Blackmagic Forum

I mean they have to right? Everything about a video comes from photos.

Yes. Another name for a cinematographer is a "director of photography." A cinematographer must understand everything about photography so that he or she can choose the best way to shoot each shot and each scene of a movie. You must pick the right lenses and the right film stock or digital image sensor. You must pick the right lights, etc. It's a very involved process, but the basis of it is a sound understanding of photography techniques.

Sorry, a Cinematographer is not automatically a Director of Photography, which is a role/title assigned to a senior Cinematographer, who has worked under a DoP for awhile. Film students do learn a variety of photographic skills, many have still photography experience (used to be a pre-requisite back in the film days). You can get a degree or certificate in Cinematography, but that does not make you automatically a Director of Photography. Getting to that stage, depends on your experience, talent and drive.
Cheers

Yes, they should as they need to understand each and everything about Photography.