Through
The Lens
Movies For Photographers
Photography
The Art of Capturing & Manipulating Light
“Father of Photography”
Nicéphore Niépce
The art of capturing and manipulating light – has existed now for around two centuries, since Nicéphore Niépce created the first fixed image with an early camera. The “father of photography” would certainly be impressed by today’s visuals and the cinematic masterpieces that his inventions have produced.
Photography is the predecessor of film,
so it’s only fitting that many movies pay tribute to their origins. The “moving pictures” have taken photography to unfathomable places, certainly to heights that Niépce could never have dreamed of. Thanks to his pioneering work and the efforts of his successors, the world has become a much more transparent place.
People in small, remote villages can experience the lives of those in big cities; gen-Z youths can feel the pain of their ancestors; and simple daydreamers no longer have to limit their imaginations. With photography and film, stories can be heard and dreams can be realized.
Photography is a topic that’s long been explored in films, from true stories and documentaries to fictional thrillers and historical depictions. If you’ve a passion for photography, be it on a professional or personal level, there are so many films you need to see. Fortunately, we’ve compiled them all here, so you can add them to your watchlist.
Overview of Photography in Movies
Given the nature of the two practices, photography and film are inseparable.
These two siblings have influenced and been influenced by each other throughout the course of their existence, with many movements having a profound effect on the other. From New Wave French Cinema to German Expressionism, photography and film have been forever interlinked.
Photography as a topic is not always covered explicitly in movies, but there are plenty of films that showcase visual arts like you’d expect to see in photography. Countless directors have had unique styles over the years that blend the aesthetics of photography with the emotion of film. Influential directors such as Wes Anderson, Alfred Hitchcock, and Fritz Lang all shared their individual interpretations with the world through signature styles.
Of course, themes of photography are also common in movies. Protagonist photographers seeking the next best shot risk war-torn situations for a chance of capturing reality; ordinary people explore existential motifs through the medium of photos; and true stories follow the life-changing moments of some of history’s most renowned photographers.
All in all, then, photography is intrinsic to film. Movies have long depicted stories of photography and even when they don’t, the visual art still finds its way into the shots, setups, and angles of almost any movie.
From uniquely visual films like The French Dispatch to photography-centric movies like Blow-Up, these themes don’t restrict themselves to a single genre, but instead cover a wide range of topics, emotions, and plots.
Impact of Movies on Photography
While photography has had an undeniable effect on movies, the same can also be said for the other way around. Film directors frequently use their movies to express a new form of visual style that did not previously exist in the world of photography, but has since influenced stills and pictures around the world.
Lighting,
Lighting, for instance, has been heavily influenced by cinematography in recent decades. Light sources in photos are often hidden from view, but a lot of movie shots use lighting from a visible source to create effects. As a result, photographers started incorporating light sources in their photos, making their shots appear movie-like.
Wes Anderson, one of our all-time favorite directors, is an example of how a movie director can have a great influence on photography. His symmetrical, almost two-dimensional scenery structures has spawned a number of photography books emulating his style, including the bestseller Accidentally Wes Anderson, which contains an eccentric mix of stills from across the globe.
Photographers are thinking more and more about the cinematic in their work. By applying film techniques to their stills, they aim to compose an entire narrative in just a single picture.
Where movies can create lengthy stories and portray a sequential structure using thousands of images, photos have only a single frame to convey their essence. This makes it trickier to tell a full story, but with cinematic techniques they can add more substance to their stills.
Since art is all about destroying the status quo, photography and cinematography have influenced each other to become bolder, constantly exceeding expectations and pushing the boundaries of creativity. Photography has had a huge impact on movies, but movies have had an equally significant influence on photography.
Benefits Of Watching Movies For Photographers
There’s an endless list of benefits to watching movies, particularly for photographers and camera-enthusiasts. Practicing photography and not watching films is like learning a foreign language and never leaving your hometown… it just doesn’t make sense.
