Steven Poster, ASC, served as national president of Local 600 for 13 years. In this role, he spearheaded the transition from film to digital. He currently serves on the union’s National Executive Board. Poster is also a former president of the American Society of Cinematographers.
A Chicago native, Poster graduated from the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech and started his cinematography career at age 21, filming commercials, documentaries, and industrial films. He soon moved on to feature films, working as second unit director of photography on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the original Blade Runner.
As director of photography, Poster’s film credits include Someone to Watch Over Me (ASC nomination), Stuart Little 2, Daddy Day Care, Rocky V, Big Top Pee-wee, and Amityville Awakening. Poster has collaborated with writer/director Richard Kelly on Donnie Darko, Southland Tales, and The Box. His work on television includes Roswell, Mrs. Harris (Emmy nomination), The Color of Justice, Hemlock Grove, and Courage. Poster also lensed the music video for Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”
Steven Poster has a passion for mentoring young filmmakers, cinematography students, and high school students interested in the motion picture industry. He served 10 times as an advisor to the Sundance Institute Directors Lab and has taught master classes and mentored students at USC, UCLA, ArtCenter College of Design, Brandeis University, Southern Illinois University, Loyola University Chicago, Baylor University, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Wisconsin, and Southeast Missouri State University.
