# Steven Poster

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{{Short description|American cinematographer (b. 1944)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Steven Poster
| honorific_suffix   = 
| image              = 
| birth_name         = Steven Barry Poster
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|03|01}}
| birth_place        = [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois), U.S.
| death_date         = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|1944|03|01}} -->
| death_place        = 
| alma_mater         = {{ubl|
* [Southern Illinois University](/source/Southern_Illinois_University)
* [ArtCenter College of Design](/source/ArtCenter_College_of_Design)
* [Illinois Institute of Technology](/source/Illinois_Institute_of_Technology)
}}
| years_active       = 1967–2024
| title              = President of the [International Cinematographers Guild](/source/International_Cinematographers_Guild)<br>(2006-2019)
| website            = {{url|http://www.edgeofconsciousness.com/}}
}}

'''Steven Barry Poster''' [ASC](/source/American_Society_of_Cinematographers), [CSC](/source/Canadian_Society_of_Cinematographers) (born 1 March 1944) is an American [cinematographer](/source/cinematographer).<ref name="cinema">{{Cite web |title=STEVEN POSTER |url=http://www.cinematographers.nl/PaginasDoPh/poster.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925085038/http://www.cinematographers.nl/PaginasDoPh/poster.htm |archive-date=25 September 2023 |access-date=2017-02-28 |website=www.cinematographers.nl}}</ref> He served as the president of the [International Cinematographers Guild](/source/International_Cinematographers_Guild) from 2006 to 2019.<ref name=icg>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icg600.com/|title=Local 600 - Home|website=www.icg600.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/steven-poster-elected-president-international-447731|title=Steven Poster Re-Elected President of International Cinematographers Guild|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=27 April 2013 |language=en|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/lewis-rothenberg-cinematographers-guild-president-1203205665|title=Lewis Rothenberg Ousts Steven Poster as Cinematographers Guild President|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Born and raised in [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Ill.), Poster studied at [Southern Illinois University](/source/Southern_Illinois_University), the [ArtCenter College of Design](/source/ArtCenter_College_of_Design), and the [Illinois Institute of Technology](/source/Illinois_Institute_of_Technology).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Steven Poster |url=https://www.artcenter.edu/about/get-to-know-artcenter/people/detail.html?breadcrumb=568edbf44d9b6ff125f3e25b&accdID=0214813 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=ArtCenter College of Design}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Tom |date=2023-10-27 |title=Visionary / Steven Poster ASC |url=https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/steven-poster-asc/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=British Cinematographer |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Career ==
Poster began his filmmaking career as a creative assistant at 'The Film Group,' a Chicago-based commercial film production company. After being promoted to [director of photography](/source/director_of_photography) for his skill at lighting, he met [Herschell Gordon Lewis](/source/Herschell_Gordon_Lewis) and worked with him in various crew positions on a total of three films.

He founded a production company with director [Michael Mann](/source/Michael_Mann), and served as the cinematographer on numerous [industrial](/source/Industrial_films) and [education films](/source/Educational_films).<ref name=":2" /> His 1973 short film ''Another Saturday Night'', which he co-directed with Mik Derks, was nominated for the [Short Film Palme d'Or](/source/Short_Film_Palme_d'Or) at the [Cannes Film Festival 2024](/source/Cannes_Film_Festival_2024). In 1977, he was the second unit cinematographer for [Steven Spielberg](/source/Steven_Spielberg)'s ''[Close Encounters of the Third Kind](/source/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind)''.

In 1980, he relocated to [Hollywood](/source/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles) and shot his first feature film as cinematographer, ''[Blood Beach](/source/Blood_Beach)''. He also worked second unit or additional photography for ''[Blade Runner](/source/Blade_Runner)'', [''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''](/source/The_Best_Little_Whorehouse_in_Texas_(film)), and several [John Carpenter](/source/John_Carpenter) films.

Poster joined the [American Society of Cinematographers](/source/American_Society_of_Cinematographers) in 1987. The same year, he shot ''[Someone to Watch Over Me](/source/Someone_to_Watch_Over_Me_(film))'' for director [Ridley Scott](/source/Ridley_Scott), which earned him an ASC Award for [Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases](/source/American_Society_of_Cinematographers_Award_for_Outstanding_Achievement_in_Cinematography_in_Theatrical_Releases)

He shot the iconic [music video](/source/music_video) to [Madonna's](/source/Madonna_(entertainer)) "[Like a Prayer](/source/Like_a_Prayer_(song))", as well as commercials directed by Ridley Scott and [Kinka Usher](/source/Kinka_Usher).

