Live, Online and On Demand
2022–20268 min readSince 2022, cinematographers have taught StudentFilmmakers live: free webinars, on-demand classes and video interviews that students join from all over the world. The cinematographers in this part are Mark Irwin, CSC, ASC; Gary Baum, ASC, three-time Emmy Award-winning cinematographer; Paul Hughen, ASC; Nancy Schreiber, ASC, director of photography and teacher; Jaron Presant, ASC; Ian Kerr, CSC, Emmy Award-winning cinematographer; Tony Westman, CSC; and Mari Yamamura, cinematographer of Blue Season. Together they show how the artistry of filmmaking is passed on today, one live question at a time.
The studio on Broadway gave way to Zoom, and the audience got much bigger. Since 2022, ASC members have taught live webinars that students joined from dozens of countries, judged our contests and recorded courses for the StudentFilmmakers Academy. Several of the names from earlier chapters came back in this era: Roy H. Wagner, Michael Goi, Christopher Baffa and Patrick Cady among them.
Mark IrwinCSC, ASC
“What I took away was, 'get back to the story'.”
A webinar attendee, on Mark Irwin, CSC, ASC
Mark Irwin, CSC, ASC, taught a live webinar for us in May 2023, then helped judge our Summer Shorts video contest and our Winter Photo Contest. His live Ask Me Anything session on cinematography is now an on-demand course.
Irwin was born in Toronto in 1950 and graduated from York University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film. He started by shooting documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and the CBC, along with freelance television and low-budget features, and went on to shoot The Fly, There’s Something About Mary and Old School.
Gary BaumASC
“I am very thankful to have the benefit of the wisdom of experience that Gary brought to us.”
A webinar attendee, on Gary Baum, ASC
On May 16, 2023, three-time Emmy winner Gary Baum, ASC, taught a webinar on building collaboration among showrunners, directors, production designers and key departments. Attendees especially valued how candid he was.
Baum started out as a film loader with Lorimar Productions at MGM and worked his way up to camera assistant and camera operator on shows such as The A-Team, MacGyver, Magnum, P.I., Friends and Will & Grace. His course on live set presence and managing a multi-camera crew is part of the Academy.
Paul HughenASC
Paul Hughen, ASC, joined the judging panel for our Winter Photo Contest 2024, giving entrants a chance to have their work evaluated by someone who has contributed to more than 100 film and television projects. He has been second unit director of photography on Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Avengers: Endgame and Stranger Things.
Nancy SchreiberASC
“You started me thinking very differently about lens choices.”
A webinar attendee, to Nancy Schreiber, ASC
Nancy Schreiber, ASC, taught our Lens Selection for Film and TV webinar on December 11, 2023, followed by a session on creating look books. Both are now available on demand.
She was born in Detroit in 1949 and studied psychology and art history at the University of Michigan, which had no film school. She made Super 8 films with friends and ran an alternative movie theater for the Ann Arbor Film Cooperative, which she calls her real film education. She followed a boyfriend to New York, answered an ad in the Village Voice to get onto a set, and worked her way from electrician to best boy to gaffer. She was the first female gaffer in New York’s NABET local, and mentors loaned her their Eclair NPR as she moved into camera. She was the first woman to receive the American Society of Cinematographers’ President’s Award, and her recent work includes P-Valley.
Jaron PresantASC
“Exactly the kind I find most valuable; a mix of practical and theoretical by a presenter who thinks deeply about their work.”
A webinar attendee, on Jaron Presant, ASC
Four days after Nancy Schreiber’s session, Jaron Presant, ASC, taught Cultivating Commonality of Vision in a Complex System, about how a cinematographer builds a shared vision across a large production. His work spans features, series, documentaries and music videos, including Rampage.
Ian KerrCSC
Ian Kerr, CSC is an Emmy Award-winning cinematographer whose work straddles the gulf between fiction and non-fiction, documentary and drama. In 2023 he recorded a video for StudentFilmmakers answering five questions every first-time filmmaker should ask about lighting and cinematography.
He covered what happens in development and pre-production, whether to think about cinematography while writing the first script, how to approach and hire a professional cinematographer, and his top three tips for first-time filmmakers around the world. It is a clear, generous introduction to working with a director of photography.
