Director of photography resume examples from 2026
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How to write a director of photography resume
Craft a resume summary statement
A resume summary is your opening statement that highlights your strongest skills and top accomplishments. It is your chance to quickly let recruiters know who you are professionally - and why they should hire you for the director of photography role.
Step 1: Mention your current job title or the role you're pursuing.
Step 2: Include your years of experience in director of photography-related roles. Consider adding relevant company and industry experience as relevant to the job listing.
Step 3: Highlight your greatest accomplishments. Here is your chance to make sure your biggest wins aren't buried in your resume.
Step 4: Again, keep it short. Your goal is to summarize your experience and highlight your accomplishments, not write a paragraph.
Hiring managers spend under a minute reviewing resumes on average. This means your summary needs to demonstrate your value quickly and show why you are the perfect fit for the director of photography position.Please upload your resume so Zippia’s job hunt AI can draft a summary statement for you.
List the right project manager skills
Your Skills section is an easy way to let recruiters know you have the skills to do the job. Just as importantly, it can help your resume not get filtered out by hiring software. Here is how to make the most of your skills section and make sure you have the right keywords:
- Look to the job listing. You often need to include the exact keywords from the job description. Take note of the skills listed for the job.
- Put all relevant hard and soft skills in your skills section.
- Be specific. If you are too broad, you may not be giving the best picture of your skills and leave the hiring manager uncertain of your abilities.
- Be up to date. Software names change and companies merge. Don't look out of touch by being careless.
- Be accurate. Spelling and even upper or lowercase can dramatically change meanings. Make sure you are correctly listing your skills.
Here are example skills to include in your “Area of Expertise” on a director of photography resume:
- Video Projects
- DP
- Adobe Photoshop
- Sony
- Video Production
- Cinematography
- Music Videos
- Web Series
- Adobe Premiere
- Audio Equipment
- Camera Operation
- DSLR
- Shot List
- Photo Shoots
- Promotional Videos
- Gaffer
- Video Shoots
- B-Roll
- Camera Movement
- Video Content
- Adobe Lightroom
- Feature Film
- Color Correction
- Visual Identity
- YouTube
- Motion Graphics
- Documentaries
- Camera Equipment
- HD
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How to structure your work experience
A work experience section is a vital part of your resume because it shows you have the experience to succeed in your next job.
- Put your most recent experience first. Prospective employers care about your most recent accomplishments the most.
- Put the job title, company name, city, and state on the left. Align dates in month and year format on the right-hand side.
- Include only recent, relevant jobs. This means if you're a fairly experienced worker, you might need to leave off that first internship or other positions in favor of highlighting more pertinent positions.
How to write director of photography experience bullet points
Remember, your resume is not a list of responsibilities or a job description. This is your chance to show why you're good at your job and what you accomplished.
Use the XYZ formula for your work experience bullet points. Here's how it works:
- Use strong action verbs like Led, Built, or Optimized.
- Follow up with numbers when possible to support your results. How much did performance improve? How much revenue did you drive?
- Wrap it up by explaining the actions you took to achieve the result and how you made an impact.
This creates bullet points that read Achieved X, measured by Y, by doing Z.
Here are great bullet points from director of photography resumes:
Work history example #1
Studio Technician
Michigan State University
- Produced instructional videos for training purposes Created budget for equipment purchases Help develop framework for Media department
- Learned how to troubleshoot for Windows and Mac operating systems.
- Conducted systematic preventive maintenance and repair for a variety of audio-visual equipment.
- Advised students using the printmaking facilities during open studio hours.
- Used video recording equipment along with video and audio editing software efficiently.
Work history example #2
Videographer
Best Buy
- Assisted management in determining the appropriate level of staff involvement for a variety of diverse marketing campaigns and decisions.
- Achieved Gold Mastery in Computing and Digital Imaging, Appliances, Intel, Nikon, Canon, Sony, and Apple.
- Displayed an intuitive way of delivering information for others to understand highly technical video equipment.
- Involved in the stores induction of Geek Squad as an in-house technical support center.
- Consulted with appliances clients regarding installation needs and basic setup and design.
Work history example #3
Editor
Advertising Specialty Institute
- Maintained a social media presence for the magazine and ASI on Twitter (@KathyMHuston), Facebook, and LinkedIn.
- Created content for online education initiative.
- Used and created online advertising to promote the Protein and Produce social media sites and other house ads.
- Created MS PowerPoint presentations and two on-line seminars.
- Doubled AGA's followers while managing AGA's Twitter account.
Work history example #4
Chairperson
Atlanta Public Schools
- Organized and oversaw subcommittee to develop and implement annual headquarters Diversity Celebration.
- Created scholarship dinner to provide incentive for scholastic improvement.
- Communicated with alumni to keep good rapport and raise funds.
- Organized events to promote brother participation and brotherhood within the fraternity.
- Participated in HCPSS mathematics professional development sessions to enhance curriculum understanding Teacher Development Liaison.
Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.
Add an education section to your resume
The education section should display your highest degree first.
Place your education section appropriately on your resume. If you graduated over 5 years ago, this section should be at the bottom of your resume. If you just graduated and lack relevant work experience, the education section should go to the top.
If you have a bachelor's or master's degree, do not list your high school education. If your graduation year is more than 15-20 years ago, it's better not to include dates in this section.
Here are some examples of good education entries from director of photography resumes:
Associate's Degree in photography
New York University, New York, NY
2009 - 2011
Bachelor's Degree in photography
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
2012 - 2015
Highlight your director of photography certifications on your resume
If you have any additional certifications or education-like achievements, add them to the education section.
Include the full name of the certification, along with the name of the issuing organization and date of obtainment.
If you have any of these certifications, be sure to include them on your director of photography resume:
- Apple Certified Pro- Final Cut Pro X