Film Stills Fast Track A ten-week online photography course

Accelerate your film stills career with professional photographer Nicola Dove

Would you:

  • Love to get onto a film set and take stunning photographs?
  • Like to add an exciting niche to your freelance photography business?
  • Like to work with actors and directors?
  • Love to see your pictures published all over the world?

Have you:

  • Heard about the industry and wonder how to break in?
  • Tried to get onto a film set but made little progress?
  • Been on set but feel impatient with your progress in the film industry as a stills photographer?
  • Heard of other photographers getting great jobs and want to get those juicy opportunities as well?

It's time to get clarity on how to Fast Track

Your Film Stills Career

Whether you’re a photographer who is completely new to the film industry, or you have been on set already, I can guide your next steps.

I have been a professional film stills photographer for almost twenty years, and will share my systems with you on how to take great images in every situation, how to build relationships that will develop your film stills career, and how to create and develop a polished film stills ready portfolio.

What will you learn on Film Stills Fast Track?

  • How to think like a film stills photographer, even if you’re not on set yet.
  • How to work with light, actors, and crew.
  • How to make the best out of your equipment.
  • How your mindset directly affects your pictures.
  • The four mistakes to avoid making on set, at all costs
  • How to create a film stills style portfolio
  • Listings for getting onto a film set
  • Plus, how to pull off a stunning poster shoot (with examples from No Time To Die!)

After Film Stills Fast Track you will have all the practical knowledge you need to build an exciting film stills photography career.

This is for you whether you’re:

  • A keen amateur who knows your way around a camera
  • Already a photographer and want another possible income stream
  • Already on set and want to step up to the next level
  • Motivated and ready to take action
  • Impatient and want to fast track your film stills career

Film Stills Fast Track - an online course with LIVE Q&A's

  • You’ll hear it all straight from me – I'm sharing twenty years of knowledge directly with you over 10 weeks.
  • One 60-90min module per week to watch at your own convenience, including a bonus poster shoot module.
  • Each module is jam-packed with information, pictures, insights, stories, and guidance on all aspects of film stills photography.
  • One live Q&A session each week, answering all your questions, sharing insights, and getting to know your cohorts.
  • A fantastic guest speaker line up carefully chosen to give you the insider's scoop on the industry.
  • An exclusive private FB group to share images, get feedback, and interact with your fellow students from around the world.
  • The first 5 students get access to me for a 1:1 session.
    • You’ll be able to ask questions about your work, and your situation so together we get you ready for the next step in your film stills career.
  • The first 20 students will be eligible to take part in a group portfolio review session to get personalised feedback on their work from myself and Debi Berry from the BBC.

Hello, I'm Nicola

I’m a professional film stills photographer and I have worked on some huge films, including the latest Bond movie No Time To Die. But it wasn’t always that way.

In my late twenties, I was living in my small home town in New Zealand, busy not being a photographer and wishing I was one.  I had studied photography but never really followed it through.

One day I suddenly lost all hearing in one ear. I had scans and they said it might be a brain tumor. Luckily it wasn’t, but the doctors couldn’t tell me why it had happened.

Afterward I made a decision. I wasn’t going to live a safe life anymore.  I realized that at any moment your life can change.

I left my lovely little home town, with my camera, for the UK, and started shooting weddings, editorial and traveled shooting for various charities.

I also started shooting for free on short films, and slowly built my portfolio and networks. It took me a while but I got there.

I am still deaf in one ear, and I feel thankful every day for it (I’m always grateful it wasn’t an eye!). It continues to wake me up to the fact that life is for stepping outside your comfort zone and backing yourself.

I try to live by it still with how we raise our two kids for example and taking them on lots of adventures.  They often travel with me to my international jobs, but that is for another story.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of what I know with you and inspiring you to reach your potential too.

Here’s the course I wish I had when I started:

Module 1: Let's get shooting!

  • We look closely at what makes a good film still to understand which images get used for publicity and which don’t, so you can start thinking like a film stills photographer.
  • We cover the four fundamentals for a stunning shot. We look at image examples and discuss how you can bring these elements into your work.
  • You’ll be given an assignment to start shooting straight away, even if you are not on a film set, so you can begin to build, or develop, your film stills style portfolio.

Module 2: Who's Who

  • You’ll learn the structure of a crew and what their roles are. I’ll guide you as to how to build the key relationships onset that help you gain the best access.
  • I’ll explain what a call sheet is and how to read one. This is the blueprint for each day’s filming and if you don’t understand it well you’ll miss critical opportunities.
  • GUEST SPEAKER: Unit Publicist Claudia Kalijndian. Claudia has worked on films such as No Time To Die, Dark Knight Rises, Chocolat, and The Da Vinci Code. Publicists are often the people who recommend photographers for a job.
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Module 3: Get Set Prepared

  • Equipment: We’ll look at how to get the best out of your equipment, whatever kind of camera you have.
  • I’ll show you all the settings I use for different lighting and action situations, so you can work fast and effectively to get great shots.
  • We discuss any techincal issues and questions you have

Module 4: Good Access = Great Pictures!

  • If you get the following fundamentals right at the beginning, you build trust with the cast and crew, granting you access to get great images. If you get them wrong you may not be invited back on set!
  • I'll break down optimal positioning for different types of scene set ups so you get all the shots you need AND work optimally around the cast and crew. There’ll be diagrams!
  • I'll warn you of the MISTAKES TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS as a photographer on set!
  • I’ll explain the images you must achieve to cover a scene, and a film, well.
  • Plus, I’ll let you in on my secrets for how to be unobtrusive on set.

