Byron Shah, a graduate of USC’s prestigious Cinema-Television MFA program, has always been fascinated with creating unique and beautiful images in a vast array of formats.

For his latest feature, PROM, Shah was called upon to seamlessly combine his own artistic strengths while still invoking the look of classic 80s teen dramas. Shah’s presence was felt heavily at the Sundance Film Festival first in 2007, with two movies he lensed: THE GO-GETTER (starring Zooey Deschanel and Lou Pucci) and AN AMERICAN CRIME (starring Catherine Keener and Ellen Page). When it was released in 2008, THE GO-GETTER received universal praise for its cinematography. The New York Times said “...the landscape (was) luminously photographed in lightly saturated shades by Byron Shah” and The Village Voice/LA Weekly praised the film's “...gorgeous sun- spotted cinematography.” AN AMERICAN CRIME, the shocking true story of the abuse and murder of Sylvia Likens in 1965, premiered on Showtime to critical acclaim, including an Emmy nomination for star Catherine Keener. SPARKS, a short directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, premiered at Sundance in 2009. Such exposure led to jobs on the independent features CARELESS (starring Colin Hanks and Tony Shaloub), MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (starring Susan Sarandon and Anton Yelchin) and M Stark and Jacob Meszaros’ TEENIUS.

In television, Shah shot “Kath & Kim” (starring Selma Blair and Molly Shannon) and the comedy-action series “Andy Barker, P.I.” (starring Andy Richter), both for NBC. The New York Times review of “Andy Barker” called it “surprisingly beautiful.”
Shah has also shot (and directed) numerous commercials, music videos and documentaries. He has worked with Death Cab for Cutie, Beck, Perry Farrell, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. He was asked to shoot and direct The Smashing Pumpkins documentary of their final tour as they traveled throughout Europe and Africa. His most recent documentary "David McCullough: Painting with Words" premiered on HBO and was produced by Tom Hanks.

Shah’s recent commercial credits include national campaigns for Match.com and Payless, as well as promos for HGTV, the Olympics, and a PSA for Colonial Williamsburg, reteaming with Tom Hanks.

His work on the short film DEBUTANTE earned him the Kodak Award from the New York Exposition of Short Films, Best Cinematography from the Carolina Film and Video Festival, and inclusion in the Camerimage Festival of Cinematography in Poland. He shot the short film “The Spleenectomy” for writer/director Kirsten Smith (HOUSE BUNNY, LEGALLY BLONDE) as part of the prestigious short film series Glamour Reel Moments and recently completed the short film ANIMAL LOVE (starring Selma Blair and Jeremy Davies).

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