As I have studied and practiced my craft over the last few years, I have arrived at a set of personal maxims that guide me each day on the set.  I believe a cinematographer needs several critical capabilities to succeed:

• storytelling – A cinematographer should be a top-flight storyteller.  He/she should study writing, classic hero’s journeys, three-act structure, sequencing, character arcs, story beats, etc.  He should be able to recognize opportunities presented in the script to tell story visually.  He should be able to work with the director to enhance their vision through the use of framing, movement, light and shadow, color.  He should be able to do all this without calling attention to his creative contribution.
• acting – A cinematographer should have an understanding and appreciation for the actor’s craft and how to support and protect actors through their very difficult and personal process.  A cinematographer should study acting and understand how an actor approaches their character and the project.  The cinematographer should know and understand an actor’s process, terminology, boundaries, and emotional needs. 
• cinema - A cinematographer should know the conventions of cinema and how to defy convention to place his personal mark on his work.  He should be well versed in popular, traditional, and classical literature, cinema, and art.  He should recognize opportunities to integrate world culture into the visual fabric of a film.
• vision – A cinematographer must possess specific ideas about how to bring the story from script to screen.  A cinematographer should bring something unique and special to a project that distinguishes it stylistically.  Working with the director, a cinematographer should build a visual vocabulary for the film that supports and serves the work of the actors and story.  Working with the director, the cinematographer should know how his work - color, composition, movement - may be used in the edit.
• craft – A cinematographer must know his tools and know how to harness the expertise of his gaffer and key grip.  He should be ready and willing to experiment and test new ideas, tools and techniques to bring his unique vision to the screen.  A cinematographer must be willing to take risks.
• leadership – A cinematographer must be able to surround himself with qualified craftspeople, to rely on their expertise to supplement one’s own, and to inspire, corral, coerce that team in the execution of the director’s vision.  A cinematographer must be able to recognize his team’s passions and desires and, where possible, provide every opportunity for each member of his team to excel.  A cinematographer must be able to recognize when he is, quite simply, wrong and to seek the council of his team to arrive at solutions that, above all else, serve the film.  A cinematographer should seek mentors for guidance and insight.
• stamina – A cinematographer must be able to physically and emotionally survive the challenge of production and maintain a sense of grace under fire.

 That’s what I believe it means to be a cinematographer.  I strive to embody these principles in the pursuit of my craft, art, and life.