Film Career · Cinematographer
Aerial Cinematographer
Cinematographer · IATSE Local 600, International Cinematographers Guild
- Union
- IATSE Local 600
- Day rate
- ~$650/day
- Experience
- 3–7 yrs
What does an Aerial Cinematographer do?
A aerial cinematographer carries a hands-on craft within the cinematographer department, delivering their specialty daily as part of the department's crew.
On union productions the position falls under IATSE Local 600, International Cinematographers Guild, which sets the rates, hours, and conditions the role works within. Like every cinematographer role, the job is hired production by production, and repeat work comes from department heads who trust the name on the call sheet.
What does an Aerial Cinematographer make?
- Cinematography pay is negotiated, not fixed by scale: roughly $650 a day on indies to $5,000+ on features, with A-list DPs far above.
- Roughly $60K-$400K+ a year.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You know light, lens, and camera movement
Soft skills
- You are a dependable team player who makes the department run
- You take pride in doing your specific craft well, day in and day out
Career progression
The role advances the way most cinematographer careers do: repeat hires from the same department heads, growing responsibility within the craft, and a reputation that travels between productions faster than any resume.
How do you become an Aerial Cinematographer?
Careers reach this chair through the cinematographer department ladder: entry work first, then increasing responsibility as the crew learns your name. Smaller productions hand out the title earlier, and the credits transfer.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by IATSE Local 600, International Cinematographers Guild contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.