Tony WestmanCSC
Tony Westman, CSC, DGA, DGC is an award-winning director of photography and director. In 2023 he led our live webinar “Cinematography & Elements of Style: Effective Techniques for Elevating Your Visual Storytelling,” with students at the threshold of their careers learning alongside industry veterans.
Participants called it “excellent” and thanked him for bringing that kind of experience to them without a trip into the city. His article “Cinematography with an ‘Emotional Lens'” goes further, showing how a cinematographer uses every visual choice to make an audience feel the story.
Mari Yamamura
Mari Yamamura is a UK-based cinematographer who shot Blue Season, a UK and Singapore co-production directed by Zen Nguyen, her first long-form drama series. The series was shortlisted for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award at the Global Production Awards and was represented at the Marché du Film at Cannes.
In “Shooting My First TV Drama Series” for StudentFilmmakers she described telling the story authentically from the director’s point of view, with Vietnamese-heritage characters and dialogue, and her creative use of lighting and filters to shape the look of each episode.
More Friends from the Show Floor
Over the years StudentFilmmakers has crossed paths with many more cinematographers at NAB, Cine Gear Expo and other industry events. Among them are Garrett Brown, ASC, the inventor of the Steadicam, whom Anastas Michos once assisted; Robert Primes, ASC, who recommended M. David Mullen for membership in the American Society of Cinematographers; and Stephen Burum, ASC, photographed with Roy H. Wagner and Daryn Okada at Cine Gear Expo at Paramount Studios in 2014.
What Do the Letters After a Cinematographer’s Name Mean?
The letters after a cinematographer’s name show membership in a society of cinematographers or camera operators. Most societies invite members based on the recommendation of their peers and a distinguished body of work, so the letters are an honor given by fellow cinematographers. Many great cinematographers belong to more than one society, and many others on this page, from network television directors of photography to documentary and concert cinematographers, belong to none. The letters that appear in this honor roll are:
- ACS: Australian Cinematographers Society, as in John Seale, ASC, ACS
- AMC: Mexican Society of Cinematographers, as in Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC
- ASC: American Society of Cinematographers, as in Nancy Schreiber, ASC
- BSC: British Society of Cinematographers, as in Michael Coulter, BSC, and Paul Wheeler, BSC
- CSC: Canadian Society of Cinematographers, as in Peter Rowe, CSC, and Tony Westman, CSC
- GSC: Greek Society of Cinematographers, as in James Chressanthis, ASC, GSC
- ISC: Indian Society of Cinematographers, as in Michael Goi, ASC, ISC
- SBC: Belgian Society of Cinematographers, as in Stijn Van der Veken, ASC, SBC
- SOC: Society of Camera Operators, as in Meagan Stockemer, SOC, and David E. Elkins, SOC
Learn Cinematography from Working Cinematographers
StudentFilmmakers has covered cinematography and cinematographers since 2004, in print, online and in person. Everything on this honor roll comes from that work, and all of it is still here for you:
- Cinematography articles: more than 240 articles on cinematography, lighting, lenses, camera movement and color, many written by the cinematographers on this page.
- The cinematography forum: more than 700 discussions and 2,600 posts where cinematographers, including M. David Mullen, ASC, have answered questions about cinematography since 2004.
- StudentFilmmakers Magazine: cover interviews with cinematographers such as Richard Crudo, ASC, Anna Foerster, ASC and Michael Goi, ASC, ISC, in the digital archive of back issues.
- Free live webinars with cinematographers: Nancy Schreiber, ASC, Patrick Cady, ASC, Michael Goi, ASC and other cinematographers teaching live.
- What does a cinematographer do? and how to become a cinematographer: our guides for anyone starting out in cinematography.
