The cinematographer or director of photography is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera and light crews working on such projects and would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc. The study and practice of this field is referred to as cinematography.
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinematography and gather a wide range of cinematographers to discuss techniques and ideas and to advocate for motion pictures as a type of art form. Currently, the president of the ASC is Stephen Lighthill.
Sir Roger Alexander Deakins is an English cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with directors the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve. Deakins has been admitted to both the British Society of Cinematographers and to the American Society of Cinematographers. He is the recipient of five BAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography, and two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography from fifteen nominations. His best-known works include The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, A Beautiful Mind, Skyfall, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, and 1917, the last two of which earned him Academy Awards.
Vilmos ZsigmondASC was a Hungarian-American cinematographer. His work in cinematography helped shape the look of American movies in the 1970s, making him one of the leading figures in the American New Wave movement.
Haskell Wexler, ASC was an American cinematographer, film producer, and director. Wexler was judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography twice, in 1966 and 1976 in five nominations.
Dante Spinotti, A.S.C., A.I.C. is an Italian cinematographer and a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is known for his collaborations with directors Michael Mann, Michael Apted, Deon Taylor, and Brett Ratner, and is frequently credited with helping to pioneer the use of high-definition digital video in cinematography. He is a BAFTA Award recipient and two-time Academy Award nominee.
John A. Alonzo, ASC was an American cinematographer, television director, and actor known for his diverse body of work in both film and television.
Hiro Narita is an American cinematographer.
Vasco Alves Henriques Lucas Nunes was a Portuguese cinematographer, producer, and film director. In 2003, he graduated from the AFI Conservatory with a master's in cinematography, yet had begun working in the film and television industry in the early 1990s.
Stephen Goldblatt, A.S.C., B.S.C. is a South African-born British cinematographer, noted for his work on numerous high-profile action films, including the first two entries in the Lethal Weapon series, as well as for his recent collaborations with director Mike Nichols and Tate Taylor.
Guillermo Jorge Navarro Solares, AMC, ASC is a Mexican cinematographer and television director. He has worked in Hollywood since 1994 and is a frequent collaborator of Guillermo del Toro and Robert Rodriguez. In 2007, he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and the Goya Award for Best Cinematography for del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. His subsequent filmography runs the gamut from lower-budget arthouse and genre films to high-profile blockbusters like Hellboy, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Night at the Museum, and Pacific Rim.
The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage is a festival dedicated to the celebration of cinematography and recognition of its creators, cinematographers. The first seven events (1993–1999) were held in Toruń, Poland. The next ten events (2000–2009) were held in Łódź. From 2010 until 2018 the festival took place in Bydgoszcz, before returning to Toruń in 2019, where it currently remains. In 2007, the name of the festival was changed from Camerimage to Plus Camerimage but was changed back in 2013 after the sponsorship deal with Plus ended. At the end of November every year, Camerimage brings together professional cinematographers, students and other people associated with the film industry. The Camerimage festival spans over a course of one week, with multiple events at one time.
Ava Marie DuVernay is an American filmmaker, television producer, and film publicist. She won the directing award in the U.S. dramatic competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film Middle of Nowhere, becoming the first black woman to win the award. For her work on Selma (2014), DuVernay became the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2017, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for her film 13th (2016).
Robert McLachlan is a Canadian cinematographer. A successful cyclist in his youth, McLachlan quit the sport to take up cinematography, and entered the field after studying at Simon Fraser University, McLachlan was mentored by Richard Leiterman. His professional career began with documentary work for Greenpeace, before he became involved in both television and feature films; his work has subsequently earned him several industry awards and award nominations.
Bradford Marcel Young, A.S.C is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his work on Selma, When They See Us, A Most Violent Year, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Arrival, which earned him a nomination for an Academy Award.
Fantastic Fungi is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Louie Schwartzberg. The film combines time-lapse cinematography, CGI, and interviews in an overview of the biology, environmental roles, and various uses of fungi. The film features interview segments with Paul Stamets and Michael Pollan, and is narrated by Brie Larson.
Polly Morgan is a British cinematographer who has worked on the studio feature films Lucy in the Sky (2019), A Quiet Place Part II (2020), Where the Crawdads Sing (2022), and The Woman King (2022). She was also the cinematographer for multiple episodes of the TV series Legion (2017–2019). Morgan is accredited by the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). To date, she is the only woman to be a member of both, and she is the youngest member of ASC.
Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his collaborations with director David Fincher on the films Mank and Gone Girl, and on the Netflix series Mindhunter. He has also shot episodes of the TV series Fargo, Legion, and Raised by Wolves. His work has been nominated for an Emmy. In April 2021, he won the top ASC Award and the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Mank.
Lisa Rinzler is an American cinematographer who works on both feature films and documentaries. She has worked with Wim Wenders, Martin Scorsese, the Hughes Brothers and Tamra Davis.
