watched that changed how you think about shooting? The answer reveals what they study and how often.
- Walk me through a scene from your reel and tell me what you would change. The answer reveals self-awareness, which is the rarest trait on a set.
If both answers are sharp, you are talking to a DP. If they are vague, you are talking to a camera operator who put together a reel.
The difference matters when you are on day three of a hard shoot and the schedule is collapsing. That is when a great DP earns their rate.