When it comes to filmmaking, photography plays a very outstanding role, but however, there lies a very great difference between photography and filmmaking which we are going to discuss in this article.

In my years of experience as both a photographer and filmmaker, I have come to realize that so many photographers think that their only duty when it comes to filmmaking is to take still photos, that is why they do are unable to balance the duty contained in both aspects.

I have also observed that, a lot of filmmakers like myself began as photographers, and gradually used or utilized the knowledge they gained through camera shots and angles to delve into filmmaking and become professionals.

Both photography and filmmaking are concerned with capturing a specific moment that will help the viewer retain memories, and while photography captures a specific moment, filmmaking moves on to connect the whole moment that builds up to a resolution which helps the viewer to grasp all the emotions contained in the whole story.

In this article therefore, we are going to see what is photgraphy in filmmaking and move on from there to look at the difference between filmmaking and photography and finally end by answering the question; can a photographer be a filmmaker.

So without much ado, let us get started.

What is photography in filmmaking?

Photography in filmmaking is the art of taking still images that is used in post-production, especially for graphics design purposes.

When we talk about photography in filmmaking, we need to understand the fact that while filmmaking is concerned with helping the audience get a perception of time in an image, photography pauses the time contained in the image to help the viewer imprint the emotions or feelings in their memory.

If you look closely into filmmaking, you will realize that what you are viewing relates to the everyday experience we have in life. We all perceive time and space in the physical sense as it climax into the precious moment that builds up to a resolution which is often times accompanied by a lot of suspense.

However, we also need to understand that photography and filmmaking are both visual mediums that are used to help a viewer or an audience retain a specific or diverse tons of memories.

Now during the process or stages of film production, both mediums are used to capture the characters and locations and while filmmaking takes the viewer deeper into what the character are doing and saying, i.e. their actions and dialogue, photography only captures a specific action and leave the rest for imagination.

What is the difference between filmmaking and photography?

The main difference between filmmaking and photography is that filmmaking is motion while photography is stationary. As a matter of fact, filmmaking relates a story with a flow of movement that depicts the passage of time and space while photography only captures a moment in a still image.

However, film and photos can be used to relate a story in such a way and manner that creates an emotional impact in the minds of the audience or viewers.

With photography, you can help the viewer to catch a glimpse of the characters and location in a specific frame without giving reference to time and movement. While a film will help you to take the viewer deeper into diverse scenes of the message the characters are trying to pass across in the whole story.

While photography focuses on the character and frame filmmaking helps the viewer to get a perception of time based on the actions and dialogues that helps the character narrate his story.

With filmmaking, the audience is able to get a full understanding of the time and location contained in a story, while a photography leaves that for the imagination which is never possible to predict.

Can a photographer be a filmmaker?

In every sense of the word, a photographer is already a filmmaker because he is needed at every step of the filmmaking process to capture the memories of the story in a still image.

Personally, I began my career in filmmaking as a photographer because I did not have the available resources to dive straight into filmmaking, and while working in the industry as a photographer I was able to fully understand the process involved in filmmaking, and this made it easier for me to succeed in making my first film when the time was right.

So even if you are hired to take photographs in film production, make sure you loo upon yourself as a filmmaker and you will be able to excel in any or both fields.

Last thoughts.

Finally, I want us all to understand that, filmmaking cannot do without photography and vice versa, and would also like to cease this opportunity to advice every aspiring photographer and filmmaker to try and understand both mediums if they want to excel in any of them.

Now that you’ve gathered the understanding that a photographer can become a rich filmmaker, make sure that you don’t limit yourself to one of these fields but try bas much as possible to be a pro on both of them. rich