In 2006, he was elected as the National President of the [International Cinematographers Guild](/source/International_Cinematographers_Guild), a position he held until 2019.<ref name=icg/> He is also a former executive board member of the [International Documentary Association](/source/International_Documentary_Association), and currently sits on the [Nicholl Fellowship](/source/Nicholl_Fellowships_in_Screenwriting) committee of the [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](/source/Academy_of_Motion_Picture_Arts_and_Sciences).<ref name=":1" /> He is also an adjunct professor at the [ArtCenter College of Design](/source/ArtCenter_College_of_Design).

== Filmography ==
<!--
=== Short film ===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1973
| ''Another Saturday Night''
| Himself<br>Mik Derks
|
|-
| 1994
| ''Nunzio's Second Cousin''
| Tom DeCerchio
| Segment of ''[Boys Life 2](/source/Boys_Life_2)''
|-
| 1995
| ''Celluloid Heroes''
| Gary A. Beaird<br>[Tony Dow](/source/Tony_Dow)
| With Billy Beaird
|-
| 2004
| ''Tap Heat''
| [Dean Hargrove](/source/Dean_Hargrove)
|
|-
| 2011
| ''Xelerate''
| [Bill Duke](/source/Bill_Duke)
|
|-
| 2018
| ''The Boor''
| [Jeannie Berlin](/source/Jeannie_Berlin)
|
|}
-->
=== Feature film ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1980
| ''[Blood Beach](/source/Blood_Beach)''
| [Jeffrey Bloom](/source/Jeffrey_Bloom)
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[Dead & Buried](/source/Dead_%26_Buried)''
| [Gary Sherman](/source/Gary_Sherman_(director))
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1983
| ''[Spring Break](/source/Spring_Break_(film))''
| [Sean S. Cunningham](/source/Sean_S._Cunningham)
|
|-
| ''[Strange Brew](/source/Strange_Brew)''
| [Rick Moranis](/source/Rick_Moranis)<br>[Dave Thomas](/source/Dave_Thomas_(actor))
|
|-
| ''[Testament](/source/Testament_(1983_film))''
| [Lynne Littman](/source/Lynne_Littman)
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1985
| ''[The New Kids](/source/The_New_Kids)''
| Sean S. Cunningham
|
|-
| ''[The Heavenly Kid](/source/The_Heavenly_Kid)''
| Cary Medoway
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1986
| ''[Blue City](/source/Blue_City_(film))''
| [Michelle Manning](/source/Michelle_Manning)
|
|-
| ''[The Boy Who Could Fly](/source/The_Boy_Who_Could_Fly)''
| [Nick Castle](/source/Nick_Castle)
| With [Adam Holender](/source/Adam_Holender)
|-
| 1987
| ''[Someone to Watch Over Me](/source/Someone_to_Watch_Over_Me_(film))''
| [Ridley Scott](/source/Ridley_Scott)
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1988
| ''[Aloha Summer](/source/Aloha_Summer)''
| [Tommy Lee Wallace](/source/Tommy_Lee_Wallace)
|
|-
| ''[Big Top Pee-wee](/source/Big_Top_Pee-wee)''
| [Randal Kleiser](/source/Randal_Kleiser)
|
|-
| 1989
| ''[Next of Kin](/source/Next_of_Kin_(1989_film))''
| [John Irvin](/source/John_Irvin)
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1990
| ''[Rocky V](/source/Rocky_V)''
| [John G. Avildsen](/source/John_G._Avildsen)
|
|-
| ''[Opportunity Knocks](/source/Opportunity_Knocks_(film))''
| [Donald Petrie](/source/Donald_Petrie)
|
|-
| 1991
| ''[Life Stinks](/source/Life_Stinks)''
| [Mel Brooks](/source/Mel_Brooks)
|
|-
| 1993
| ''[The Cemetery Club](/source/The_Cemetery_Club)''
| [Bill Duke](/source/Bill_Duke)
|
|-
| 1997
| ''[RocketMan](/source/RocketMan_(1997_film))''
| [Stuart Gillard](/source/Stuart_Gillard)
|
|-
| 1998
| ''[Une chance sur deux](/source/Une_chance_sur_deux)''
| [Patrice Leconte](/source/Patrice_Leconte)
|
|-
| 2001
| ''[Donnie Darko](/source/Donnie_Darko)''
| [Richard Kelly](/source/Richard_Kelly_(filmmaker))
|
|-
| 2002
| ''[Stuart Little 2](/source/Stuart_Little_2)''
| [Rob Minkoff](/source/Rob_Minkoff)
|
|-
| 2003
| ''[Daddy Day Care](/source/Daddy_Day_Care)''
| [Steve Carr](/source/Steve_Carr)
|
|-
| 2006
| ''[Southland Tales](/source/Southland_Tales)''
| Richard Kelly
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2009
| ''[Spread](/source/Spread_(film))''
| [David Mackenzie](/source/David_Mackenzie_(director))
|
|-
| ''[The Box](/source/The_Box_(2009_film))''
| Richard Kelly
|
|-
| 2010
| ''[Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore](/source/Cats_%26_Dogs%3A_The_Revenge_of_Kitty_Galore)''
| [Brad Peyton](/source/Brad_Peyton)
|
|-
| 2011
| ''[Flypaper](/source/Flypaper_(2011_film))''
| Rob Minkoff
|
|-
| 2017
| ''[Amityville: The Awakening](/source/Amityville%3A_The_Awakening)''
| [Franck Khalfoun](/source/Franck_Khalfoun)
|
|-
| 2024
| ''[Scared to Death](/source/Scared_to_Death_(2024_film))''
| [Paul Boyd](/source/Paul_Boyd_(director))
| Also executive producer
|}