Everyone on the Honor Roll
- Thomas Ackerman Part 1
- Christopher Baffa Part 2
- John Bailey Part 2
- Gary Baum Part 5
- Adam Biddle Part 1
- Uta Briesewitz Part 4
- Patrick Cady Part 4
- Jose A. Cardenas Part 4
- James Chressanthis Part 4
- Michael Coulter Part 2
- Richard Crudo Part 1
- Oliver Curtis Part 2
- Roger Deakins Part 2
- Ron Dexter Part 2
- David E. Elkins Part 4
- Anna Foerster Part 3
- Larry Fong Part 3
- Ron Fortunato Part 2
- Michael Goi Part 1
- Stephen Goldblatt Part 3
- Jack Green Part 3
- Tom Houghton Part 4
- Paul Hughen Part 5
- Mark Irwin Part 5
- Jon Joffin Part 4
- Ian Kerr Part 5
- William Klayer Part 3
- Andrew Laszlo Part 1
- Andrew Lesnie Part 3
- Peter Levy Part 4
- Matthew Libatique Part 2
- Bruce Logan Part 3
- Gustavo Mercado Part 4
- Rexford Metz Part 3
- Anastas Michos Part 2
- David Moxness Part 4
- M. David Mullen Part 1
- Hiro Narita Part 4
- Yuri Neyman Part 3
- Daryn Okada Part 2
- Daniel Pearl Part 1
- Steven Poster Part 2
- Jaron Presant Part 5
- Rodrigo Prieto Part 1
- Bing Rao Part 3
- Peter Rowe Part 4
- Theo van de Sande Part 3
- Tobias Schliessler Part 4
- Nancy Schreiber Part 5
- Bob Scott Part 2
- John Seale Part 2
- Rick Siegel Part 2
- John Simmons Part 4
- Eric Steelberg Part 3
- Peter Stein Part 2
- Meagan Stockemer Part 4
- Paige Thomas Part 4
- Stijn Van der Veken Part 4
- Roy H. Wagner Part 1
- Peter Warren Part 4
- Tony Westman Part 5
- Paul Wheeler Part 3
- Dariusz Wolski Part 3
- Mari Yamamura Part 5
- Kenneth Zunder Part 4
Cinematographer FAQ
Who are some of the best cinematographers working today?
Many of the best cinematographers working today have taught, written for or spoken with StudentFilmmakers, including Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC; Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC; Matthew Libatique, ASC; Dariusz Wolski, ASC; Uta Briesewitz, ASC; Anna Foerster, ASC; and Larry Fong, ASC. Each one is profiled in this honor roll.
What is the difference between a cinematographer and a director of photography?
There is no difference in the job. Cinematographer and director of photography (DP or DoP) are two names for the same role: the person in charge of the camera, lenses, lighting and overall visual style of a film or television show.
What do the letters after a cinematographer’s name mean?
They show membership in a society of cinematographers or camera operators, an honor usually given by fellow cinematographers: for example ACS (Australian), ASC (American), BSC (British) or CSC (Canadian) societies of cinematographers, or SOC, the Society of Camera Operators. Many great cinematographers on this page belong to none, and their work speaks for itself.
Which cinematographers on this list have won an Oscar?
Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049 and 1917, and John Seale, ASC, ACS won for The English Patient. Many others on the honor roll, including Rodrigo Prieto and Matthew Libatique, have been nominated.
How can I learn cinematography from working cinematographers?
Start with the interviews and articles linked from each profile, join our free live webinars with working cinematographers and directors of photography, and ask questions in the cinematography forum.
Passing It On
Look back over these twenty years and a pattern shows up. Almost none of these cinematographers had a straight path. Some went to the great film schools: USC, AFI, the National Film School, Łódź, the Royal College of Art. Others were turned down by every school they applied to, dropped out of high school, or started in the stationery department, the mail room, the projection booth or the back of a camera truck. Nearly all of them learned from someone who took the time to show them how, and nearly all of them have spent years doing the same for others.
That is what this honor roll celebrates. To every cinematographer, director of photography and camera operator who has taught a workshop, sat for an interview, answered a forum question, judged a contest or led a webinar for StudentFilmmakers: thank you for passing on the artistry of filmmaking, and the art of cinematography, to the next generation.
Are you a cinematographer, director of photography or camera operator who has worked with StudentFilmmakers and is not on this page yet, or do you have a correction or a photo to share? Get in touch. This honor roll keeps growing.
Learn from working cinematographers: see Academy membership
The letters after each name are society memberships: ACS (Australian), AMC (Mexican), ASC (American), BSC (British), CSC (Canadian), GSC (Greek), ISC (Indian) and SBC (Belgian) societies of cinematographers, and SOC (Society of Camera Operators). Dates are from StudentFilmmakers Magazine back issues and StudentFilmmakers.com workshop records. Background details come from each cinematographer’s own interviews with StudentFilmmakers and from published biographies.