Film crew hire/London/DOP
Hire a DOP in London. The look of the film, and the light that makes it.
Directors of photography for brand films, documentaries, interviews and adverts across London, from boardrooms in the City to drive-in stages in Park Royal, booked from our office on City Road. 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
- 1,400+ of our freelance crew live in and around London
Photos: Here Now Films, Sam McGhee and Cemrecan Yurtman
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.
Many of the London DOPs we book bring their own camera: on our jobs, an FX6 and an FX3 for interviews in Wimbledon, and a matched pair of Blackmagic 6Ks for a series shot in three cities.
- 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 a tower’s glass, 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 outside Greater London at cost; parking and the Congestion Charge where the day needs them
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in London.
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 on an upper floor in the City: two interviews, then B-roll in the office and on the street. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:30 Through security Crew names and the kit list went to building security in advance. Badges at reception, kit up in the goods lift.
- 08:00 Read the light A walk round the floor with the gaffer: where the sun falls, where the floor boxes are, which windows to flag.
- 08:45 First set-up lit Key, fill and a backlight on the chair, and the office behind lit so it reads.
- 09:30 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 the street outside as a small handheld unit, on the City’s notice for small, portable filming.
- 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. A two-camera interview kit runs from £765 a day.
Best for customer stories and leadership films in offices from the City to Canary Wharf.
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. See when a small London crew needs a permit.
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.
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. London’s drive-in coves cluster in Park Royal and Acton: see film studios in London.
What it’s for
What people book a DOP for in London
Leadership and customer films in the City
Offices from Gracechurch Street to Cannon Street, with security to clear first.
Overseas productions
US and European agencies that fly in a director and need a UK DOP who knows the kit houses.
Adverts and product on a cove
Drive-in stages in Park Royal and Acton, with a full camera and lighting team.
Interviews in lofts and studios
Daylight spaces in Shoreditch, Hackney and Battersea.
Brand films on the street and the river
The South Bank, the Thames and the Square Mile, each with its own permission.
Recent work
DOPs on our jobs, in the City and south of the river
Crew hire · City of London · November 2024
Two cameras on Gracechurch Street for Davies Group
Davies Group’s internal series came to its London 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.
Our work · Battersea, London · March 2026
A fireside chat for AlTi Tiedemann Global at Many Rooms
One of the six corporate productions we made for AlTi Tiedemann Global, moved from a podcast studio in Kennington to Many Rooms in Battersea (SW8). We crewed a DOP with their own camera, a sound recordist, a gaffer and a spark, and hired kit and a second camera from FOMO Rentals in east London. The whole crew signed the client’s NDA.
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.
- London kit houses include Panavision in Greenford, ARRI Rental in Uxbridge, VMI and Shoot Blue in Acton, and One Stop Films in Park Royal.
- We’ve hired from Panavision Greenford and from FOMO Rentals in east London.
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.
- In London, councils and the Royal Parks ask for £5m public liability, TfL and Canary Wharf £10m, and Network Rail up to £10m (checked October 2026). On a crew hire that certificate is yours.
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.
- 1,400+ crew living in and around London
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a DOP in London.
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 London, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in London, 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 London. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in London.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A DOP rarely works alone. Kit from Greenford or Acton, a stage in Park Royal, a borough permit: each gets its own line on the quote, or use the guides to sort them yourself.
02
Locations and permits
Borough film services, the Royal Parks, TfL, the private estates and the drone zones.
Questions
Hiring a DOP in London: questions
How much does a DOP cost in London?
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 outside Greater London. 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.
Do your DOPs bring their own camera?
Many do, at a day rate on the quote: on our London jobs, Sony FX6 and FX3 kits and a pair of Blackmagic 6Ks. An ARRI Alexa, a RED or film we hire in at the same 10% + 2%. London kit houses include Panavision in Greenford, ARRI Rental in Uxbridge, VMI in Acton and One Stop Films in Park Royal.
Can a DOP film on a London street without a permit?
Sometimes. In the six boroughs FilmFixer runs, from Camden to Greenwich, five or fewer people with a handheld camera or a tripod generally need no permit on an ordinary pavement, if 1.5m stays clear. Westminster allows five or fewer, handheld only, with 2m clear; the City of London expects an application. Lights, a dolly or parking mean a permit anywhere. On a crew hire the permit is yours. More in our guide to filming permits in London.
Can the DOP recce the location first?
Yes, quoted separately, and on anything lit it pays for itself. In a tower it’s when you find the light, the goods lift, the loading bay and the power: on our Canary Wharf job, floor boxes round the window edges and one three-phase socket.
How far ahead should I book a DOP in London?
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: Film London’s guide is three days’ notice for a small street crew and 10 for a large one, the City one to three weeks, the Royal Parks five working days for 10 or fewer, and TfL three weeks.