Hi, I’m Grant Smith, a Director of Photography and Camera Operator with 15+ years of experience crafting visually compelling commercials, documentaries, and branded content for networks and global brands including Netflix, Paramount+, ESPN, Spotify, Nissan, Kellogg's, La La Land, and Khloé in Wonderland. I excel in fast-paced, run-and-gun shoots and bring deep technical expertise across Sony, Canon, RED, and ARRI cinema systems to every project. I’ve collaborated with teams at Hennegan Brothers Productions, Hayden5, CBS Television City, AXS, Digital Kitchen, and Caruso to light, frame, and capture stories that move audiences. I’m passionate about storytelling, versatile across multi-camera setups and live broadcasts, and I enjoy mentoring crews while maintaining meticulous media management and production workflows.…

Grant Smith

PRO

Hi, I’m Grant Smith, a Director of Photography and Camera Operator with 15+ years of experience crafting visually compelling commercials, documentaries, and branded content for networks and global brands including Netflix, Paramount+, ESPN, Spotify, Nissan, Kellogg's, La La Land, and Khloé in Wonderland. I excel in fast-paced, run-and-gun shoots and bring deep technical expertise across Sony, Canon, RED, and ARRI cinema systems to every project. I’ve collaborated with teams at Hennegan Brothers Productions, Hayden5, CBS Television City, AXS, Digital Kitchen, and Caruso to light, frame, and capture stories that move audiences. I’m passionate about storytelling, versatile across multi-camera setups and live broadcasts, and I enjoy mentoring crews while maintaining meticulous media management and production workflows.…

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Grant Smith, a Director of Photography and Camera Operator with 15+ years of experience crafting visually compelling commercials, documentaries, and branded content for networks and global brands including Netflix, Paramount+, ESPN, Spotify, Nissan, Kellogg’s, La La Land, and Khloé in Wonderland. I excel in fast-paced, run-and-gun shoots and bring deep technical expertise across Sony, Canon, RED, and ARRI cinema systems to every project.

I’ve collaborated with teams at Hennegan Brothers Productions, Hayden5, CBS Television City, AXS, Digital Kitchen, and Caruso to light, frame, and capture stories that move audiences. I’m passionate about storytelling, versatile across multi-camera setups and live broadcasts, and I enjoy mentoring crews while maintaining meticulous media management and production workflows.

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Work Experience

Director of Photography at Digital Kitchen
November 13, 2008 - December 18, 2013
Over the span of 8 years as Director of Photography at Digital Kitchen, I worked with directors and producers to shoot over 150, 30 minute sports documentary TV show every two weeks for the AT&T U-Verse Cable network. We work hard to constantly find the best possible shot and angle to convey every story that we are telling through the lens. During my time there we covered almost every sport imaginable including, the Iditarod sled dog race, Masters of Miniature golf, Worlds Strongest Man and the Badwater ultra marathon race, just to name a few.
Director of Photography at Hayden 5
February 13, 2014 - Present
Compose and create artistic shots for the final edit during my time on set while visually telling the story of each assignment. Hayden5 shoots a wide range of projects from branded Content, live music, sporting events to Hollywood commercials. I have been a part of all of these while working here. Currently Hayden5 is doing many remote "Dropkit" jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. This involves a tech arriving to location, building the video "Dropkit", sanitizing making the equipment safe to use for the talent and rolling over the video "Dropkit" cart while monitoring the video shoot remotely along with helping the agency and director run the shoot smoothly.
Director of Photography, Camera Operator at Hennegan Brothers Productions
January 1, 2010 - Present
Director of Photography and Camera Operator for commercials and documentaries; responsibilities included operating camera, media management, location scouting, handling audio, conducting interviews, and shooting cinéma vérité across Los Angeles and New York projects for clients including Netflix, ESPN, Nissan, Kellogg's, Nestlé, La La Land, and Khloé in Wonderland.
Director of Photography at Caruso
January 1, 2020 - Present
Create engaging video content across the company's commercial real estate portfolio; light, frame, and live-stream the CEO for guest appearances on CNBC, FOX, and KTLA; produce learning-platform content for training.
Director of Photography, Camera Operator, Dropkit Tech at Hayden5
January 1, 2017 - Present
Branded content and advertising agency; collaborate with directors, producers, and creative teams to craft the look and feel of shoots, from feature docs to remote dropkits; produced content for Spotify, Kellogg's, Nestlé, Vanity Fair, and Showtime.
Director of Photography, Creative Director, Editor, Producer at Caruso for Mayor
January 1, 2022 - Present
Directed and shot 12-hour days, produced over a year of daily commercials and social content for Rick Caruso's Los Angeles mayoral campaign; scouted locations, built motion graphics, and delivered edits within hours.
Camera Utility at CBS Television City
January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2020
Daily build and breakdown of studio cameras for live tapings of The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Price Is Right; wrangled cables and supported smooth camera moves during live broadcasts.
Director of Photography, Camera Operator, Audio at AXS.com
January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2020
Developed and shot music videos, artist interviews, concert performances, corporate welcome videos, and short-form documentaries; captured audio and managed media end-to-end.
Director of Photography, Camera Operator at Digital Kitchen
January 1, 2008 - December 31, 2016
Produced a 30-minute sports documentary program for AT&T U-Verse; shot, lit, conducted interviews, ran audio, and managed media end to end for a high-volume production pipeline.

Education

Bachelors degree at Los Angeles Film School
April 4, 2006 - April 18, 2008
Bachelors degree in Cinematography and film production

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Computers & Electronics, Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet, Other, Telecommunications
    La La Land Reserve
    La La Land Reserve, the first high end coffee shop in the portfolio of the La La Land brand. I worked directly with the social and marketing team to create an elevated and polished company promo video for the new reserve store to tell the story of the craft and quality of this exclusive coffee experience.…