Best Cinematographers of All Time

1. Roger Deakins

Cinematographer | Blade Runner 2049

Roger Deakins is an English cinematographer best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes, and Denis Villeneuve.

He is a member of both the American and British Society of Cinematographers.

Deakins' first feature film in America as cinematographer was Mountains of the Moon (...

Skyfall, The Shawshank Redemption, Sicario, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Prisoners

2. Michael Ballhaus

Cinematographer | Goodfellas

Michael Ballhaus was a German cinematographer. He worked on many American films, including Baby It's You (1983), Old Enough (1984), After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Dracula (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York ...

Broadcast News, Quiz Show, The Departed, World on a Wire, The Last Temptation of Christ, Hugo, Goodfellas, The Fabulous Baker Boys,

3. Conrad L. Hall

Cinematographer | Road to Perdition

Born in Tahiti, the son of writer James Norman Hall, author of "Mutiny on the Bounty," Conrad Hall studied filmmaking at USC. He and two classmates formed a production company and sold a project to a local television station. Hall's company branched out into making industrial films and TV ...

Road to Perdition, Searching for Bobby Fischer, American Beauty, Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, Marathon Man, The Professionals

4. Vittorio Storaro

Cinematographer | Apocalypse Now

Vittorio Storaro, the award-winning cinematographer who won Oscars for "Apocalypse Now (1979)", "Reds (1981)" and "The Last Emperor (1987)". He was born on June 24, 1940 in Rome, where his father was a projectionist at the Lux Film Studio. At the age of 11, he began studying photography at a ...

Apocalypse Now, The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, Reds

5. Stanley Cortez

Cinematographer | The Magnificent Ambersons

Stanley Cortez was born Samuel Krantz in New York City, New York, the son of Sarah (Lefkowitz) and Moses/Morris Krantz, Austrian Jewish immigrants. His famous actor brother, born Jacob Krantz, changed his name to Ricardo Cortez in order to acquire a more suitably romantic Hollywood image. Stanley ...

Night of the Hunter, The Magnificent Ambersons, Chinatown

6. Emmanuel Lubezki

Cinematographer | Children of Men

Lubezki began his career in Mexican film and television productions in the late 1980s. His first international production was the 1993 independent film Twenty Bucks (1993), which followed the journey of a single twenty-dollar bill.

Lubezki is a frequent collaborator with fellow Mexican filmmaker ...

tree of life, gravity, Children of Men, birdman, the revenant

7. Bill Pope

Cinematographer | The Matrix

Bill Pope was born on June 19, 1952 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for The Matrix (1999), The Jungle Book (2016) and Bound (1996). He is married to Sharon Oreck. They have one child.

The Matrix, Spider-Man 2, Clueless, Cosmos, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

8. Jack Cardiff

Cinematographer | Black Narcissus

Almost universally considered one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, Jack Cardiff was also a notable director. He described his childhood as very happy and his parents as quite loving. They performed in music hall as comedians, so he grew up with the fun that came with their theatrical ...

The Red Shoes, Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus

9. Kazuo Miyagawa

Cinematographer | Yôjinbô

Kazuo Miyagawa was born on February 25, 1908 in Kyoto, Japan. He was a cinematographer, known for Yojimbo (1961), Rashomon (1950) and Brother (1960). He was married to Kazuko ?. He died on August 7, 1999 in Tokyo, Japan.

Rashomon, Ugetsu, Floating Weeds, YoJimbo, Sansho the bailiff

10. Robert Burks

Cinematographer | Vertigo

The favorite cinematographer of legendary director Alfred Hitchcock began working at Warner Bros. when he was 19 years old. He climbed his way up from camera operator to assistant camera man and eventually took over the Special Photographic Effects unit at Warners on Stage 5 in 1944. He became an ...

Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest

11. Maryse Alberti

Cinematographer | The Wrestler

Maryse Alberti is a French cinematographer. She is best known for her work in Velvet Goldmine (1998), The Wrestler (2008), Stone (2010), Creed (2015) and the HBO film My Dinner with Hervé (2018).

She also work as a cinematographer in The Visit (2015).

Alberti work as a cinematographer includes more ...

Happiness, The Wrestler, Creed, Tape

12. Robert Richardson

Cinematographer | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Robert Richardson has won three Academy Awards and earned seven Academy Award nominations for his cinematography. His work on director Oliver Stone's JFK earned him his first Oscar. His second and third came with The Aviator and Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese. These two films also garnered him ...

Kill Bill, JFK, The Aviator, The Hateful 8, Hugo

13. Mihai Malaimare Jr.

Cinematographer | The Master

Mihai Malaimare Jr. was born in 1975 in Bucharest, Romania. He is a cinematographer, known for The Master (2012), Jojo Rabbit (2019) and The Harder They Fall (2021).

