Cinematography is something of an underrated artform. When many folks go to the movies, they may note that the cinematography was swell, but odds are the person behind that cinematography goes unrecognized by the general public, save for a speech at Academy Awards. But cinephiles with a passion for celebrating filmmaking know full well it’s a collaborative medium, and while a few directors serve as their own cinematographers, for most movies the visual impact is the result of a collaboration between the film’s director, cinematographer, production designer, etc., with the director and cinematographer forming a specific bond to settle on how the film will ultimately be presented to audiences.

When digital photography first began to come to prominence, there was suddenly a boom of different and exciting kinds of cinematography going on. Some filmmakers embraced the advantages of digital, while others decried it as a second tier format. At the end of the day, the camera is simply one of many tools used to craft the visual look of a film, and I’d argue that now, more than ever, is an exciting time for the craft of cinematography.

There are a number of cinematographers churning out noteworthy work, but for the purposes of this here article, I’ve settled on an arbitrary cap of 25. The directors of photography that make up this list represent some of the most exciting cinematographers working today, made all the more fascinating by the fact that their approaches to the craft differ so wildly. But all are doing truly phenomenal work in the realm of filmmaking, and this is a chance to turn the spotlight on their respective talents.

So without further ado, in no particular order, here are the 20 most exciting cinematographers working today.

Roger Deakins

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Image via Warner Bros.

Notable Works: Blade Runner 2049, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Fargo

Let’s get the elephant out of the room first: Roger Deakins is a magician. The guy has been honing his craft for four decades, and he just keeps getting better. Deakins refuses to make obvious choices, resulting in the slew of iconography that permeates films like No Country for Old Men or The Shawshank Redemption, and he’s just as comfortable shooting a romp like Burn After Reading as he is an historical epic like Unbroken. His most frequent collaborations, of course, are with the Coen Brothers, but comparing his craft on those films to movies like The Village or Sicario speak wonders to Deakins’ penchant for serving the specific visions of his various directors. You know a Roger Deakins film when you see it, but the guy also has a chameleon-like ability to traverse a number of genres. From a cinematography standpoint, Skyfall and The Assassination of Jesse James are masterpieces, but they are also very different films. Simply put, there’s nothing he can’t do, and each new Roger Deakins film is cause for celebration. That was certainly the case with Blade Runner 2049, which finally won Deakins that elusive Oscar after nearly 20 nominations.

Rachel Morrison

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Image via Marvel Studios

Notable Works: Mudbound, Fruitvale StationBlack Panther

Rachel Morrison made history recently as the first woman ever nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar, and for good reason. Her work with Dee Rees on Mudbound is staggeringly visceral and rich, ensuring that the environment is just as much a character as the humans in it. And she followed that up by reteaming with director Ryan Coogler on the best-shot Marvel movie thus far, Black Panther, transcending the traditionally flat framing that plagues the Marvel Cinematic Universe to craft a deep, colorful, and dynamic palette for the MCU's filmmaking high-mark.

Bradford Young

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Image via Lucasfilm

Notable Works: SelmaArrivalSolo: A Star Wars Story

If you’re looking for up-and-comers in the cinematography world, Bradford Young tops the list. We knew from his work on the neo-Western Ain’t Them Bodies Saints that he was capable of capturing genre in an intimate way, and Pariah proved his adeptness at character-driven photography, but it was his work on 2014’s Selma that truly stood out as masterful. Young has an intense command of POV, and working in concert with Ava DuVernay, he helped convey the loneliness and staggering impact of Martin Luther King Jr., not to mention the terror of something like the Edmund Pettus Bridge attack. With the 80s-set A Most Violent Year, Young once again shined, and it’s no wonder he was enlisted to fill in for Roger Deakins on Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi drama Arrival and, for his most ambitious project yet, lensed Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Bill Pope

