Hire a DOP in Birmingham. The look of the film, and the light that makes it.
Directors of photography for brand films, documentaries, interviews and adverts across Birmingham and the West Midlands, from offices on Colmore Row to the ICC and the studios at Curzon Street. 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 Adam Jones
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 crew a Birmingham DOP where we can, and bring one in from Manchester, London or Bristol when the brief needs a particular eye, with the travel on the quote before anything is booked. Many bring their own camera. If the film needs more, it comes from Media Dog Hire at the NEC or Wex Rental’s collection point on Hagley Road, or specialist kit comes up from London.
- 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 Birmingham, and mileage, parking and the Clean Air Zone charge where the day needs them, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Birmingham.
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 an office on Colmore Row: two interviews, then B-roll on the floor and on the street outside. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:30 Into the zone Colmore Row is inside the Clean Air Zone, so the van is compliant or its £8 day charge is on the quote (checked October 2026). Kit off, van parked.
- 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 Colmore Row outside as a small handheld unit, on a Production Central WM street permit: £84 plus VAT for up to ten crew, applied for five working days ahead (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 offices round Colmore Row and Brindleyplace.
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 Birmingham’s streets, a crew of up to ten works on a Production Central WM permit: see filming permits in Birmingham.
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. Curzon Street Studios, in Eastside, has Studio A, 14 by 17 metres with a 6.1-metre grid, and a large fixed green screen in Studio B.
What it’s for
What people book a DOP for in Birmingham
Leadership and customer films on Colmore Row
Offices in the business district, with building security to clear first.
Conference films at the ICC and the NEC
Keynotes on Centenary Square or out by the airport, with interviews lit between the sessions.
Brand films in Digbeth and the Jewellery Quarter
Warehouses, workshops and old streets, on a Production Central WM permit.
Studio days at Curzon Street
Product, green screen and lit interviews in Studio A, or in front of Studio B’s green screen.
University and research films
Labs, lecture theatres and campus walks at the University of Birmingham in Edgbaston.
Recent work
DOPs on our jobs, from Twycross Zoo to the City of London
Our work · Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire · Easter 2025
Twycross Zoo’s Easter TV ad
A 30-second national TV ad for Twycross Zoo, north-east of Birmingham: the idea, a two-day shoot, a child’s voiceover, Clearcast and delivery to Sky AdSmart, licensed for 2.8 million impressions. Our own team cut, graded and mixed it.
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 Birmingham include Media Dog Hire at the NEC, and Wex Rental, collected from Wex Photo Video on Hagley Road. Specialist kit can come up from London or across from Manchester.
- Kit we hire in goes on the quote at the same 10% booking fee and 2% insurance as the crew.
Location and travel
- A DOP from Birmingham where we can; from Manchester, London or Bristol where the brief needs one, with the travel on the quote.
- Street filming on council land needs a Production Central WM permit: £84 plus VAT for a crew of up to ten, with five working days’ notice for a small-scale shoot (checked October 2026).
- Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone covers every road inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, around the clock. A car or van below Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol pays £8 a day, an HGV or coach £50 (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.
- Production Central WM asks for at least £5m public liability and a risk assessment before it issues a permit.
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 Birmingham.
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 Birmingham, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Birmingham, 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 Birmingham. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Birmingham.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A DOP rarely works alone: kit from the NEC or Hagley Road, a studio at Curzon Street and a Production Central WM permit each get their own line on the quote, or you can sort them yourself.
02
Locations and permits
Production Central WM, the canals, New Street, the parks and the airport’s drone zone.
03
Studios and set builds
Digbeth Loc., Curzon Street, blackout and green screen studios, and set builds.
Questions
Hiring a DOP in Birmingham: questions
How much does a DOP cost in Birmingham?
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 Birmingham. 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 Birmingham?
We crew DOPs from Birmingham where we can. Where the brief or the date needs someone else, they come from Manchester, London or Bristol, and the travel goes on the quote before anything is booked. New Street is 1 hour 17 minutes from London Euston on the fastest trains, about an hour and a half from Manchester Piccadilly and an hour and a quarter from Bristol Temple Meads; Birmingham International, for the airport and the NEC, is ten minutes out (checked October 2026). Our team works from London, 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 Birmingham include Media Dog Hire at the NEC, and Wex Rental, collected from Wex Photo Video on Hagley Road. Specialist kit can come up from London or across from Manchester.
Can a DOP film on a Birmingham street?
Yes, with permission. Filming on council land in Birmingham goes through Production Central WM, the West Midlands film office, which took over from Film Birmingham and covers the seven combined-authority councils: Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Dudley. Birmingham’s 2026–27 street filming permit is £84 for a crew of up to ten and £191 for 11 to 24, plus VAT; a parking suspension is £18.90 a bay, and applying inside two business days adds £182 (checked October 2026). Filming after 23:00 is agreed with it in advance. On a crew hire the permit is yours. More in filming permits in Birmingham.
Is there a studio in Birmingham for a lit shoot?
Curzon Street Studios, in Eastside, is available to hire: Studio A is 14 by 17 metres with a 6.1-metre grid, and Studio B has a large fixed green screen. Steven Knight’s Digbeth Loc. Studios is home to Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, and the BBC’s Tea Factory in Digbeth is due to open in 2027. If we book the studio, it goes on the quote as its own line.
How far ahead should I book a DOP in Birmingham?
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. Production Central WM asks for five working days for a small-scale shoot and four weeks for a large one; seven days for kit on the highway, 14 days for a residents’ letter drop, and 21 days for a road closure (checked October 2026).