Cinematography is the art of motion picture photography.
Arri Alexa, a digital movie camera
Georges Méliès (left) painting a backdrop in his studio
Live recording for TV on a camera with a Fujinon optical lens.
A deep focus shot from Citizen Kane (1941): everything, including the hat in the foreground and the boy (young Charles Foster Kane) in the distance, is in sharp focus.
The cinematographer or director of photography is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera and light crews working on such projects. They would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc. The study and practice of this field are referred to as cinematography.
A camera crew sets up for scenes to be filmed on the flight deck for the motion picture Stealth with the crew of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72).
Cameraman along with the equipment for making cinematography.