Cinematographer
A cinematographer operates cameras and directs visual composition for film, television, and digital media productions in Australian studios and on location. Working closely with directors and producers, they manage lighting, camera movement, lenses, and colour grading to achieve the intended visual style and narrative mood.
What this job is
A cinematographer operates cameras and directs visual composition for film, television, and digital media productions in Australian studios and on location. Working closely with directors and producers, they manage lighting, camera movement, lenses, and colour grading to achieve the intended visual style and narrative mood. They make technical and creative decisions about exposure, depth of field, focus, and shot sequencing to realise the creative vision within budget and schedule constraints.
Are employers advertising this role?
Falling, down 15.9% over 5 years
Counted across a group of similar roles. These are three-month rolling averages of online job advertisements, not filled positions.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index.
Day-to-day
Consult with the director and production designer to establish visual style, colour palettes, and camera techniques for the production. Select and operate cinema cameras (such as ARRI, RED, Sony) and configure sensor settings, frame rates, and recording formats. Choose lenses, filters, and optical attachments to achieve desired focal lengths, depth of field, and visual effects. Direct and supervise camera operators and focus pullers to execute shot sequences and maintain focus accuracy during takes. Manage lighting rigs and work with gaffers and best boys to position lights, control colour temperature, and achieve mood and visibility. Frame and compose shots using viewfinders, monitors, and focus assist tools to maintain visual continuity and narrative clarity. Monitor exposure levels, colour reproduction, and technical image quality using light meters, false-colour displays, and waveform monitors. Coordinate camera movement including tracking, craning, and gimbal work to match storyboard requirements and directorial intent.
Who does this now
About 560 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Bachelor degree or higher (ABS skill level 1)
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation were generally able to find suitable applicants in 2025. This measures how hard employers found it to fill jobs. It is not a count of jobs, and it does not say whether the occupation is growing.
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.
The honest hard part
Work is project-based and irregular. You'll face long stretches between jobs, especially starting out, with no steady income or benefits. Once you land work, shoots demand 12 to 16 hour days for weeks. Equipment costs thousands to own, and you need constant retraining as camera tech evolves. Pay varies wildly and often depends on who you know.
Where the jobs are
Regional work exists but is sparse. Remote work isn't possible for this role.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 2123, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.
This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.
Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Skills
- Adapt designers’ work to the performance venuecore
- Adapt to artists' creative demandscore
- Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
- Attention to Detailcore
- Continuous Learning and Upskillingcore
- Coordinate technical teams in artistic productionscore
- Coordinate with creative departmentscore
- Digital Literacycore
- Goal Setting and Planningcore
- Organise rehearsalscore
- Problem Solvingcore
- Promote health and safetycore
- Risk Identificationcore
- Stakeholder Communicationcore
- Team Collaborationcore
- Theatre techniquescore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Workload Self-Managementcore
- Write risk assessment on performing arts productioncore
- Coordinate charity services
- Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
- Engage artistic staff
- Entertainment industry
- Fine arts
- Manage creative department
- Multitasking
- Music and video industry
- Negotiate health and safety issues with third parties
- Negotiation
- Organise creative performance
- Philanthropy
- Process Improvement Identification
- Quality Assurance and Checking
- Record Management
- Represent artistic production
- Research and Analysis
- Supervise art gallery staff
- Write technical riders
- Written Communication
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
- ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.
Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
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