Ref.:<ref name="cinema" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Steven Poster |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Person/244123-Steven-Poster |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=[AFI Catalog of Feature Films](/source/AFI_Catalog_of_Feature_Films)}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Steven Poster, ASC on "The Box" |url=http://www.tiffen.com/steven_poster_thebox.html |access-date=2017-02-28 |website=www.tiffen.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathers |first=James |date=2024-05-26 |title=Steven Poster, ASC shares about the tools he used on his latest feature, "Scared To Death" |url=https://dcsonline.org/news/steven-poster-asc-shares-about-the-tools-he-used-on-his-latest-feature-scared-to-death/ |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=Digital Cinema Society |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Television===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1978
| ''[What Really Happened<br>to the Class of '65?](/source/What_Really_Happened_to_the_Class_of_'65%3F_(TV_series))''
| [James Sheldon](/source/James_Sheldon)
| Episode "Mr. Potential"
|-
| 1987
| ''[I'll Take Manhattan](/source/I'll_Take_Manhattan_(miniseries))''
| [Richard Michaels](/source/Richard_Michaels)<br>[Douglas Hickox](/source/Douglas_Hickox)
| 2 episodes (With Larry Pizer)
|-
| 1998
| ''[American Experience](/source/American_Experience)''
| Richard P. Rogers
| Episode "A Midwife's Tale"
|-
| 2006
| ''[The Loop](/source/The_Loop_(American_TV_series))''
| [Betty Thomas](/source/Betty_Thomas)
| Episode "Pilot"
|-
| 2007-12
| ''[Craft in America](/source/Craft_in_America)''
| [Carol Sauvion](/source/Carol_Sauvion)<br>Daniel Seeger<br>[Nigel Noble](/source/Nigel_Noble)<br>Hilary Birmingham
| 8 episodes
|-
| 2008
| ''[Raising the Bar](/source/Raising_the_Bar_(2008_TV_series))''
| [Jesse Bochco](/source/Jesse_Bochco)
| Episode "Pilot"
|-
| 2013
| ''[Hemlock Grove](/source/Hemlock_Grove_(TV_series))''
| [Eli Roth](/source/Eli_Roth)
| Episode "Jellyfish in the Sky"
|-
| 2020
| ''Cine Chalom''
| Yossi Benavraham
| Episode "EXTRAIT DU FILM "INCASSABLE" DE M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN... 2000"
|}

