Senior Photo & Video Producer (Fort Collins)

Location: Fort Collins, Colorado

Employment Type: Full-time, in-office

Salary Range: $63,299.66 - $84,661.95 (including incentive)

Annual Performance Incentive: Up to $10,000

The Creative Agency is hiring an experienced commercial photographer and video producer to lead our in-house production department.

You must be equally capable behind the camera, in the editing suite and leading an entire commercial shoot. This is a hands-on leadership position requiring advanced photography, professional cinematography, sophisticated post-production and independent ownership from concept through final delivery.

Our work includes commercial advertising, beauty and cosmetics, consumer products, branded campaigns and social-first video.

The right person understands that elevated production is not defined by expensive equipment or a dramatic reel. It is defined by judgment: the right lighting, lens, composition, color, audio, pacing, retouching, and finishing choices for the brand, audience, platform, and campaign.

This role requires someone who can both create exceptional work and manage the production function behind it.

What You Will Own

• Own the quality and consistency of photography and video produced across assigned client accounts.
• Translate campaign strategies, creative briefs, mood boards, and shot lists into strong visual execution.
• Lead productions from preproduction and setup through capture, post-production, quality control, and final delivery.
• Establish and maintain elevated visual standards across studio and location work.
• Make informed creative and technical decisions while remaining responsive to established brand direction.
• Identify production risks, resource needs, and scheduling concerns before they affect client deadlines.
• Ensure work submitted for internal approval is complete, polished, technically sound, and client-ready.

Commercial Photography

• Produce high-quality commercial photography for products, beauty and cosmetics, executive portraits, hospitality, interiors, professional services, theatre, events, and brand campaigns.
• Plan and execute studio and location lighting appropriate to each subject and brand.
• Select lenses, camera positions, angles, and lighting approaches that represent people and products accurately and intentionally.
• Conduct tethered shoots when appropriate to support real-time review and quality control.
• Direct subjects with confidence and professionalism.
• Maintain accurate color, skin tone, product detail, texture, and proportion.
• Complete natural portrait retouching, product cleanup, compositing, and final image preparation without creating an artificial or overprocessed result.
• Prepare selects, proofs, high-resolution assets, web exports, crops, and alternate formats.
• Apply required copyright, ownership, metadata, naming, and delivery standards.

Commercial Video

• Produce brand, advertising, product, beauty, interview, testimonial, theatre, event, and social-first video content.
• Plan scenes, camera coverage, lighting, audio, movement, and visual continuity before production begins.
• Capture professional footage in horizontal, vertical, and platform-specific formats.
• Record clean, usable audio in studio and location environments.
• Edit projects with strong pacing, structure, visual hierarchy, and attention to the intended audience.
• Complete color correction, color grading, audio cleanup, audio mastering, and final technical review.
• Create multiple cuts, durations, aspect ratios, and campaign variations from captured footage.
• Incorporate titles, captions, branded graphics, and basic motion elements where required.
• Deliver finished video that is complete across image, sound, pacing, color, and export specifications.

Production Management

• Coordinate production schedules, priorities, capacity, and deadlines with the Operations Manager.
• Maintain organized project folders, naming conventions, media storage, backups, and archives.
• Ensure raw files, working files, and final assets are stored in company-controlled systems.
• Maintain production equipment, studio readiness, inventory, and checkout procedures.
• Prepare equipment and technical requirements before each production.
• Create repeatable workflows for ingest, backup, selects, editing, review, revision, and delivery.
• Track production hours and work within established project budgets.
• Coordinate freelancers, second shooters, assistants, editors, talent, locations, and production vendors when needed.
• Maintain releases, licensing information, usage requirements, and other project documentation.
• Prevent production knowledge, files, or workflows from becoming dependent on one individual.

Team Leadership and Development

• Provide technical direction, training, and appropriate supervision to the Production Intern.
• Delegate support work while retaining accountability for final quality.
• Help junior production team members build stronger skills in equipment handling, lighting, file management, capture, and post-production.
• Give clear, professional feedback and communicate expectations before work begins.
• Contribute to a production culture built around preparedness, accountability, craftsmanship, and continuous improvement.
• Support the development of a dependable freelance and production support network.

Required Experience

• Significant professional experience producing commercial photography and video.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating meaningful capability in both still and motion work.
• Demonstrated experience leading productions from planning through final post-production.
• Advanced knowledge of cameras, lenses, lighting, composition, exposure, color, and production workflows.
• Strong photography retouching skills.
• Strong video editing, color correction, and audio-finishing skills.
• Experience producing content for brands, businesses, advertising, marketing, or commercial clients.
• Ability to work across multiple visual styles and industries without forcing every client into the same aesthetic.
• Strong understanding of horizontal, vertical, web, social, advertising, and campaign-specific formats.
• Excellent file organization and asset-management habits.
• Ability to estimate production requirements, anticipate challenges, and communicate early.
• Ability to work efficiently while maintaining a high visual and technical standard.
• Professional communication skills and the ability to receive, interpret, and execute creative direction.
• Reliable transportation and the ability to work in the Fort Collins office, Infinity Studio, and client locations as required.

Preferred Experience

• Product and cosmetics photography
• Executive and team portraiture
• Hospitality and interior photography
• Theatre, event, or performance production
• Commercial interviews and testimonial videos
• Studio lighting and cyclorama experience
• Tethered photography workflows
• Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, After Effects, or comparable professional software
• Audio recording, cleanup, mixing, and mastering
• Motion graphics and branded animation
• Production team leadership or mentorship
• Drone certification and aerial production experience
• Experience working within a full-service agency or multi-client environment

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role is not measured only by whether a shoot happened or a file was exported.

The Senior Visual Production Lead will be expected to demonstrate:

• Consistently elevated, brand-appropriate visual work
• Reliable, on-time delivery
• Strong first-pass quality
• Low avoidable revision volume
• Accurate execution of approved creative direction
• Appropriate management of production hours and resources
• Professional preparation and communication
• Organized, accessible project files and archives
• Strong equipment and studio stewardship
• Effective development of production support staff
• A growing production function that is both creatively excellent and operationally dependable

Compensation

This position offers a base salary plus an annual performance incentive of up to $10,000 .

The annual incentive will be tied to defined production revenue, profitability, delivery, quality, operational performance, and team-development goals. Performance will be reviewed throughout the year, with the incentive calculated following the close of the applicable performance period.

Portfolio Requirements

Applicants should submit work that clearly demonstrates their personal contribution to both commercial photography and video production.

Portfolios should include:

• Commercial photography across more than one subject or industry
• Finished commercial video work
• Photography retouching examples
• Video editing and color examples
• Work demonstrating lighting capability
• Examples showing range across brands and visual styles