Module 5: An Inside Job

  • You'll learn how to work with actors to get the best performances for authentic pictures, plus some critical mistakes to avoid.
  • I'll give you tips on how to most effectively get set ups done if you need them.
  • We look at different genres of films and how to shoot accordingly - how to make a comedy shot funny, how to make suspense shots dramatic.
  • MODULE 5a: State Of Mind: Your attitude and mindset are critical to your film stills photography career, and a good one will become your greatest strength. I’ll be exploring with you how our state of mind creates the kinds of pictures we make.
  • I’ll teach you the strategies I have developed over the last twenty years for how to have great composure on set that will make you an asset, not a liability.

Module 6: Effective Workflow

  • At the end of a long day shooting you don't want to spend hours on downloading, editing and post production.
  • I’ll share with you my system for fast and efficient digital workflow.
  • I'll cover the important aspects of naming photographs correctly, how my folder systems work, plus backing up your work.

Module 7: Deals and Delivery

  • We'll discuss what the producers or studio expect and how to deliver your images.
  • How much can you charge? Who do you talk to to negotiate your rates? What other expenses can you charge for?
  • We’ll look more closely at unions in the USA and UK.

Module 8: Portfolio Ready!

  • Learn how to edit your work into an effective portfolio which contains the kinds of images that producers and studios want to see.
  • We'll look at different options for showing your work.
  • Now that you have learnt the fundamentals of film stills photography, and know how to put together a great film stills ready portfolio, you are almost ready to go on set!
  • We’ll explore ALL the options for increasing your chances of getting on set, and how to find and maximise them.

Bonus Module

How to Shoot a Stunning Poster

  • How to plan a poster shoot amidst a busy filming schedule.
  • Different lighting options depending on the genre of movie.
  • An equipment list for a poster shoot.
  • PLUS, I’ll lift the lid on the No Time To Die character poster shoots, including exactly how it was lit.

First 20 Students

Join a group portfolio review session to have your images reviewed and get personalised feedback from Nicola and BBC Picture Editor Debi Berry. 

Guest Speakers

It can be very difficult to talk to people on the inside if you are trying to break into the industry. Here, we bring them to you!  

Debi Berry

Debi Berry

BBC

Debi is currently Senior Creative of Global Photography at BBC Studio's, having worked closely with photographers in film and TV publicity for many years. 

Debi will be joining us for the Portfolio Review session, and will be giving you personal feedback on YOUR work. This is a hugely valuable experience that is difficult to achieve any other way. 

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Melinda Sue Gordon

Unit Stills Photographer

Melinda Sue is one of the most experienced Unit Photographers on the planet, having been a founding member of the Society of Motion Picture Photographers.

She has shot films such as Oppenheimer, Tenet, The Mandalorian, Dunkirk, Interstellar, The Truman Show, Field of Dreams and so many more. 

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Picture Editor

Hope Mohler

Hope has been a Photo Editor at NBCUniversal, producing and leading photography on USA Networks, Peacock Streaming, Telemundo and NBC Primetime, and is now freelance. 

Hope has a wealth of experience commissioning photographers for shows being produced around the world, and will be sharing her knowledge plus what makes a great unit stills photographer. 

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Mark Rogers

Photogapher

Mark is one of the leading film, tv, and advertising photographers based in Sydney, Australia. 

Mark has shot key art posters, gallery portraits and unit stills for over a hundred productions in Australia and around the world, including Nine Perfect Strangers, John Wick: Chapter 3, Alien: Covenant, and many more. 

Film Stills Fast Track

10 Recorded Modules plus LIVE group sessions on Zoom!

calls start the week of 4th March 2024

Film Stills Fast Track will be delivered as a combination of recorded videos; weekly, live online Q&A sessions via Zoom; and a private online group as a place for sharing images and information.

Time required - on average 3 hours of course time per week.

You'll become part of a film stills community where you can continue to ask questions, get support, and where knowledge is shared.

With all this inside knowledge you’ll have all the CONFIDENCE you need on set, which is critical to building a good name for yourself in the industry. That is how you’ll get your next job.

 

The two most important things you must do to build a long-term career as a film stills photographer are:

  • Build your network.
  • Create a stunning portfolio.

Both of these things stem from your on set skills.

If you know what you're doing on set, you build trust, and therefore the network of people that will refer you grows.

If you know what you're doing on set, you'll get great pictures and therefore build a great portfolio.

Let’s get started developing your on set skills together.

Learn the Art of Film Stills Photography with Nicola Dove

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VIP Mentoring Students get the Films Stills Fast Track Course plus 4 x 1:1 sessions with me:

Description

It can sometimes feel like a long and lonely road to becoming a successful film stills photographer, and you wonder if you are on the right track.

Use these sessions to:

  • develop your portfolio further together with my feedback,
  • get additional support for getting onto a film set,
  • ask in-depth questions about any situation you are experiencing on set,
  • get additional mentoring to develop your career.

Having an ally alongside you as you develop your film stills career can be invaluable.

Matthew Towers Photographer, London, UK

Matthew is currently shooting a feature film, with others in the pipeline. He talks about which aspects of the course, and the 1:1 VIP sessions he had, that helped him the most.

Jax Photographer, New Zealand

Jax talks about how the course helped her land her first TV series.

Rich Lowe Photographer, Melbourne, Australia

Rich shares what he found most useful, and how its helped him get onto shorts and with a feature film lined up.

This course doesn't just fast track you it propels you on a hyper-speed journey into the world of film stills photography. Nicola's wealth of experience, along with the array of excellent guest speakers, has given me the knowledge and the confidence to get on set and shoot without fear.

David Gennard

Liverpool, UK

FAST TRACK ME!

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Four Lights PTY Ltd and Nicola Dove, trading as Film Stills Academy and this training is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Facebook, LLC