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Image via Focus Features

Notable Works: The Matrix, Spider-Man 2, Baby Driver

Bill Pope has had a fascinating career. Having navigated both genre fare like Army of Darkness and studio fare like Clueless, he may have seemed an odd but enticing fit for 1999’s groundbreaking The Matrix, but the results were astounding. Pope reprised his duties to equally impressive results on the Matrix sequels, stayed in the blockbuster realm with Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, and even made time for the notoriously difficult production of Team America: World Police, and now he’s become filmmaker Edgar Wright’s go-to cinematographer after their first collaboration on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Pope has a knack for really making the image pop, but in an intriguing way, and he certainly knows his way around an action sequence. But more importantly, Pope appears to be fearless. Be it puppets, superheroes, or even the documentary series Cosmos, Bill Pope is game, and he proved with The Jungle Book and Baby Driver that he’s just as comfortable with an entirely CG environment as he is with a practical stunt-heavy actioner. And they both look incredible! Now that’s range.

Chung-hoon Chung

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Image via the Cannes Film Festival

Notable Works: The HandmaidenITMe and Earl and the Dying Girl

When it comes to impeccable shot composition, Chung-hoon Chung is a master. The South Korean cinematographer has a long working relationship with filmmaker Park Chan-wook, shooting films like Lady VengeanceOldboy, and Stoker, and he's also made his mark on Hollywood filmmaking with dynamic work in films like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and the smash-hit horror film IT. His best work thus far is undoubtedly Chan-wook's epic The Handmaiden, which is a feast in every sense of the word. Lush, precise, and at times absolutely visceral, it's a must-see piece of filmmaking crafted by one of the most fruitful director-cinematographer relationships in recent memory.

Maryse Alberti

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Image via Warner Bros.

Notable Works: Creed, The Wrestler, Velvet Goldmine

Women are vastly outnumbered in the cinematography field, but Maryse Alberti stands as one of the most interesting DPs regardless of gender. She began in the realm of documentary, amassing a prolific resume that would vacillate between docs like Taxi to the Dark Side and narrative features, like Todd Haynes’ 1998 film Velvet Goldmine. Alberti’s work hit a high point with her 2008 Darren Aronofsky collaboration The Wrestler, which showed off her knack for really putting the audience inside the POV of the protagonist. So when Ryan Coogler was crafting a highly anticipated Rocky sequel, he enlisted Alberti to shoot it, resulting in some truly staggering work both inside and outside the ring. Indeed, there are two long takes in Creed that are not just great to look at, they’re purposeful. You feel the anxiety of Michael B. Jordan’s titular character through this lack of cutting, and it only heightens the emotional impact of the film overall.

Darius Khondji

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Notable Works: Se7en, The ImmigrantLost City of Z

Right up there with Deakins, Darius Khondji is a veteran cinematographer whose work only seems to keep getting better. The Iran-born director of photography broke out in a big way with David Fincher’s unforgettable Se7en, capturing the filth and despair of the unnamed city with a kind of haunting beauty. As of late, he’s become Woody Allen’s go-to cinematographer, resulting in visual gems like Midnight in Paris, but it’s his work on James Gray’s 2013 historical drama The Immigrant and Gray's 2017 film The Lost City of Z that solidifies his place as one of the all-time greats. Both films are loaded with unforgettable shots, but the closing frame in The Immigrant is particularly ingenious, reinforcing the film’s themes in somewhat uncomfortable yet striking fashion.

Linus Sandgren

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Image via Lionsgate

Notable Works: American HustleLa La LandBattle of the Sexes

Linus Sandgren cut his teeth on Hollywood filmmaking with the frenetic directorial style of David O. Russell on American Hustle, but Sandgren's work is anything but haphazard. He has a knack for rich and colorful textures, be it in a warm comedy like The Hundred-Foot Journey or a period piece like Battle of the Sexes. His best and most notable work is, of course, La La Land, for which he deservedly won the Oscar. Entire essays could be written about the use of color in Damien Chazelle's iconic musical, and the way Sandgren's cinematography makes use of the production design and costumes brings to mind a visual symphony of sorts. Each piece working in tandem with the other, brought together in the frame with staggering beauty.