The Master, Youth Without Youth, Tetro

14. Robert Elswit

Cinematographer | There Will Be Blood

Robert Elswit is an American cinematographer. He is best known for Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), There Will Be Blood (2007), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Inherent Vice (2014), and Nightcrawler (2014).

Elswit frequently works with director ...

There Will Be Blood, Good Night, and Good Luck; Nightcrawler, Inherent Vice, Duplicity

15. Gregg Toland

Cinematographer | Citizen Kane

Born in Illinois in 1904, the only child of Jennie and Frank Toland, Gregg and his mother moved to California several years after his parents divorced in 1910. Through Jennie's work as a housekeeper for several people in the movie business, Gregg may had gotten a $12-a-week job at age 15 as an ...

citizen kane, stagecoach

16. Sven Nykvist

Cinematographer | The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Sven Nykvist was considered by many in the industry to be one of the world's greatest cinematographers. During his long career that spanned almost half a century, Nyvist perfected the art of cinematography to its most simple attributes, and he helped give the films he had worked on the simplest and...

Persona, Wild Strawberries

17. Greig Fraser

Cinematographer | Dune

Greig Fraser was born on October 3, 1975 in Melbourne, Australia. He is a cinematographer and producer, known for Dune (2021), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). He is married to Jodie Fried. They have three children.

Zero Dark Thirty, Foxcatcher, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Killing Them Softly

18. Gordon Willis

Cinematographer | Zelig

Gordon Willis was an American cinematographer. He's best known for his work on Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather films, as well asWoody Allen's Annie Hall (1977) and Manhattan (1979).

His work on the first two Godfather films turned out to be groundbreaking in its use of low-light photography and ...

The Godfather, Manhattan

19. Mandy Walker

Cinematographer | Elvis

Mandy Walker was born in Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. Mandy is a cinematographer and producer, known for Elvis (2022), Mulan (2020) and Australia (2008).

20. Peter Pau

Cinematographer | Wo hu cang long

Pau has been one of the top cinematographers in Hong Kong. After his graduation of Filmmaking at San Francisco Art Institute in 1983, he directed his first feature "The Temptation of Dance" and Wu du qing chou (aka Misty) in the 1990s. Pau has been working with the top directors such as John Woo (_...

crouching tiger hidden dragon

21. Geoffrey Unsworth

Cinematographer | Cabaret

Goeffrey Unsworth was one of the great cinematographers of the 20th Century, the winner of two Oscars, five BAFTA awards, and three awards from the British Society of Cinematographers for his work as a director of photography. Born in 1914 in Lancashire, England, Unsworth started in the industry in...

2001: A Space Odyssey

22. Bradford Young

Cinematographer | Arrival

Bradford Young is an American cinematographer. His feature films as director of photography include White Lies, Black Sheep (2007), Pariah (2011), Restless City (2011), Middle of Nowhere (2012), Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013), Mother of George (2013), and Arrival (2016).

In January 2017, Young ...

Selma, A Most Violent Year, Arrival

23. Robert D. Yeoman

Cinematographer | The Grand Budapest Hotel

Robert D. Yeoman was born on March 10, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Asteroid City (2023) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

Dogma, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Bridesmaids, Love and Mercy

24. Christopher Doyle

Cinematographer | Paranoid Park

Christopher Doyle was born on May 2, 1952 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Paranoid Park (2007), Hero (2002) and 2046 (2004).

25. Haskell Wexler

Cinematographer | Medium Cool

Two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler was adjudged one of the ten most influential cinematographers in movie history, according to an International Cinematographers Guild survey of its membership. He won his Oscars in both black & white and color, for Who's Afraid of ...

Days of Heaven, Faces, Medium Cool

26. Hoyte Van Hoytema

Cinematographer | Tenet

Hoyte Van Hoytema was born in Horgen, Switzerland. Van Hoytema is a Dutch-Swedish director of photography known for his work on The Fighter (2010), Her (2013), Interstellar (2014), and Dunkirk (2017). Van Hoytema always wanted to be a filmmaker, therefore he wished to attend a film school in The ...

Spectre, Her, Interstellar, Let the Right One In

27. Bruno Delbonnel

Cinematographer | The Tragedy of Macbeth

Bruno Delbonnel was born in 1957 in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. He is a cinematographer and director, known for The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), A Very Long Engagement (2004) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

Inside Llewyn Davis, Amélie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

28. Jody Lee Lipes

Cinematographer | Manchester by the Sea

Jody Lee Lipes (ASC) is a Primetime Emmy and Independent Spirit Award-nominated director of photography. In 2024, he was recognized by the British Society of Cinematographers, winning the prestigious Best Cinematography in a Television Drama Award.

Jody has worked with numerous acclaimed directors ...

Manchester by the Sea, Trainwreck, Martha Marcy May Marlene

29. Slawomir Idziak

Cinematographer | Trois couleurs: Bleu

Slawomir Idziak was born on January 25, 1945 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland. He is a cinematographer and writer, known for Three Colors: Blue (1993), Black Hawk Down (2001) and Gattaca (1997). He was previously married to Maria Gladkowska.

