Professional photos of scenes, actors, or sets — shot separately from production for marketing. Foundation for posters, press kits, streaming thumbnails.
Publicity Stills
You need photos for distribution, and stills from the set aren't enough – that's where publicity stills come in. These are professional shots taken during or shortly after principal photography, but not on the actual set. A dedicated team – photographer, stylist, often a set designer – deliberately stages moments that will later appear on posters, in press portals, or on streaming services. The difference from set photography is crucial: publicity stills are controlled for communication, not documentary.
In practice, it works like this: for an action film, you might need five or six days of photography with the main actors, usually on studio sets or controlled locations. The photographer works with optimized lighting, professional equipment (Hasselblad, Phase One – high resolution, because enlargement for print posters is necessary), and the costumes are fresh, the makeup perfect. You're not shooting what's happening on set, but what is meant to sell. A scene in the original film might be dark, shaky, or emotionally subdued – the publicity still shows the essence of that scene: hero with drawn weapon, clear gaze, dramatic side lighting. For streaming platforms, you also need images that are legible even at mobile thumbnail size – fewer details, more contrast.
The challenge lies in balancing artistic credibility and marketing function. Even the most beautiful still that has nothing to do with the film will draw audiences to cinemas who will then be disappointed. So, you need to communicate closely with the director, production design, and the marketing team. These photos are often created concurrently with filming – this saves costs for separate actor days, but it requires tight coordination. Some studios also use stills from the original footage and have them refined in post-production later – color correction, selective sharpening, even subtle compositing – to make them marketing-ready.
Publicity stills are your tool for international press kits, for film festivals, and for sales to cinema operators who use them to design their foyer displays. They influence who even sees a film – in that respect, they are not just decoration, but part of the dramaturgy of your film marketing.