If you're a photographer who's thinking about getting into cinematography or videography, first of all, congrats! Taking still photos is already an exciting and fulfilling art, and adding sound and the illusion of movement to all of that only makes it more thrilling. Second, and perhaps most importantly, there are a few key differences between the two crafts that need to be understood if you're going to knock it out of the park as a DP or videographer, and this video from B&H highlights six of them that you should definitely keep your eye on.

Many of history's most famous filmmakers started out in photography, most notably Stanley Kubrick who was a full-time staff photographer for Look Magazine back in the 1940s, so making the transition from photo to video seems like a natural one. For all intents and purposes it is, but there are a few technical and creative aspects of cinematography that those used to taking stills need to understand, including:

  • Frame rate
  • Constant shutter
  • Continuous lighting
  • Video codecs
  • Photo vs. video lenses
  • Image resolution

And these are just the six mentioned in the video. You also have to think about camera movement, subject movement, rack focusing, sound and audio, blocking and choreography, and how all of these aspects communicate different things to your audience. 

What are some other things photographers should think about as they make the transition into cinematography? Let us know down in the comments.

Source: B&H

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