Three Colors Trilogy

30. Russell Metty

Cinematographer | Spartacus

Cinematographer Russell Metty, a superb craftsman who worked with such top directors as John Huston, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg and Orson Welles, was born in Los Angeles on September 20, 1906. Entering the movie industry as a lab assistant, he apprenticed as an assistant cameraman and ...

Touch of Evil, Spartacus, All that Heaven Allows

31. Claudio Miranda

Cinematographer | Life of Pi

Claudio Miranda was born in March 1965 in Valparaíso, Chile. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Life of Pi (2012), Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). He has been married to Kelli Bean since February 2009.

Life of Pi, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,

32. Jeff Cronenweth

Cinematographer | Gone Girl

Jeff Cronenweth was born on January 14, 1962 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Gone Girl (2014), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and The Social Network (2010).

One Hour Photo, Gone Girl, Hitchcock

33. Darius Khondji

Cinematographer | Amour

Darius Khondji was born on October 21, 1955 in Tehran, Iran. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Amour (2012), Se7en (1995) and Delicatessen (1991). He is married to Marianne Khondji. They have three children.

Se7en, The Immigrant, Midnight in Paris

34. John Alcott

Cinematographer | Barry Lyndon

John Alcott, the Oscar-winning cinematographer best known for his collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, was born in 1931, in Isleworth, England, the son of movie executive Arthur Alcott, who would become the production controller at Gainsborough Studios during the 1940s.

Alcott began his film...

Barry Lyndon

35. Karl Struss

Cinematographer | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Oscar-winning cinematographer Karl Struss was born on November 30, 1886, in New York City. He became a professional photographer after studying photography with Clarence H. White and became part of the group associated with the great photographer Alfred Stieglitz. His photographs, which he ...

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

36. Steven Soderbergh

Director | Sex, Lies, and Videotape

Steven Andrew Soderbergh was born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age, his family moved to ...

Magic Mike, The Knick, Traffic

37. Vilmos Zsigmond

Cinematographer | Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Along with László Kovács, a fellow student who fled Hungary in 1956, Zsigmond rose to prominence in the 1970s. He is known for his use of natural light and vivid use of color on features such as The Long Goodbye (1973) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

McCabe and Mrs. Miller, The Deer Hunter

38. Janusz Kaminski

Cinematographer | War Horse

Janusz Kaminski is a Polish cinematographer and film director. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his movies since 1993. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

His ...

Schindler's List, Saving PRivate Ryan, A.I., Minority Report

39. Rudolph Maté

Cinematographer | Gilda

One of the most respected cinematographers in the industry, Polish-born Rudolph Mate entered the film business after his graduation from the University of Budapest. He worked in Hungary as an assistant cameraman for Alexander Korda and later worked throughout Europe with noted cameraman Karl Freund...

passion of joan of arc

40. Fritz Arno Wagner

Cinematographer | M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder

Regarded as one of the foremost exponents of cinematic expressionism in the 1920's, Fritz Arno Wagner was trained at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris and began in the film industry working for Pathé Freres in 1910. Within just two years, he was promoted to head Pathé's offices in Vienna, and, ...

M

41. Ping Bin Lee

Cinematographer | Fa yeung nin wah

Ping Bin Lee was born in 1954 in Taiwan. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for In the Mood for Love (2000), The Assassin (2015) and Crosscurrent (2016).

In the Mood for Love

42. Ellen Kuras

Cinematographer | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Ellen Kuras was born on July 10, 1959 in New Jersey, USA. She is a cinematographer and director, known for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Betrayal (2008) and P.O.V. (1988).

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

43. Karl Freund

Cinematographer | Metropolis

Karl Freund, an innovative director of photography responsible for development of the three-camera system used to shoot television situation comedies, was born on January 16, 1890, in the Bohemian city of Koeniginhof, then part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire (now known as Dvur Kralove in the Czech...

The Last Laugh, I Love Lucy

44. Affonso Beato

Cinematographer | Todo sobre mi madre

Affonso Beato was born on July 13, 1941 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a cinematographer and producer, known for All About My Mother (1999), The Queen (2006) and Orfeu (1999).

45. Mauro Fiore

Cinematographer | Avatar

Mauro Fiore was born on November 15, 1964 in Marzi, Calabria, Italy. He is a cinematographer, known for Avatar (2009), Training Day (2001) and The Island (2005). He has been married to Christine Vollmer since 2000. They have three children.

46. Freddie Young

Cinematographer | Lawrence of Arabia

Freddie Young was a British cinematographer. He is best known for his work on David Lean's films Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter (1970), all three of which won him Academy Awards for Best Cinematography.

Young was an cinematographer on 130 films, including ...