Hire a DOP in Edinburgh. The look of the film, and the light that makes it.
Directors of photography for brand films, documentaries, interviews and adverts across Edinburgh and the Lothians, from offices on St Andrew Square to the EICC and the stages at FirstStage Studios in Leith. They choose the camera and lenses, light every set-up and shoot it, or run the camera team that does. From £850 a day, paid to the DOP in full.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
- £10m employers’ liability on every crew member we book
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books, across the UK
Photos: Here Now Films, Sam McGhee and Ivan Bokii
The role
What a DOP does on your shoot
A DOP (director of photography, or DP) turns the brief into pictures. Before the shoot they agree the look with you or your director, choose the camera, lenses and lights, and check the location for light and power. On the day they light every set-up, frame the shots and run the camera, lighting and grip crew.
We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, so we can scale a crew from one person for a morning to a full unit for a week. We book a DOP who lives in or near Edinburgh first; when the brief needs a particular eye, one comes from elsewhere in Scotland, the north of England or London, with the travel on the quote before anything is booked. Many bring their own camera. When the film needs more, we hire it in from a kit house in Edinburgh, or from Glasgow or London for a bigger package.
- A look agreed before the day. Reference frames, a lens choice and a lighting plan, signed off in advance.
- Lit for the room you have. Daylight through an office window, practicals and LEDs balanced so faces read well.
- The right camera for the brief. A Sony FX6 for an interview day; an ARRI Alexa, a RED or 35mm film when the picture is the point.
- A crew that keeps moving. The gaffer, focus puller and grip briefed early, so set-ups change in minutes.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Lighting and framing every set-up
- The camera, lens and lighting plan, agreed with you before the day
- Running the camera, lighting and grip crew, if you book one
- A camera test and white balance at call
- A rushes check at wrap, before the cards leave set
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Camera, lens and lighting kit: theirs or a kit house’s
- Recce and prep days, if the shoot needs them
- Travel from outside Edinburgh, and mileage, parking and any dispensation or suspended bay the day needs, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Edinburgh.
Two ways to book
Crew hire or full production: who’s the producer of record?
One question sets the price: who’s the producer of record? Book a DOP for your own production, or have us take the whole film on.
Crew hire
You run the shoot.
10% + 2% booking fee and insurance, on everything we book for you: crew, kit and travel.
We do
- Find, book and brief the crew, and pay them
- Book kit, travel and hotels too, if you want them
- Send the full price before anything is booked
- One person to call all day
- Employers’ liability for the crew we book, and insurance on kit we hire in
You do
- Run the shoot, or your producer does
- The plan, the schedule and the call sheet
- The location, its permission and its public liability
- Responsibility for the production: you’re the producer of record
What the 2% insures: employers’ liability for every crew member we book, and the kit we hire in for you. Nothing else on the shoot. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote.
Full production
We’re the producer of record.
15% + 5% production fee, plus insurance and contingency, on the whole production budget. Quoted as a production.
We do
- Our producer plans it with you and runs the day
- Locations, permits, kit, studio, travel and hotels, booked and paid in our name
- Insurance for the whole shoot, public liability included, plus the risk assessment and the call sheet
- One contract and one invoice, so overseas teams need no UK company
You do
- The creative calls
- Signing off the plan and the budget
What the 5% pays for: our production insurance across the whole shoot, £10m public liability included, and the contingency.
Not sure which you need? If your own producer or director will run the day, it’s crew hire. If you want us to take the production on, it’s a full production quote.
On the day
A day with a DOP, call to wrap
A leadership film in a New Town office on St Andrew Square: two interviews, then B-roll on the floor and along George Street. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:30 Into the zone St Andrew Square is inside the Low Emission Zone. There’s no charge to pay, only a £60 penalty for a van that doesn’t meet it, so ours was checked before it was booked. Kit off, and the van stays on a yellow line nearby on a £16 parking dispensation, booked at least 24 hours ahead (checked October 2026).
- 07:45 Through security Crew names and the kit list went to building security in advance. Badges at reception, kit up in the goods lift.
- 08:15 Read the light A walk round the floor with the gaffer: where the sun falls, where the floor boxes are, which windows to flag.
- 09:00 First set-up lit Key, fill and a backlight on the chair, and the office behind lit so it reads.
- 09:45 Interviews Two cameras, a wide and a tight. The DOP watches exposure, focus and the daylight moving across the glass.
- 13:00 Lunch An hour. The gaffer turns the room round for the afternoon.
- 14:00 B-roll The people and the floor, then George Street outside as a small handheld unit. A crew under ten with nothing closed off still tells Film Edinburgh first, on a Notice of No Objection: £56 plus VAT (checked October 2026).
- 18:30 Wrap Lights down, cards checked and copied, kit back down the goods lift.
