Have you ever watched a film and thought to yourself, “Wow! This was really beautiful?” If you have, then it’s safe to say that the film had a good cinematographer and director. To clarify, cinematography is the process of filming, editing, and lighting a film to tell a story visually.

A cinematographer is responsible for capturing an artist’s vision on film, whether in a feature-length motion picture or short film. A skilled cinematographer must know how different cameras work and the function of each lens. They also need to know what mood should be conveyed by the images captured on camera.

Experts like André Szankowski, a celebrated cinematographer and director of photography, are masters of visual storytelling, creating a cohesive and compelling visual story that engages the audience and emotionally. André has worked as a cinematographer for over a decade and has an impressive portfolio spanning everything from indie films to big-budget movies.

His professional accomplishments include working as a cinematographer for the first two Netflix productions in Portugal, receiving multiple cinematography nominations, and winning local and international awards.  André was the winner of the Figueira da Foz International Film Festival grand prize for Best Cinematography in the film, Cinzento e Negro (2015). He also received three Best Cinematography nominations in the CinEuphoria Awards, five Portuguese Film Academy Sophia Awards nominations, and one International Cinephile Society Awards nomination for his cinematography.

André is a member of the prestigious French Society of Cinematographers (AFC), an invitation-only organization representing some of the world’s best cinematographers. He is also a member of its Portuguese counterpart, the AIP. These memberships, awards, and nominations demonstrate André’s prowess behind the camera lens and skill at realizing the director’s dreams. Achieving these accolades has been a journey.

According to André, every project he works on is a new challenge that helps him hone his skills. He explains that producing quality work is a process whether he’s working on a movie, film series, commercial, or music video. The process involves lots of preparation, research, hard work, and even consulting more experienced cinematographers for input. Most importantly, it requires working closely with the director, the visionary of the project, which guides him on how to tell the story, available artistic choices, technical innovation to adopt, and other details.

However, André quickly points out that it may not transform you into the best cinematographer if you don’t step outside your comfort zone. He says being honest with yourself, trusting your gut feelings, and daring to be original will take you further than listening to the best experts and taking no action. Continuously improving your skill by focusing on your art and honing your craft will ensure you quickly become the best locally and internationally. The way André sees it, the latter is worth every effort you put in and every tear you shed in the process.

For him, complacency is not a word you will find in his vocabulary. He is committed to perfecting his skillset daily and becoming the best in his field. He dreams of making Hollywood feature films for big companies like Netflix, HBO, Amazon, and Apple TV series, among others.