Claudio Miranda

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Notable Works: Life of Pi, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, TRON: Legacy

As CG photography has risen in popularity, so has the influence of a film’s cinematographer on the final product in CG-laden films. Claudio Miranda has become something of a staple of CG-driven movies, from the grounded and realistic The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to the intense sci-fi of TRON: Legacy. He knows his way around a digital frame, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Ang Lee’s heavenly Life of Pi. The environment and supporting characters were CG, with star Suraj Sharma standing as one of the only real elements in the frame for much of the film’s runtime, but even so Miranda found the beauty in this story, resulting in an Academy Award win.

John Gulesarian

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Image via Venice Film Festival

Notable Works: About Time, Breathe In, Casual

Cinematographer John Gulesarian has intimacy down pat. While he cut his teeth on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, it’s his work with writer/director Drake Doremus on Like Crazy, Breathe In, and the emotional sci-fi drama Equals that really stand out. There’s a crispness to Gulearsian’s imagery that pulls you that much closer, and the frequent use of handheld only ups the level of intimacy between the characters onscreen. Even with something as bright as About Time or Love, Simon, there’s still an urgency and closeness that permeates throughout to terrific results.

Jeff Cronenweth

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Notable Works: Fight Club, One Hour Photo, Down with Love

It’s been said many times over that David Fincher is a director who knows everyone’s job better than they do, but there’s a reason he’s worked with Fight Club cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth on his last three films in a row. The diversity of palette between something like The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is striking, but Cronenweth’s control of the frame is no less impactful. The often sterile nature of the imagery reflects the coldness of many of the characters therein, but with films like Gone Girl and even Hitchcock, Cronenweth has proven he can continue that confidence of frame even in environments that are far more muddled.

Emmanuel Lubezki

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Notable Works: Tree of Life, AliSleepy Hollow

Of course this list wouldn’t be complete without Emmanuel Lubezki, who is destined to go down in history as one of the greatest cinematographers who ever lived. He was nominated for his first Oscar for 1996’s A Little Princess, but that was only the beginning, as his fruitful collaborations with Alfonso Cuaron would give us such impactful and varied works as Y tu mama tambien, Children of Men, and of course Gravity. Lubezki’s penchant for handheld photography is at once surprising and intimate, allowing the audience to feel as though they too are a character in this story. And his work with Terrence Malick has proved to be downright pioneering, pulling the audience so close that it’s almost uncomfortable, and yet crafting something so beautiful and poetic as The Tree of Life that the technique then feels otherworldly. And we haven’t even gotten to the staggering long takes of Birdman or The Revenant yet. The guy is a master of photography, a wizard with nature, and, above all, unendingly exciting.

Adam Arkapaw

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Image via StudioCanal

Notable Works: True Detective, Macbeth, Animal Kingdom

Remember that stunning long take in True Detective Season 1? Yeah, that was Adam Arkapaw, an Australian cinematographer who excels with dark, often dingy imagery that transcends the grime to become something altogether beautiful. His work in television with True Detective and Top of the Lake was striking, but he’s also wonderfully adept in the realm of features, with his most recent effort being the stunningly shot Macbeth. He reunited with director Justin Kurzel again on Assassin’s Creed, and while the video game adaptation fell short from a story standpoint, Arkapaw's light and shadow were characteristically on point.

Steve Yedlin

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Image via Lucasfilm

Notable Works: The Brothers BloomLooperStar Wars: The Last Jedi

As Rian Johnson's longtime friend and collaborator, Steve Yedlin has worked his way up to blockbuster filmmaking the old fashioned way. Yedlin cut his teeth on Johnson's 2005 film Brick and has shot every one of Johnson's films since, venturing out to stretch his technical know-how on other features like San Andreas and Carrie. But it's Star Wars: The Last Jedi that's the pinnacle of Yedlin's career thus far, serving as possibly the best-shot Star Wars movie ever made. The framing is impeccable, the shot composition is precise, and each and every scene tells a visual story. The Throne Room sequence alone puts Yedlin in the Top 25 DPs here, not to mention the litany of iconic imagery that he and Johnson crafted for the bold and thrilling Star Wars sequel.

