In-House Director of Photography

Location: New York City

Employment Type: Full-Time, On-Site (5 days/week)

Compensation: $100,000 annually + performance-based bonus

About VX Media

VX Media is a global creative and production agency with teams in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. We produce commercial films, branded content, social campaigns, beauty and fashion content, influencer-led productions, and AI-integrated creative work for global brands.

Role Overview

VX Media is seeking an experienced, hands-on Director of Photography to join our New York production team. This role offers meaningful creative ownership and the opportunity to shape the visual direction of projects from concept through final delivery.

The ideal candidate combines strong cinematography skills with an understanding of social media culture, emerging visual trends, post-production workflows, and AI-assisted content creation. You should be comfortable planning and shooting live-action footage for integration with AI, CGI, VFX, and traditional post-production, while maintaining high visual quality across both premium campaigns and fast-turnaround social content.

A professional cinematography portfolio or reel is required.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop the visual language, lighting approach, framing, camera movement, lens selection, and technical workflow for assigned projects.
• Bring original visual ideas, references, and creative treatments to directors, producers, creative teams, and clients.
• Participate in concept development and help shape visual direction from the earliest stages.
• Translate current social and cultural trends into original, brand-appropriate work.
• Create content for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, paid social, digital campaigns, broadcast, and other platforms.
• Serve as Director of Photography and camera operator on commercial, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, product, interview, influencer, and branded-content productions.
• Collaborate with directors, creative directors, producers, social teams, art departments, editors, colorists, VFX artists, CGI artists, AI artists, and clients.
• Create lighting diagrams, camera packages, equipment lists, shot plans, and technical recommendations during pre-production.
• Lead camera, lighting, grip, DIT, and technical teams on set.
• Shoot across vertical, horizontal, square, and multi-format framing requirements.
• Anticipate editing, color, sound, VFX, CGI, AI-generation, motion-graphics, and delivery needs during pre-production and production.
• Plan and capture live-action footage for integration with AI-generated environments, characters, products, transitions, effects, or visual extensions.
• Collaborate with AI artists and creative technologists to determine what should be captured practically and what should be created or enhanced digitally.
• Support mood boards, storyboards, previs, concept frames, and creative tests using AI-assisted tools.
• Maintain visual consistency across live action, AI-generated content, CGI, and VFX.
• Identify AI-related production risks, including continuity, realism, brand accuracy, product accuracy, talent likeness, and output consistency.
• Provide guidance on color management, LUTs, codecs, resolution, frame rates, clean plates, tracking markers, reference photography, VFX plates, and finishing workflows.
• Review edits, color grades, AI-generated sequences, VFX work, and final outputs when needed.
• Recommend efficient camera, lighting, equipment, crew, and hybrid-production solutions within approved budgets.
• Participate in location scouts, technical scouts, camera tests, lighting tests, AI tests, and pre-light days.
• Maintain and organize company-owned camera, lighting, grip, and production equipment.
• Recommend equipment purchases, rentals, upgrades, repairs, and maintenance.
• Build relationships with freelance crew, rental houses, post-production, VFX, and AI-production professionals.
• Support internal creative tests, pitch materials, case studies, studio content, and new-business presentations.
• Travel domestically and internationally when required.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience as a Director of Photography, Cinematographer, or senior camera department professional.
• Strong professional portfolio or reel featuring commercial, branded, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, product, or social-media work.
• Strong creative point of view and confidence proposing original visual ideas.
• Deep understanding of social media trends, creator culture, editing patterns, visual language, and platform-specific practices.
• Experience creating content for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and other major social and digital platforms.
• Working knowledge of AI-generated image and video workflows, including their capabilities, limitations, and integration with live-action production.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with AI artists, VFX artists, CGI teams, editors, and creative technologists.
• Experience planning cinematography around AI, VFX, CGI, compositing, and post-production requirements.
• Professional experience with ARRI, RED, Sony, Canon, Blackmagic, or equivalent cinema camera systems.
• Advanced knowledge of lighting, exposure, lenses, camera movement, composition, color science, and on-set workflow.
• Strong understanding of editing, color grading, codecs, file formats, VFX workflows, CGI integration, finishing, and delivery specifications.
• Experience leading camera, grip, electric, DIT, and technical crews.
• Ability to move between large-scale commercial productions and smaller, fast-turnaround social shoots.
• Strong communication, collaboration, organization, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Comfortable managing overlapping projects and deadlines in a fast-paced agency environment.
• Willing and able to travel domestically and internationally, occasionally on short notice.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience shooting beauty, skincare, cosmetics, fashion, luxury, tabletop, food, or product-focused content.
• Experience with macro cinematography, high-speed photography, motion control, probe lenses, or specialized product techniques.
• Experience producing both polished campaign assets and organic, creator-style content.
• Experience combining live action with generative AI, CGI, VFX, or virtual production.
• Familiarity with tools such as Midjourney, Runway, Adobe Firefly, ComfyUI, Stable Diffusion, or similar platforms.
• Hands-on editing, compositing, or color-grading experience.
• Experience establishing visual and technical standards for an internal production studio.
• Existing relationships with camera, lighting, grip, rental, production, VFX, and post-production vendors in New York and other major markets.
• Experience with international and multi-market productions.
• Valid driver’s license.

What This Role Offers

• Meaningful creative freedom and ownership over the visual direction of projects.
• Opportunities to pitch original ideas and experiment with emerging production technologies, AI workflows, social formats, and visual techniques.
• The opportunity to help establish VX Media’s live-action and AI-integrated production capabilities.
• Direct collaboration with creative leaders, producers, clients, editors, VFX artists, CGI teams, and AI artists.
• Exposure to global brands, international productions, and a wide range of creative formats.
• Access to professional production equipment, studio resources, and internal creative-development opportunities.

Compensation and Benefits

• Annual base salary of $100,000.
• Performance-based annual bonus.
• Paid time off and company holidays.
• Health and other employee benefits in accordance with company policy.
• Domestic and international production opportunities.
• Access to professional production equipment, studio resources, and creative-development opportunities.

Application Requirements

Applicants must submit:

• Resume.
• Professional cinematography portfolio or reel.
• Brief description of responsibilities on selected projects.
• Examples of social-first or platform-specific work.
• Examples of AI-integrated, CGI, VFX, or hybrid-production work, when available.
• List of camera systems, lighting systems, AI tools, and post-production workflows they have used.
• Current location and U.S. work authorization status.
• Confirmation of willingness to travel domestically and internationally.

Applications without a professional portfolio or reel will not be considered.