Photographers who never watch movies will not develop their practice as well as others. This is simply because they won’t learn as much, both in a practical and cultural sense. Learning from movies is a highly important part of a photographer’s work, especially in the modern age where new filming techniques and processes are equally important regardless of whether you work with stills or videos.
Similarly, watching movies exposes you to new ways of thinking, new ideas, and new cultures. A photographer needs to be open-minded about the world, which feeds the creative process. Exposing yourself to cultures different from your own can lead you to a more developed practice and an idiosyncratic style.
Photographers can gain excessive amounts of inspiration simply by watching movies. It doesn’t matter if the film is explicitly about photography or not, curious locations and interesting scene setups can provide enough inspiration for camera-lovers.
It goes without saying, then, that there are many benefits to watching movies for photographers. So, whether you’re sitting at home on your lounger or on the front row in the cinema, any movie is always worth the watch for photographers.
Fictional Movies About Photographers
If photography captures the events of reality, film permits a glimpse into alternative realities. As a result, movies about photographers aren’t always historical or documentary. In fact, many films depicting photographers’ lives tell fictional stories, using photography as a medium to explore deeper themes.
Movies have told the stories of fictional photographers for decades. They cover a variety of genres, often depicting mystery, fantasy, and other abstract concepts that invoke magical and other-worldly themes. If you’re in the mood for some incredibly designed, wonderfully created fictional tales about photographers then check out some of the movies listed below.
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02
2002
City Of God
City of God, or Cidade de Deus in its original Portuguese title, is a Brazilian film that follows the development of organized crime in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most notorious slums, the Cidade de Deus favela. Widely considered one of the best films of the 21st century, City of God was nominated for four Academy Awards and won countless other prizes.
The film follows the lives of several prominent residents of the favela as the struggle for power shifts between gangs. Of particular interest to photographers is the character of Rocket (Buscapé), who has an enthusiasm for photography and documents much of the gang warfare in the favela, including police corruption and criminal activity.
With magnificent shots and a truly gripping storyline, City of God is a must-watch for any aspiring or experienced photographer. It’s a culturally enriching movie that provides a crucial insight into the lesser-known favela experiences in Brazil.
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02
2002
One Hour Photo
This psychological thriller tells the chilling story of a technician working in a one-hour photo development store, who becomes obsessed with a family who regularly visit the store. Seymour “Sy” Parrish, played by Robin Williams, duplicates the Yorkin family’s photos and builds a shrine to them in his house, where lives a solitary life.
Over the course of the film, Sy’s obsession is gradually discovered by colleagues and the police, culminating in some disturbing scenes and a gripping manhunt. Dark traumas are revealed at the end, topping off a fairly harrowing yet strangely watchable movie.
Robin Williams
With generally positive reviews
and critical acclaim, One Hour
was nominated for and
won numerous awards. For his
off-brand performance in the
movie, Robin Williams won the
Saturn Award for Best Actor.
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13
2013
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
Walter Mitty, a negative assets manager at Life magazine, is a chronic daydreamer. One day, he receives a gift from famed photojournalist Sean O’Connell containing a roll of negatives and a wallet. Sean says negative number 25 should make the front cover of Life, but Walter finds it missing.
After some reluctance, Walter embarks on
a journey around the world using the
other negatives in the roll as clues to
Sean’s location, so he can find the missing
photo. Starring Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig,
and Sean Penn, this delightful film will
leave you in positive spirits about the
beauty and awe of the world.
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1966
Blow-up
One of the older films in our list, Blow-Up’s antiquity does not detract from its value as a thrilling movie. Set in London in the 1960s, the film follows a fashion photographer of the mod rocker subculture, who believes
he has accidentally captured a murder on camera.
The film distorts perceptions of reality, ending in an ambiguous way that blurs the lines between what is true and what is fantasy. Blow-Up is an essential movie for any aspiring photographer or filmmaker, and it remains a classic even today.