Which DOP
Which DOP do you need?
Every DOP lights and shoots. The camera, the crew and the kind of film change.
Interview and corporate DOP Lit interviews on two cameras From £850 a day
Two-camera interviews lit to look like the room on a good day, plus B-roll, often on the DOP’s own Sony FX6 or FX9 kit, on its own line of the quote.
Best for customer stories and leadership films in the New Town’s offices, round St Andrew Square and George Street.
Documentary DOP Observational, handheld, available light From £850 a day
Reads a room, finds the shot and keeps rolling without stopping the action. Shoulder rig, a zoom or a few fast primes, and long days.
Best for branded documentaries and micro-docs. On Edinburgh’s streets a crew under ten works on Film Edinburgh’s £56 Notice of No Objection, plus VAT: see filming permits in Edinburgh.
Commercial DOP Adverts and brand films Card £935–1,561
A designed look on an ARRI Alexa 35, Alexa Mini LF or RED V-Raptor with cine primes, a lighting plan, and a camera team of focus puller, loader and grip.
Best for adverts and brand campaigns. Commercials are where the APA/Bectu card applies.
Film DOP 16mm and 35mm Quoted on the brief
Shoots on film: a 35mm package or Super 16, with a clapper loader, stock, processing and the scan on the quote. Specialist kit like this can come up from London.
Best when the texture of film is the point, as on Cohere’s AI for Empowerment, shot on 35mm in four countries.
Studio and product DOP Coves, tabletop and packshots Quoted on the brief
Products on a cove or a tabletop: macro lenses, controlled light and every reflection accounted for.
Best for product films and e-commerce, usually in a smaller studio hired by the day. For a bigger build, there are the stages at FirstStage Studios in Leith.
What it’s for
What people book a DOP for in Edinburgh
Leadership and customer films round St Andrew Square
Offices in the business district, with building security to clear first.
Conference films at the EICC
Keynotes in the Pentland Auditorium or the Lennox Suite, with interviews lit between the sessions.
Brand films in the Old Town and Leith
Old Town closes and the stone warehouses on the Shore: Film Edinburgh for the street, the owner for the building.
Studio days in Leith and round the city
A stage at FirstStage Studios, or a smaller studio hired by the day for product, green screen and lit interviews.
University and research films
Labs, lecture theatres and the Old College quad at the University of Edinburgh, whose festivals and events team takes filming requests.
Recent work
DOPs on our jobs, from the South West moors to the City of London
Our work · South West England
The Living Layer
A documentary for the South West Peatland Partnership, filmed over a year on the moors of the South West. In 2026 it was named Overall Winner at the Edinburgh Conservation Film Festival, part of the Edinburgh Science Festival.
Crew hire · City of London · November 2024
Two cameras on Gracechurch Street for Davies Group
Davies Group’s internal series was shot in Manchester, Bolton and London. The London leg came to the company’s office on the fifth floor of 20 Gracechurch Street (EC3) on 5 November 2024. We re-crewed it four days out: a DOP and a second camera on two Blackmagic 6Ks, matched to the series’ other cameras, for B-roll, six sit-down interviews and vox pops. Security had every crew name and the kit list in advance.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 11 hours, including an hour for lunch.
- Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
- Recce and prep days are quoted separately.
Kit
- Their own kit or a kit house’s, on the quote line by line.
- Kit houses in and around Edinburgh include Lights Camera Scotland, between the city centre and the airport, Live Systems on North Leith Sands, and Wex Rental, which hands over booked kit at its store on Haddington Place. Bigger packages come from Glasgow or London.
- Kit we hire in goes on the quote at the same 10% booking fee and 2% insurance as the crew.
Location and travel
- Travel for a DOP from outside Edinburgh, by train to Waverley or by road, goes on the quote before anything is booked.
- Street filming on council land goes through Film Edinburgh: a Notice of No Objection is £56 plus VAT for a crew under ten, and a council park wants at least 48 hours’ notice (checked October 2026).
- Edinburgh’s Low Emission Zone covers the city centre around the clock, with no daily charge: a petrol car or van below Euro 4, or a diesel below Euro 6, is sent a £60 penalty, so we only book vehicles that meet it (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the DOP.
- 50% by card when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
- Every line on the quote: day rate, booking fee, kit, travel.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
What our insurance covers
- Employers’ liability for the DOP we book: £10m.
- Kit we hire in for you is insured. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote.
- Nothing else on a crew hire. Public liability, the location and your own kit stay with you, and your venue will want your certificate. When we’re the producer of record, our policy covers the shoot.
- Film Edinburgh asks for at least £10m public liability on every application, with a risk assessment and a map where the shoot needs them.