Jody Lee Lipes

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Image via Roadside Attractions

Notable Works: Manchester by the Sea, Girls, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Jody Lee Lipes is a relative newcomer on the scene, but he arrived in a big way with the one-two punch of the darkly complex indie Martha Marcy May Marlene and the first season of HBO’s Girls. With the latter, Lipes took the challenge of capturing New York City in an entirely new way, and he soared. Each episode of Girls looks like a handsomely crafted feature film, and much of that is due to Lipes’ early influence on the show. Since then, he took the comedy main stage with Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck, but it’s his collaboration with Kenneth Lonergan on the masterful drama Manchester by the Sea that solidifies his place as one of the most exciting DPs working today. Those who've seen Manchester are fully aware of some truly staggering shots throughout that film, and Lipes’ penchant for simultaneously gorgeous and grounded visuals have an immense effect.

Mike Gioulakis

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Image via RADiUS.

Notable Works: It FollowsSplit

Mike Gioulakis’ resume as a cinematographer is mostly filled with short films, but for It Follows alone he announced himself as one to keep an eye on. The cinematography is the key to the horror the permeates It Follows as an unseen/invisible menace must be felt through the screen. Through long, languishing takes and surprising whips, Gioulakis keeps the audiences on its toes to tremendous results. It Follows stood among the best-shot films of 2014, and with plenty of road ahead, Gioulakis is certainly a cinematographer to watch.

Robert Richardson

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Image via The Weinstein Company

Notable Works: Kill Bill, JFK, The Aviator

It’s possible that Robert Richardson has worked with more auteurs than any other cinematographer (save for Lubezki, maybe), and that he’s able to maintain his own point of view while still working with directors like Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and Oliver Stone is wildly impressive. He has a knack for harnessing the pure vision of a filmmaker like Tarantino and Scorsese and funneling it through the camera, from the blood-soaked fights of Kill Bill to the experimental period set pieces of The Aviator, which saw Richardson and Scorsese portraying different time periods with the type of film and film processing that would have been available at the time. Richardson and Scorsese would continue their experimental approach by pushing the boundaries of 3D with Hugo, and then Richardson went and resurrected Ultra Panavision 70 photography with The Hateful Eight. Ever-curious, there’s a reason Richardson works with the best.

Greig Fraser

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Image via Sony Pictures Classics

Notable Works: Zero Dark Thirty, Foxcatcher, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Honestly, Greig Fraser’s work on Killing Them Softly alone is worth him making this list, but the crisp darkness of Fraser’s aesthetic shines in all of his works. In Zero Dark Thirty, he captures nightvision photography to wildly tense results; in Foxcatcher the cold, controlled camera only heightens the slow-burn tension between the characters onscreen, and even something like Snow White and the Huntsman is endlessly fascinating. And with the one-two punch of Rogue One and Lion, Fraser proved he's just as adept at artfully framing a sci-fi actioner as he is a character-rich drama.

Robert D. Yeoman

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Image via Fox Searchlight

Notable Works: Moonrise Kingdom, Bridesmaids, Dogma

In the same vein as Robert Elswit, Robert D. Yeoman is a cinematographer who’s forged a strong bond with an auteur filmmaker, but who’s able to further stretch his talents in surprising ways with other films. You’d never mistake a Wes Anderson film for anything but, and indeed he and Yeoman have crafted an unmistakable style, but Yeoman’s work on films outside of Anderson’s oeuvre are noteworthy all the same. From the sumptuous aesthetic of Down to You to the more controlled atmosphere of Bridesmaids, Yeoman’s constantly surprising. But his most impressive work aside from his Wes Anderson collaborations came in the form of 2015’s Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, which put the viewer inside the mind of the Beach Boys genius, straddled two very different time periods, and chronicled the controlled chaos of a Beach Boys recording session all the same.

Robert Elswit

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Notable Works: There Will Be Blood, Good Night, and Good Luck, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Perhaps one of the most versatile cinematographers working today, Oscar-winner Robert Elswit has traversed a variety of genres, working with a number of different filmmakers, and the results are always stunning. The mere fact that he shot Inherent Vice and Nightcrawler in the same year and yet captured two completely different kinds of Los Angeles is remarkable, and with his work on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation he made the jump to blockbusters with ease. His career is most closely aligned with Paul Thomas Anderson, having shot all of the auteur's films, but the range of going from something like There Will Be Blood to Duplicity to The Town is truly astounding.