Syd RichardsonDirector / Cinematographer

New YorkAvailable worldwide

DirectorCinematographer

Cinematic camera work for stories that move.

Freelance Camera Operator and Videographer creating cinematic visuals for brands, artists, productions, and places.

I direct. I shoot. Often, both.

View Work Hire Me
Black-and-white New York street photograph with illuminated buildings and a spectral figure in the sky
NYC / after darkFrame 001
DirectionCinematographyStill photographyVisual essays
Director●Cinematographer●Director + DP●Still photography●New York●Director●Cinematographer●Visual essays

One point of view / two ways in

Shape the idea.
Make the image.

Direction and cinematography are equal parts of the practice—available separately, strongest together.

01

Direction

Performance, atmosphere, rhythm, and the decisions that make a film feel inevitable.

02

Cinematography

Light, lenses, movement, and a frame that can carry the feeling without explaining it.

Featured reel / selected motion

Make the image.
Move the story.

Enter motion
Blue and amber light moving through a night streetDirector + CinematographerNight / light / human movementView all motion ↗

Selected work

Built from the frame out.

Commercial, music, documentary, branded, events, and independent image work.

Warmly lit market lane at nightStudy 01

Commercial

After Hours

Director + Cinematographer

A late-night portrait of craft, pace, and the hands that keep a city moving.

Brand film · 2.39:1
Blue and amber lights in a crowded evening streetStudy 02

Music

Blue Hour Session

Director

A performance study built around presence, negative space, and a room allowed to breathe.

Performance film · 2.39:1
Coastal road curving beside the oceanStudy 03

Documentary

Low Tide / High Light

Director of Photography

A quiet coastal study made from long walks, small gestures, and open weather.

Short documentary · 2.39:1
Street food being prepared under warm lightStudy 04

Branded Content

Common Ground

Director + DP

Food, hands, and shared tables. A tactile portrait of a neighborhood kitchen.

Campaign series · 16:9 + 9:16

The still image

Evidence. Objects.
Things half-seen.

Open stills
Black-and-white Manhattan street photograph with a spectral figure suspended over bright buildings
Bears Are Among UsStreet / New York
High-contrast blue-toned self portrait
Self PortraitPortrait
Skewers cooking over a glowing market grill
Last SkewerStill Life / Food

Syd / unfiltered

Feed

A living creative dump: video essays, unfinished thoughts, photo notes, references, and whatever refuses a category.

Enter the feed
001Moving imageLil butter002Photo noteLife is stranger than fiction.003Video essayThe city edits back
Car moving along a coastal roadField note 03

Travel / in the margins

Not the whole story.
A way of seeing.

Travel remains a specialty line inside the larger practice: movement, architecture, street life, and the details that make a place feel present rather than packaged.

Open field notes

Formats / without the boxes

Commission the eye.

Full practice
01Commercial02Music03Documentary04Events05Branded Content06Street Photography07Travel Films
01

Direction

Performance, atmosphere, visual language, and a clear path from the first idea to the final frame.

02

Cinematography

Light, lensing, movement, and coverage designed as one system—not a layer added after the idea.

03

Director + DP

One visual point of view across concept and camera for nimble productions that benefit from a unified lead.

New York / available worldwide

Looking for a director,
a DP, or one person
holding both?

Let’s talk