Still photographer for the motion picture industry and President of the Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers (SMPSP)

I fell into photojournalism in 1988 (seriously…fell in). By late 1996, I was living in Mexico City working as a photojournalist and began to see the writing on the wall. I had just gotten attacked by an angry mob and was otherwise getting really tired of getting shot at.

So I went the movies. I saw the credit that said “Still Photographer,” and I pointed to the screen and said out loud, “I want THAT job”. So I moved to LA and started all over again.

I always refer to shooting on set as diet photojournalism. The skills are the same: Be quite, lay low, don’t affect the action that’s going on front of you and capture the story.

I came up through low budget world (Leprechaun in tha ‘hood, Blood Surf, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha ‘hood) and television (My Name is Earl, Modern Family).

From there I got movies like Hidden Figures, The Boss, Ghostbusters, Game Night, and Captain Phillips (alongside BlackRapid Ambassador Jasin Boland)

Do You Have a Photography Tip?

It takes just as much effort to build a business shooting the kind of photos you want to do and are interested in than it does to build a business doing what you don’t want to do. So, if you’re going to put the effort into being a professional photographer, shoot what interests you; not just what you think will make you money.

Also, I wish someone had told me when I was younger to pay more attention to ergonomics. I ran around with 35 lbs of camera gear on one shoulder, thinking I was invincible. Let’s just get this out of the way: Photography is a rather unhealthy endeavor.

30 years ago, a sore back, bad shoulders and a ratty camera bag were badges of honor. I tell a lot of the younger folk out there that it’s super important to invest in proper bags, pouches and, yes, camera straps. Take it from an Advil Warrior!

Balancing Requests On Movie Sets

I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but every day on set is really different (which is I guess why it doesn’t get boring). One of the greatest challenges is finding the right shot while taking everyone’s likes, needs, and preferences into account.

I had one movie in which I had contradictory requests from each actor: One insisted on being shot from above. Another insisted on being shot from below. Another didn’t want to be photographed from the waist down. Another didn’t want to be photographed straight on because of a lazy eye and the last one was 6 foot 5.

And I had to fit all of them into one frame which they would all approve during filming where I couldn’t direct anything (and stay out of the light, the camera view, the direct eye line of the actors and reflections). Or as I like to call days like this –”Wednesday.”

What’s In Your Bag?

• 2 Sony A9’s. Sony lenses: 12-24mm, 24-70, 70-200, 90 macro, 200-600
• Leica Q. Leica M10. Leica Monochrom. M lenses: 21mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm
• Leica SL2. 24-90mm and 90-280mm lenses.

(Yes, I have a camera problem)

I Carry a Variety of BlackRapid Straps

Back in the day when I had to keep an SLR in a sound proof box called a sound blimp, I used the DR-1. This strap literally saved me from needing neck surgery (or so my doctor told me).

Now that we are mirrorless, I use the Hybrid breathe when I’m slinging 2 bodies.

I still have a few Classic and Sport straps which I keep around as backups or which I’ll loan out to crew members who I see struggling sometimes (Visual Effects data wranglers are taking pictures all day. I’ve also loaned straps to countless focus pullers who are holding a remote focus unit around their necks).

My Leica SL2 is on a Black Rapid Groovy strap, which is a great throwback to the kind of strap I used when I was a young photojournalist.

What I also love is keeping my Sony 200-600 on its own strap. So if I need it, I can just pull a body off the 70-200 which is on my Hybrid Breathe, throw a lens cap on it, put the A9 on that longer lens. When I’m done with it, I just swap the body back.

The BlackRapid strap is a great way of carrying long glass around.

And yes, when I took a trip to Italy and only brought my phone, I had a WandeR Bundle attached to it.

Social media links/website

Instagram – @hopper_stone
Website – stonefoto.com
Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers – smpsp.org

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• Known for shooting big budget action films and working for many years with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson.
• Honored in January 2020 with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Still Photography from the SOC (Society of Camera Operators)
• Honored in 2012 by the Publicist Guild Local 600 for Excellence in Still Photography for Motion Pictures
• 30 years as a Motion Picture Still Photographer
• 26 years in Cinematographers Guild.
• Resides in Los Angeles, California and Atlanta, Georgia
• Currently shooting on feature film RED NOTICE for Netflix staring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.

My biggest influence has been Phil Stern, Douglas Kirkland , Elliot Erwitt and Walker Evans.

I’ve been motion Picture Still Photographer for 30 years. It’s the only kind of Photography that I have ever practiced. I was fortunate enough to start right out of college, shooting stills on Commercials in Atlanta and quickly moving into stills on feature films. I was never interested in Photography until College while majoring in ART. After college, I attended The Portfolio Center in Atlanta with a concentration on Photography. It was there, over the two years that I became a photographer.

