Film still

A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph, taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings and venues of opportunity such as film stars' homes, film debut events, and commercial settings. The photos were taken by studio photographers for promotional purposes. Such stills consisted of posed portraits, used for public display or free fan handouts, which are sometimes autographed. They can also consist of posed or candid images taken on the set during production, and may include stars, crew members or directors at work.

The main purpose of such publicity stills is to help studios advertise and promote their new films and stars. Studios therefore send those photos along with press kits and free passes to as many movie-related publications as possible so as to gain free publicity. Such photos were then used by newspapers and magazines, for example, to write stories about the stars or the films themselves. Hence, the studio gains free publicity for its films, while the publication gains free stories for its readers.

Shots can be taken as part of the filming or separately posed. During the course of filming, the still photographer takes shots of on-stage scenes. These photographs are called production stills. Another type of still generated during filming is the off-stage shot. The photographer takes these while actors are between takes, still in costume. Separately posed stills include a wide variety of shots. Many of these have self-explanatory designations: seasonal gag shots, leg art, fashion stills, commercial tie-ups, poster art, clinch shots (special posing for print advertising) candids (done normally with one source lighting—think snapshot) and in-costume studies (most economically done off-stage in a sound stage corner or more formally in a studio setting). By far the most popular of these many kinds of film stills are those portraying glamour, menace or gag interpretations.

Other separately posed images include "set" stills, make-up stills and wardrobe stills. These stills are used for matching from scene to scene, or for recreating a scene later for a re-take. All details of the set, the costume and the cast make-up have to be exact, and these stills serve as a useful resource to get that accomplished. Background "plates" or "stereos" (not a reference to stereoscopic 3D, but to large-format stereopticon 2D slide projection), another type of still, enable the studio to create location scenes without leaving the premises, thus reducing the ultimate cost of production.

Movie still photography is considered a separate branch of movie making, that of marketing: "a still photographer usually works on set but is not directly involved in the making of a film. Their role is to publicize the film and actors, through their pictures on magazines, newspapers and other media." Film producer and cinematographer Brian Dzyak explains that the group of people who work on a film are referred to as the "company" or "unit." Among the professionals who are assigned to the unit, one is a "unit still photographer," whose job is to take still photos that the studios will later use for marketing. They may take photos during rehearsals or while standing next to the cameraman during filming of takes. For glamour publicity stills, given out to the public and press to promote a particular star, "special shoots" are made in separate studios, containing controlled lighting, backgrounds, clothing and furnishings.

Although the still photographer shares a number of skills and functions with the cinematographer, their work is essentially very different. The cinematographer is concerned with filming short scenes that will later be edited into an entire movie. The still photographer is primarily concerned with capturing dramatic photos that will draw attention when used on posters, DVD covers, and advertising. Studios would therefore assign a still photographer to a production, and in some cases as many as five still photographers worked on the same film.

Some stars, including Rita Hayworth, chose which photographer they wanted, in her case, Robert Coburn. Other notable still photographers were George Hurrell and Clarence Bull, known for being Greta Garbo's chosen photographer. Katharine Hepburn recalls her feelings when he also photographed her:

Clarence Bull was one of the greats — I was thrilled when I went to MGM to know that he was going to photograph me. I was terrified — Was I interesting enough?
He had done Garbo for years — The pictures were extraordinary. Her head — his lighting — they combined into something unique.