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1954
Rear window
Dating even further back is Rear Window, which comes direct from the mind of the “Master of Suspense”
Alfred Hitchcock. The movie well and truly lives up to its director’s nickname, as wheelchair-bound photographer L. B. Jefferies observes a myriad of suspicious activities from outside his rear window.
Widely considered one of the greatest movies of all time, Rear Window is an aesthetically significant film that every photography enthusiast should watch at some point in their lifetime. As cinematography progresses to brilliant new heights, it’s important to occasionally look back on the pioneers of old.
Photography Documentaries
Photography has been the subject of many documentaries over the years. From horrifyingly real stories of war to beautifully captured natural wonders, photography documentaries frequently make great spectacles. The unique images they capture and the brilliant lives they depict are well worth watching, especially for photography enthusiasts.
Our list below contains five spectacular photography documentaries that tell the true stories of photographers and their methods, capturing some of the most inspiring scenes in history.
2010
Hand held
This documentary feature film follows photojournalist Mike Carroll and his work in Romania in the aftermath of the fall of communism there. In the years after the demise of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s government in 1989, Carroll recorded the plight of the poor and the struggles of Romanian children amidst an AIDS epidemic.
2014
The Salt Of The
Earth
Co-directed by his own son, The Salt Of The Earth tells the story of Sebastião Salgado and his exploration into the exploitation of man and the earth. Through his photography, Salgado depicts a world in demise and covers wars, conflicts, capitalist exploitation, and famine. The Salt Of The Earth contains a hugely important message for modern humanity, making it a must-see for anyone.
2020
The Way I See It
Pete Souza, the official White House photographer during the Reagan and Obama administrations, is the subject of this documentary. The movie mainly focuses on his time with Obama and the iconic photos he took during his tenure, including the now iconic Situation Room portrait during the raid on Osama Bin-Laden.
2012
McCullin
Nominated for two BAFTAs, McCullin portrays the life and works of Don McCullin, a renowned British photographer. From his work on the movie Blow-Up to his coverage of London gang warfare, this documentary spans a range of worldly events. It’s incredible how one photographer can lead such an interesting life, but Don McCullin certainly does so.
2011
War
Photographer
As the name suggests, this documentary details the field of war photography. Produced by Christian Frei, the movie’s main subject is James Nachtwey, a world-renowned photojournalist whose career has spanned decades of wars and conflict. Other prominent journalists and reporters that appear in the documentary include Des Wight and Christiane Amanpour.
Critics have cited that War Photographer appeals to our sense of compassion, as we see tragic insights into past events and atrocities. Photographers, both aspiring and experienced, can take something of great value away from this documentary; it’s the best and broadest documentary into war photography there is.
War Photography In Movies
War photography and photojournalism have long been a vital part of history. Ever since the invention of the portable camera, photos have captured the horrors and triumphs of war. They have been used as a device to both seek truths and spread lies.
This makes war photography an incredibly interesting subject for movie plots. Mostly covering a particular journalist or historical event, movies about war photography often depict true events and cover horrifying sights. Not for the faint-hearted yet undeniably important, the films below provide a tantalizing insight into war and the people involved.
1984
The Killing Fields
A harrowing film depicting the true events of the Khmer
Rouge regime in Cambodia, The Killing Fields is
emotionally and culturally significant. It follows the lives
of two real-world journalists, American Sydney
Schanberg and Cambodian Dith Pran, as they struggle to
photograph and document the insurrection and civil war
around them.
Partway through the movie, Schanberg is sent back to America, while Pran is forced to live out the grueling regime of Pol Pot and his communist state. While Schanberg makes attempts to look for him, Pran undertakes forced labor but eventually manages to escape. Trekking across the jungle, Pran finds a refugee camp and is rescued.
Haing S. Ngor
A heartfelt story about the horrors of
war and the longevity of friendship,
The Killing Fields is an important film
to watch, not just for photographers.
It won three Oscars, including Best
Supporting Actor for Haing S. Ngor
(who played Pran) and Best
Cinematography.