Any good tips?

I guess my photo tip is to shoot what you see through the eye piece. I don’t believe in cropping after the fact!

Best advice to a young photographers is to try and develop your own style and build your career around your style and interests!

Tell us about The Hangover final credits?

Oddly enough, I shoot mostly on big budget action films, but the most questions I get asked about are the end credit stills from The Hangover. That film was one of the great joys in my career and shooting all of the end credit stills was so much fun. I had know idea that they were going to be so well received!

I credit Director Todd Phillips with that brilliance to show what happened to the guys through the photos that they shot that crazy night. I shot them all with a point and shoot camera. At first I shot them on my Canon I DX, but Todd said they looked too professional and instructed me to shoot and compose the images as if a bunch of drunk guys took them.

So I bough a point and shoot camera with a bright flash, and I started to shoot as if I was one of the three main characters in the film! It was so much fun and I was so surprised to see and hear the audiences reaction when I saw the film in the theaters ! A great memory in my career!

What made you get a BlackRapid strap?

Before I bought my first BlackRapid camera strap, I was not a fan of camera straps in general, as they always seem to get in my way and I really enjoyed just holding and using one camera at a time! Then I bought a BlackRapid strap and well, it turned my world upside-down!!

I just loved the design and comfort and totally embraced all of the BlackRapid products! They really allow me to comfortably work with several cameras at a time with total ease and comfort and they really take all the pressure and weight off my shoulders and neck! Now, I can’t Imagine shooting without them!!!

Can you share some career highlights with us?

Born in Nyack, New York, Frank Masi studied Art at the renowned School of Visual Arts in New York City. There, he developed an keen interest in photography, having been both intrigued and inspired by a local Nyack “black and white” photo exhibition done by his fellow students.

Just shy of his final graduation credits, Masi took a personal risk and enrolled in The Portfolio Center, Atlanta’s intensive two-year photography program. While in his second year, Masi began earning a living as a commercial advertising photographer.

After graduating with honors from The Portfolio Center, Masi stumbled into unit still photography. When shooting an ad campaign for IBM on a commercial film set, he discovered his passion for production photography.

Shortly thereafter, Masi entered into the world of shooting stills on film sets, beginning with the beloved family film feature GORDY, shot entirely on location in Atlanta. After wrapping the film in Atlanta, Masi made the inevitable move to Los Angeles to pursue his career as a motion picture still photographer in Hollywood.

Since his arrival in Los Angeles in the early nineties, Masi has lent his still photography talents to more than seventy feature films, including the upcoming JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE and JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL, the upcoming JUNGLE CRUISE, HOBBS & SHAW, VENOM, RAMPAGE, I, TONYA, THE HANGOVER, THE ROCK, CON AIR, ARMAGEDDON, UNBREAKABLE, SIGNS, TROY, ANCHORMAN, WAR OF THE WORLDS, LADY IN THE WATER, and WE ARE MARSHALLS, among many others.

Over the years Masi has had the pleasure of working on twelve films with Bruce Willis, and most recently has become a favorite on Dwayne Johnson’s projects and is looking forward to starting his ninth production with “The Rock” in early 2020.

Masi has worked alongside such prominent directors as Steven Spielberg, Wolfgang Peterson, Tony Scott, Michael Bay, James Mangold, Jake Kasdan, Paul Schrader, Antoine Fuqua, McG, Jason Reitman, M. Night Shyamalan, and many more.

Masi has enjoyed working in such exciting and diverse international film locations as South Africa, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, England, Iceland, Costa Rica, Argentina, Austria, Spain, France, and Mexico to name a few.

In the late nineties, Masi was invited to join the prestigious organization of Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers. His works have been exhibited, with other S.M.P.S.P. members in gallery showings across the States, as well as hanging in international exhibitions in both Prague and Havana.

In 2006, Masi garnered a nomination for The Excellence in Unit Still Photography Award for Motion Pictures at the ICG Publicist Guild Awards, and in 2012 Masi won this coveted honor.

In January of 2020, Masi was honored by the SOC (Society of Camera Operators) with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Still Photography.

Masi’s images continue to appear regularly in books, magazines, newspapers, and websites worldwide, as he rapidly approaches his thirtieth year anniversary of shooting on sets.

Masi continues to reside in Atlanta and Los Angeles with his wife Julie and daughter Maddie.

Website & Social Link

• Website – http://www.frankmasi.com
• Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/masistills/

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