Hire an experienced production still photographer with a good portfolio. Ask your colleagues who they've used in a past. Pick the one who has the best relationships with the actors by being cordial and unobtrusive. Another option is to hire an experienced photojournalist (a newspaper of TV photographer).
Draft a letter of agreement with the photographer. The letter has to confirm your agreement with him in respect to the services to be rendered. His services should be deemed as a "work for hire" and your production must retain all rights whatsoever to all the stills and negatives. The only rights you should grant are the rights to use the stills as work samples.
Try to negotiate with the photographer. The going rate for an experienced still photographer is $1,500 per week. A newer photojournalist might be willing to work for free to gain production experience. Make sure you are giving portfolio rights, the rights to show your stills in his/her portfolio.
Make sure your actors and crew sign the personal photograph release form. It is an agreement between you, the actors and the crew to grant you a nonexclusive right to use their photographs to promote and exploit your film in all media. You need to be protected against any claims or liabilities in connection with their personal photographs.
Budget for a public relations agent. It is a start-up cost to get your distribution launched. PR agents help you to design and write your PR kit for festivals and for sales agents. Your PR kit should contain at least five stills.Your PR agent organizes media screenings. If your screenings generate interest in the press, the journalists contact your PR firm, requesting a press kit with the stills for their articles and TV segments.