From £850 a day
APA/Bectu card benchmark: £935–1,561 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £850 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £85 |
| Insurance, 2% | £17 |
| One day, before kit and travel | £952 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the DOP we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the DOP.
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
- Every line on the quote before anything is booked
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a DOP in Edinburgh.
Tell us the date, the building or the street, the look and the camera you have in mind. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in Edinburgh, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Edinburgh, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 06
- Director From £500
- Producer From £450
- Production manager £504–627
- 2nd AD £355–448
- Production assistant £400
- Runner £245
Camera 07
- DOP This page From £850
- Camera operator £529–656
- Focus puller £461–575
- Clapper loader £355–448
- Steadicam operator From £950
- Gimbal operator £529–656
- Drone operator From £750
Data and playback 02
- DIT £527
- Video playback £334–518
Sound 01
- Sound recordist £550
Hair, make-up and costume 02
- Hair and make-up £398
- Costume £519–694
Art department 02
- Art director £675–878
- Set builders £341–512
Post-production 01
- Editor From £350
How our rates work: crew rates in Edinburgh. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Edinburgh.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A DOP rarely works alone: kit from Leith or Haddington Place, a stage at FirstStage and Film Edinburgh’s Notice of No Objection each get their own line on the quote, or you can sort them yourself.
01
Kit rental
Kit houses in Leith and out towards the airport, the crew’s own kit, and what comes from Glasgow or London.
02
Locations and permits
Film Edinburgh, Historic Environment Scotland, Waverley, the kirkyards, the trams and the drone rules.
03
Studios and set builds
FirstStage in Leith, smaller studios for interviews and product, and set builds.
Questions
Hiring a DOP in Edinburgh: questions
How much does a DOP cost in Edinburgh?
Our DOPs start at £850 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the DOP is paid all of it. The APA/Bectu card for commercials puts a DOP at £935–1,561. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day comes to £952 + VAT, before kit and any travel from outside Edinburgh. Camera and lighting kit goes on the same quote, line by line.
What does the insurance on a crew booking cover?
Two things. Employers’ liability for every crew member we book, up to £10m, and insurance on the kit we hire in for you. That’s what the 2% pays for. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote. The 2% doesn’t insure the rest of the shoot: public liability, the location, your own kit and anything you book yourself stay with you, because you’re the producer of record. If you’d rather we were, it’s quoted as a full production, and our insurance covers the whole shoot, public liability included.
Are your DOPs from Edinburgh?
We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, so we can scale a crew from one person for a morning to a full unit for a week. We book DOPs who live in or near Edinburgh first. When the brief or the date needs someone else, they come from elsewhere in Scotland, the north of England or London, and the travel goes on the quote before anything is booked. Glasgow Queen Street is about 45 minutes from Edinburgh on the fastest trains, Manchester Piccadilly about 3 hours 10 minutes and London King’s Cross about 4 hours 10 (checked October 2026). Our own base is London, at 124 City Road, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.
Do your DOPs bring their own camera?
Many do, at a day rate on the quote: often a Sony FX6 or FX9 kit for an interview day. An ARRI Alexa, a RED or a film package we hire in at the same 10% + 2%. Kit houses in and around Edinburgh include Lights Camera Scotland, between the city centre and the airport, Live Systems on North Leith Sands, and Wex Rental, which hands over booked kit at its store on Haddington Place. Bigger packages come from Glasgow or London.
Can a DOP film on an Edinburgh street?
Yes, with permission. Filming on council land in Edinburgh goes through Film Edinburgh, the City of Edinburgh Council’s film office, which also covers East Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. Its Notice of No Objection is £56 for a crew under ten and £166 for 11 to 24, plus VAT (2026–27), and every application needs £10m public liability (checked October 2026). A small crew with nothing closed off still tells Film Edinburgh first, so it can let local officers and Police Scotland know. Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Park need Historic Environment Scotland as well. On a crew hire the permission is yours. More in filming permits in Edinburgh.
Is there a studio in Edinburgh for a lit shoot?
Yes. FirstStage Studios, on Bath Road in Leith, has over 100,000 sq ft of shooting space across five stages up to 25 metres high and a 60-tonne gantry crane across Stage B, and has hosted The Rig, Anansi Boys and Department Q (Film Edinburgh, checked October 2026). For a lit interview or a product day, a smaller studio hired by the day usually fits better, and we check what’s free for your dates. If we book the studio, it goes on the quote as its own line.
How far ahead should I book a DOP in Edinburgh?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours and comes back with a DOP and a price. The date usually depends on permission more than crew. A parking dispensation wants at least 24 hours’ notice, a council park 48 hours, a suspended pay bay three working days and Waverley five working days for up to ten crew; a road closure of under five days needs two weeks (checked October 2026). In August, allow more: the festivals fill the Old Town.