A film still is a photograph taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. These photographs are taken in formal studio settings and venues of opportunity such as film stars' homes, film debut events, 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 consist of posed or candid images taken on the set during production, 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 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 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. 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 candids and in-costume studies. 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 make-up stills and wardrobe stills; these stills are used for matching from scene to scene, or for recreating a scene for a re-take. All details of the set, the costume and the cast make-up have to be exact, these stills serve as a useful resource to get that accomplished. Background “plates” or “stereos”, 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 works on set but is not directly involved in the making of a film. His role is to publicize, through his pictures and actors on magazines 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 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 and furnishings. Although the still photographer shares a number of skills and functions with the cinematographer, their work is very different.

The cinematographer is concerned with filming short scenes that will be edited into an entire movie. The still photographer is concerned with capturing dramatic photos that will draw attention when used on posters, DVD covers, advertising. Studios would therefore assign a still photographer to a production, 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 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. The major and minor film studios have always used still photos of stars in a posed portrait, to send to the media to create "a buzz" for both their stars and any new films they were appearing in.

Studios "sent out tens of thousands of scene stills and portraits to newspapers and fans each year. Such photographs were marked with the photographer's name or with a credit line."Accordingly, the studio publicity departments used the stills "to sell a product," namely, a "particular film or an individual actor or actress." The distinction is relevant: "While the scene stills and on-the-set candid shots would be used to sell the movie, the portraits could be used to introduce a would-be star to an international audience.... The portrait photographer's function was to create and sell the image created by a publicity department around the life and look of a real person." The photos portrayed a star "without a role to hide behind... had to recognize the image which would serve as the essence of a lengthy publicity campaign, capturing it in a fraction of a second." The glamour close-up would become "Hollywood's principal contribution to still portraiture."Beyond basic publicity purposes, film stills were given to the actor

Dominica Erica Westling is a Swedish actress and nanny. Westling was born in Uppsala, Uppsala County in Sweden as the oldest child and only daughter of two children, she attended secondary school in Uppsala before moving to London, pursuing a career in modeling and acting. She has studied theatre and television acting, both in the UK and the US. Westling started her modelling career in Sweden, appearing in many magazines in her home country, including Slitz and Moore.. It was when Westling moved to the UK that her career in entertainment first took off, as she appeared in many national magazines such as Maxim, FHM and Nuts.. Having lived in the UK for six years, Westling moved to the US and worked for Melissa Rivers as her son’s nanny, hence Westling had the opportunity of appearing as herself on the TV reality show Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?, aired on WEtv. She has been featured in Hollywood films Three7Nine and Murder 101. Since her modeling career began, Westling has appeared in several music videos including 88-Keys ft. Kanye Wests video for ’Stay Up! ’ and Massari – Bad girl.

She has appeared in music videos for artists The Mitchell Brothers and Junior Jack. As of March 2012, Westling was seen on competing for Sweden. In early 2010, it was reported that NBA player Shaquille O’Neal had an affair with Westling, whilst still married to Shaunie O’Neal; when asked about his alleged affair with Westling, Shauquille’s only reply at the time was ”no comment”, while Westling has not commented. Dominica Westling on IMDb Official website

The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from 1984 until 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable is known for his comical antics, playful admonishments, relentless teasing humor, he lives in New York. Cliff had a brother, James Theodore Huxtable, who died of rheumatic fever at the age of 7. In his high school and college years, he was an athlete who wrestled, played football, ran track, he served in the Navy before going to medical school. He is an OB/GYN. In the show, most characters outside of family and friends refer to him as "Dr. Huxtable", he is well-respected in the community. Cliff is married to Clair Huxtable. Both Cliff and Clair attended the fictional Hillman College. Together, they have five children: Sondra, Theodore and Rudith. Cliff enjoys live jazz, has an extensive collection of albums, tries to eat junk food whenever he can get away with it.

Cliff is eccentric and silly to most people around him his family, however he is kind-hearted and an dedicated father with a strong sense of humor. Although he and his wife fostered a tight-knit, loving family, a running gag throughout the series is his thwarted attempts to get the grown children to leave the house. Playful, Cliff enjoys competition making bets with Clair over various things, such as the date a certain jazz song was released, or having a "Smooth Contest" to see which of them looked more elegant for a night on the town, as judged by the children, he plays a monthly game of pinochle against his father and some friends, which sometimes gets passionate. Cliff finds himself on the losing end of most of his bets and games, as, for example, he has never beaten his father-in-law at chess. However, Cliff broke his losing streak at pinochle against his father and his friend Homer Dobson with the help of Dr. Foster, an expert pinochle player who happened to be his and Clair's literary professor at Hillman College.

In the pilot episode, Cosby's character's full name is Clifford, as shown on a sign on the exterior of the house. His full name was subsequently changed to Heathcliff though in one episode Clair called him "Heathclifford", he is called "Cliff" throughout the series. Cliff was to have worked as a chauffeur, with most of the humor coming from his interactions with customers. However, the show was changed before airing to have Cliff be a medical doctor, the humor to come from his interactions with his family. Cliff appears in three episodes of A Different World: the pilot, "Rudy and the Snow Queen" and "If Chosen, I May Not Run", he is the only character to appear in every episode. Clair Olivia Huxtable is the elegantly tough and engaging wife of Cliff, known for her relaxed confidence and striking emphasis as shown. Aside from her deep and decorated self-expression, Clair can be playful and silly, she is an intelligent and successful businesswoman. A great debater, Clair if loses an argument on the show, a testament to her career as lawyer.

She is highly skilled in areas of recall about facts and dates, which she uses during discussions and debates: in one episode she is shown quoting a passage and the page number of a book during an appearance at a television roundtable. Clair is bilingual, speaking Spanish on a couple of occasions and once speaking Portuguese with one of Theo's teachers. Several episodes showcased her singing talent. Despite her elegant brand of toughness and strictness, Clair is a loving mother and wife; the character is loosely based upon Camille Olivia Hanks-Cosby. Her age is directly stated only once during the series, two separate episodes provide contradictory information on the age difference between herself and Cliff, he celebrates his 50th birthday during season three, while she celebrates her 46th during season five, indicating that she is six years younger. However, in the season four episode "The Locker Room," it is stated that Clair is four years younger, her character was supposed to be a housewife, but when the show aired, she became a lawyer.

During the series, she becomes a partner in her law firm. As an attorney she helps her family with legal issues, she represents her eldest daughter, Sondra, in a case over dishonest car repairs; when it came to the Huxtable household, she was in charge though she let Cliff think he was in charge. She was the chief disciplinarian of the children, as shown in an episode where Vanessa and her friends sneak off to Baltimore to see a rock concert and Clair delivers a memorable and scathing diatribe to her. Another memorable moment came when the composed Clair lost her temper when Sondra announced she wasn't going to law school after paying her tuition to attend Princeton. Clair appears in four episodes of A Different World: "Clair's Last Stand", "Risky Business", "Forever Hold Your Peace" and "Success and Videotapes". Clair Huxtable has been ranked in several lists of the top television mothers, she was voted as television's "Favorite TV Mom" in a poll conducted by the Opinion Research Company in 2004.

In 2009, she was included in the Top 5 Classic TV Moms by Film.com. In May 2012, Clair was one of the 12 moms chosen by users of iVillag