Objective
I was commissioned as the behind-the-scenes photographer for Cuttlefish (2026) with the goal of producing film marketing material for years to come.
For more information about the film or director, Arman Taheri, visit the Cuttlefish Movie Website and follow @Cuttlefishmovie on Instagram, where I also serve as the film’s Marketing Director.
Research and Strategy
Consumer Forward thinking
I developed both the marketing strategy and the behind-the-scenes photography for Cuttlefish. To establish an effective visual identity that would help Cuttlefish reach its marketing goals, I first had to understand the target market. Through interviews with director Arman Taheri, reading the film’s script, and gathering data from Statista and Mintel, I researched the film’s themes, intended audience, interests, media habits, and cultural trends. This research allowed me to establish the target market of the film.
Primary Audience: Gen Z and young millennials, particularly college students and recent graduates ages 18–30 who are interested in independent film, coming-of-age stories, psychological thrillers, and socially conscious storytelling.
Secondary Audience: Independent-film enthusiasts, film students and emerging filmmakers, Cleveland audiences, and viewers interested in stories surrounding race, class, identity, and assimilation.
The history of Set Photography
Set photography dates back to the 1900's and has served an array of important roles: archiving a film’s production, providing directors, actors, and crew with first-looks and visual references, and creating images for audiences to encounter through marketing, press, and poster design.
Through researching set photographers such as Anthony Friedkin, Eddy Chen, and Andrew Schwartz, I learned about the visual demands and emotional tribulations taking place while photographing film sets. Set photographers contribute to a film’s story just as much as they document its production. They must be on their feet observing movement constantly: choosing the right lenses, finding the strongest framing, staying attentive to color, movement, and distance, all while remaining unobtrusive.
Eddy Chen, a Los Angeles based set photographer captures sets which cater towards the same target demographic as Cuttlefish.
Eddy Chen’s work (above) is intimate; the camera does not shy away from the cast. He allows audiences to see a character smiling in a portrait taken after a fight scene or actors interacting backstage, revealing the people behind the performances.
In my audience research, I found that Gen Z audiences value a para-social sense of closeness with actors and creators, wanting to know the people behind the screen beyond their performances. To play into this desire I brought Chen’s intimacy into my work on Cuttlefish. I photographed the cast and crew as people rather than simply as characters or production roles, I aimed to create a personal connection between the audience and the people behind the film. This helped turn BTS photography into an ongoing marketing tool, giving audiences a reason to stay connected to the cast and crew and follow their future projects.
Final Stills