1983
Under Fire
Under Fire follows two American journalists as they
cover the military conflict in Nicaragua during the late
1970s. The movie tells the story of the rebel uprisings
that led to the demise of President Somoza’s regime in
1979, and portrays the chaotic and corrupt nature of the
war.
Russell Price is the main protagonist and a prominent photojournalist, who winds up assisting the rebel movement by faking a photo of their deceased leader to trick the government into thinking he’s alive. As the movie progresses, a famed American journalist is killed by Somoza’s forces and Price races to distribute the photos of this moment to the world.
An action-packed, heart-wrenching movie, Under Fire portrays just how tough being a photojournalist can be. The situations they find themselves in throughout the movie seem unrealistic, but the fact that this is very much the reality of a war photographer only adds to the incredible essence of the film.
1986
Salvador
Another movie set during historic conflicts, Salvador
follows photojournalist Richard Boyle as he tries to
document the incoming military crisis in El Salvador. As
a veteran photographer, he uses his experience to try
and save a local woman and her children from the war
and send them to America. His hard-fought attempts are
ultimately to no avail, and along the way he witnesses
some truly horrifying events.
2010
The Bang Bang Club
Based largely on true events, The Bang Bang Club
follows a group of young photojournalists in South Africa
as they document the atrocities of faction warfare and
the apartheid of the early 1990s. The five men in the
movie were all real journalists who risked their lives on a
daily basis to record the violence and segregation of the
era.
At times, the movie touches on war photography as a concept. It poses questions such as “how much influence should a photojournalist have on the event?” and “does a war photographer have a moral obligation to intervene?” If you enjoy a morally ambiguous movie that questions areas of photography, The Bang Bang Club is for you.
2000
Harrison’s Flowers
Despite its seemingly innocent name, there is nothing
angelic about this movie. When renowned
photojournalist Harrison Lloyd heads to the crumbling
Yugoslavia to document its dissolution, he soon goes
missing and is presumed dead in a fallen building.
Worried but believing he is still alive, his wife travels to
the country to find him.
Journeying through Croatia, she witnesses intense massacres and genocides committed by fighters on both sides. Back at home, their son tends to Harrison’s garden in a symbolic expression of hope.
Movies About Real Photographers
Photographers are some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet. Their enormous passion for their craft is matched only by their wealth of enriching experiences throughout their careers. Often traveling all over the world to once-in-a-lifetime events, many photographers live truly unique lives.
And all this excitement makes for incredible movies. Films depicting the true stories of real-life photographers perform consistently well on the big screen, as they tell interesting and thrilling tales. The movies listed below all portray fascinating stories of real photographers and are certainly worth watching if you’re into photography.
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12
2012
Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters
Acclaimed American photographer Gregory Crewdson is the subject of this documentary feature film. Throughout the film, the viewer is guided through a magnificent glimpse into his processes as he rises from the relative unknown to stark prominence.
Gregory Crewdson
As a tableaux photographer, his strategies for getting the best photo are often heavily considered. Through the use of props and artificial lighting, Crewdson compiles extraordinary photos and magical scenes. To find out how he does it, you’d best give this movie a watch.
2006
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
Starring Nicole Kidman, Robert Downey Jr, and Ty Burrell, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane
Arbus recounts the life of American photographer Diane Arbus from a semi-biographical, partly-fictional account. Arbus,
tired of her role as a housewife and a restrictive job, begins to use a camera to photograph weird and wonderful characters.
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06
Diane Arbus is credited with shifting many of the attitudes towards people on the fringes of society, who were until then rarely the subjects of portrait photography. Beautifully constructed and with a prominent cast, Fur is an excellent choice for photography enthusiasts.
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13
2013
Finding Vivian Maier
Vivian Maier is a name almost no-one had heard prior to her death in 2009. She was a secretive, closed-off person who had an
undying passion for photography that would later catapult her to posthumous fame. Finding Vivian Maier is the story of how she rose from the depths of the unknown to critical acclaim in the years following her demise.