'''TV movies'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
|-
| 1978
| ''The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank''
| [Robert Day](/source/Robert_Day_(director))
|-
|rowspan=2|1979
| ''The Night Rider''
| [Hy Averback](/source/Hy_Averback)
|-
| ''[Beggarman, Thief](/source/Beggarman%2C_Thief)''
| [Lawrence Doheny](/source/Lawrence_Doheny)
|-
| 1981
| ''Coward of the County''
| [Dick Lowry](/source/Dick_Lowry)
|-
| 1982
| ''Mysterious Two''
| [Gary Sherman](/source/Gary_Sherman_(director))
|-
| 1983
| ''The Cradle Will Fall''
| [John Llewellyn Moxey](/source/John_Llewellyn_Moxey)
|-
| 1986
| ''Courage''
| [Jeremy Kagan](/source/Jeremy_Kagan)
|-
| 1992
| ''The Bat, the Cat and the Penguin''
| Michael Meadows<br>John Pattyson
|-
| 1994
| ''[Roswell](/source/Roswell_(film))''
| Jeremy Kagan
|-
| 1995
| ''Present Tense, Past Perfect''
| [Richard Dreyfuss](/source/Richard_Dreyfuss)
|-
| 1996
| ''[Once You Meet a Stranger](/source/Once_You_Meet_a_Stranger)''
| [Tommy Lee Wallace](/source/Tommy_Lee_Wallace)
|-
| 1997
| ''Color of Justice''
| Jeremy Kagan
|-
| 2005
| ''[Mrs. Harris](/source/Mrs._Harris)''
| [Phyllis Nagy](/source/Phyllis_Nagy)
|-
| 2006
| ''The Danny Comden Project''
| [Robert Duncan McNeill](/source/Robert_Duncan_McNeill)
|-
| 2013
| ''Gutsy Frog''
| [Mark A.Z. Dippé](/source/Mark_A.Z._Dipp%C3%A9)
|-
|}
<!--
===Documentary works===
'''Film'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 2001
| ''The Oscar Legacy''
| David Haugland
|
|-
| 2020
| ''For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close''
| [Heather Ross](/source/Heather_Ross)
| With Simon Fanthorpe
|}

'''Short film'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
|-
| 2013
| ''Canon USA Commercial: Rhythm of Life''
| [Dean Hargrove](/source/Dean_Hargrove)
|}

'''Television'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1990
| ''Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Special''
| [John Landis](/source/John_Landis)
| TV special
|-
| 2021
| ''The Miles Davis Documentary''
| [Christopher Wilkinson](/source/Christopher_Wilkinson)
| TV movie
|}
-->
==Accolades==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Institution
! Category
! Title
! Result
|-
| 1973
| [Cannes Film Festival](/source/Cannes_Film_Festival)
| [Short Film Palme d'Or](/source/Short_Film_Palme_d'Or)
| ''Another Saturday Night''<br><small>(Shared with Mik Derks)</small>
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1987
| [American Society of Cinematographers](/source/American_Society_of_Cinematographers)
| [Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography](/source/American_Society_of_Cinematographers_Award_for_Outstanding_Achievement_in_Cinematography_in_Theatrical_Releases)
| ''[Someone to Watch Over Me](/source/Someone_to_Watch_Over_Me_(film))''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 1994
| [CableACE Award](/source/CableACE_Award)
| Direction of Photography and/or Lighting Direction
| ''[Roswell](/source/Roswell_(film))''
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2005
| [Primetime Emmy Awards](/source/Primetime_Emmy_Awards)
| [Outstanding Cinematography](/source/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Cinematography_for_a_Limited_or_Anthology_Series_or_Movie)
| ''[Mrs. Harris](/source/Mrs._Harris)''
| {{nom}}
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.edgeofconsciousness.com/ Official website]
* {{IMDb name|0692925}}
* [https://www.artcenter.edu/about/get-to-know-artcenter/people/detail.html?breadcrumb=568edbf44d9b6ff125f3e25b&accdID=0214813 ArtCenter College of Design teacher profile]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poster, Steven}}
Category:1944 births
Category:Living people
Category:American cinematographers
Category:ArtCenter College of Design alumni
Category:ArtCenter College of Design faculty
Category:Southern Illinois University alumni
Category:People from Chicago
Category:Illinois Institute of Technology alumni

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Steven Poster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Poster) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Poster?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.