Hourly Wage for Cinematographer Salary in the United States

Didn't find your job?
Click

What is the hourly salary range of Cinematographer?

As of April 01, 2025, the average hourly pay of Cinematographer in the United States is $36. While Salary.com is seeing that Cinematographer salary in the US can go up to $47 or down to $28, but most earn between $32 and $42. Salary.com shows the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Cinematographer in the United States.

Search Cinematographer Jobs the United States

Develop a Job description
Pay Equity
2024 Compensation Trend
Benefits Consulting
download asset banner
Facing Salary Structure Challenges? Let Our Expert Guide You
The job market is increasingly challenging. Our whitepaper, Navigating the Challenges of Creating Salary Structures, offers guidance on creating salary structures. Provide your phone number and work email to download the full version.
We will handle your contact details in line with our Privacy Policy. If you prefer not to receive marketing emails from Salary.com, you can opt-out out of marketing communications at any time by clicking unsubscribe.

What is a Cinematographer?

A Cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the chief over the camera and light crews working on a film, television production or other live action piece and is responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image. The study and practice of this field is referred to as cinematography. The Cinematographer selects the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc., to realize the scene in accordance with the intentions of the director. Relations between the Cinematographer and director vary; in some instances the director will allow the ...

Source: Wikipedia (as of 09/06/2019). Read more from Wikipedia

See user submitted job responsibilities for Cinematographer.

Search Cinematographer Job Openings

Job Openings for Cinematographer
Not the job you're looking for? Search more salaries here:

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst

Understand the total hourly compensation opportunity for a Cinematographer, hourly wage plus other pay elements

Average Hourly Wage

Core compensation

 
 
 
32
42
36

Average Total Hourly Cash Compensation

Includes base and short-term incentives

 
 
 
32
43
37
These charts show the average hourly wage (core compensation), as well as the average total hourly cash compensation for the job of Cinematographer in the United States. The average hourly rate for Cinematographer ranges from $32 to $42 with the average hourly pay of $36. The total hourly cash compensation, which includes base and short-term incentives, can vary anywhere from $32 to $43 with the average total hourly cash compensation of $37.

Discover how your pay is adjusted for skills, experience, and other factors

How much should you be paid?

For a real-time salary target, tell us more about your role in the four categories below.

32
42

 

Recently searched related titles: IRB Analyst, Photo Coordinator, Retail Planning Analyst

Learn more about: Compensation Packages, Employee Flight Risk, Gender Pay Gap, Job Openings for This Role

Jobs with a similar salary range to Cinematographer : Corporate Photographer, Jewelry Photographer, Head Of Photography