Vivian Maier
It was through pure chance that collector John Maloof happened across a number of her negatives and undeveloped films in 2007. After Maier could no longer afford storage space, her belongings inside were auctioned off. Maloof bought a bunch of old photographs from an auction in Chicago, without realizing just how enormous this deal was.
Maloof, alongside Charlie Siskel, wrote, directed, and produced this documentary. Finding Vivian Maier won numerous awards at a multitude of film festivals around the world, making it an important watch for photographers.
2018
Mapplethorpe
Shot in just 19 days, Mapplethorpe details the life of Robert Mapplethorpe, who daringly pushed the boundaries of portrait photography by exploring the gay male BDSM scene in New York during the 1960s and 70s. The film stars Matt Smith as Mapplethorpe.
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18
Mostly true to real-world events, Mapplethorpe
depicts the New York LGBTQ+ scene and the
subjects that inspired so many raucously
incredible photos from Robert himself. The
movie was nominated and won a variety of
awards at various independent film festivals that
year.
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15
2015
life
Life is a biographical drama film based on the relationship between actor James Dean and Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock.
Dean (played by Dane DeHaan) is being photographed by Stock (Robert Pattinson) as they travel across America from Los Angeles to New York and then finally to Indiana. The pair strike up a close friendship along the way, resulting in many notable tales that are depicted in the movie.
Aesthetically-Inspiring Movies For Photographers
Since photography and cinematography go hand in hand, there are plenty of movies out there that can inspire the work of photographers. While these movies may have nothing to do with photography in regards to their plots and characters, they still serve as beautiful inspiration for photographers looking to alter or improve their practice.
The following films are all wonderfully shot and expertly composed, making them cinematic masterpieces of their time.
2014
The Grand
Budapest Hotel
Realistically, we could’ve had anything by Wes
Anderson on this list. His ingenuity and craftsmanship
when constructing scenes is second-to-none, making
him one of the all-time masters of cinematography.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is perhaps his best loved
movie and the composition of the scenes makes it
easy to see why.
1999
The Blair Witch
Project
Considered one of the most terrifying films of its time,
The Blair Witch Project revolutionized cinema with its
“found footage” approach to cinematography. Shot
entirely from a first-person viewpoint, the film utilizes
the unknown and the raw emotions of the camera-
holder to inject fear into viewers. Aspiring
photographers who enjoy experimenting with light
and dark can gain some great inspiration from this
film.
1980
The Shining
One of the all-time greatest movies, The Shining will
remain a large part of Stanley Kubrick’s legacy for
years to come. If you’ve never seen it before (are you
living under a rock?), you’ll be shocked at how much
modern movies and shows have referenced the film. A
true classic, The Shining’s set design and camera
angles can provide even the most experienced
photographers with a new way of carrying out their
practice.
2006
Pan’s Labyrinth
From the mind of director Guillermo Del Toro, Pan’s
Labyrinth is a favorite of art and film students for its
incredible cinematography. The lines between fantasy
and reality blur as young Ofelia encounters magical
monsters as the Spanish Civil War rages around her.
The mystical color palette, settings, and characters
throughout the movie make it a truly inspirational film
for anyone into art, cinema, and photography.
2021
The French
Dispatch
What the heck, we’ll add another Wes Anderson film
to this list. They’re just so wonderfully crafted that
they all deserve a spot on this list. The French
Dispatch is the most quintessential Wes Anderson
movie yet, drawing on a range of stories to create a
collage of subplots throughout the film. With a typical
all-star cast, photographers can find incredible
inspiration in the cinematography of the movie.
Photography & Film: A Partnership For The Ages
As we’ve seen, photography and film are inseparable. As they simultaneously influence each other year after year, we are blessed with fresh outlooks on the world and ingenious methods of retelling history.
Photographers of all levels will no doubt enjoy the movies listed above, but in reality almost any film can be beneficial to a photographer. By watching movies and learning what works and what doesn’t, you can gain plenty of knowledge and inspiration that you can use on your next shoot.
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