Best cinematography Oscar winners
and other Academy Award nominees
Updated: March 11, 2024
List of who beat who for best cinematography Oscar: Year indicates year/period for which films were judged, not year of ceremony. Sources: Oscars.org, Internet Movie Database, Wikipedia
2023: Hoyte van Hoytema (Oppenheimer) — beat Rodrigo Prieto (Killers of the Flower Moon), Matthew Libatique (Maestro), Robbie Ryan (Poor Things), Edward Lachman (El Conde)
2022: James Friend (All Quiet on the Western Front) — beat Roger Deakins (Empire of Light), Mandy Walker (Elvis), Florian Hoffmeister (Tár), Darius Khondji (Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)
2021: Greig Fraser (Dune) — beat Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog), Dan Laustsen (Nightmare Alley), Janusz Kaminski (West Side Story), Bruno Delbonnel (The Tragedy of Macbeth)
2020: Erik Messerschmidt (Mank) — beat Joshua James Richards (Nomadland), Sean Bobbitt (Judas and the Black Messiah), Dariusz Wolski (News of the World), Phedon Papamichael (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
2019: Roger Deakins (1917) — beat Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman), Robert Richardson (Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood), Lawrence Sher (Joker), Jarin Blaschke (The Lighthouse)
2018: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) — beat Lukasz Zal (Cold War), Caleb Deschanel (Never Look Away), Matthew Libatique (A Star Is Born), Robbie Ryan (The Favourite)
2017: Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049) — beat Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water), Rachel Morrison (Mudbound), Hoyte van Hoytema (Dunkirk), Bruno Delbonnel (Darkest Hour)
2016: Linus Sandgren (La La Land) — beat James Laxton (Moonlight), Bradford Young (Arrival), Greig Fraser (Lion), Rodrigo Prieto (Silence)
2015: Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant) — beat John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road), Edward Lachman (Carol), Robert Richardson (The Hateful Eight), Roger Deakins (Sicario)
2014: Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) — beat Robert D. Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Roger Deakins (Unbroken), Dick Pope (Mr. Turner), Lukasz Zal, Ryszard Lenczewski (Ida)
2013: Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity) — beat Roger Deakins (Prisoners), Phedon Papamichael (Nebraska), Philippe Le Sourd (The Grandmaster), Bruno Delbonnel (Inside Llewyn Davis)
2012: Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi) — beat Janusz Kaminski (Lincoln), Roger Deakins (Skyfall), Robert Richardson (Django Unchained), Seamus McGarvey (Anna Karenina)
2011: Robert Richardson (Hugo) — beat Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life), Janusz Kaminski (War Horse), Guillaume Schiffman (The Artist), Jeff Cronenweth (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
2010: Wally Pfister (Inception) — beat Danny Cohen (The King’s Speech), Roger Deakins (True Grit), Jeff Cronenweth (The Social Network), Matthew Libatique (Black Swan)
2009: Mauro Fiore (Avatar) — beat Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds), Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), Bruno Delbonnel (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Christian Berger (The White Ribbon)
2008: Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millioniare) — beat Wally Pfister (The Dark Knight), Tom Stern (Changeling), Chris Menges, Roger Deakins (The Reader), Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
2007: Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood) — Roger Deakins (No Country for Old Men), Roger Deakins (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Janusz Kaminski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Seamus McGarvey (Atonement)
2006: Guillermo Navarro (Pan’s Labyrinth) — beat Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men), Vilmos Zsigmond (The Black Dahlia), Dick Pope (The Illusionist), Wally Pfister (The Prestige)
2005: Dion Beebe (Memoirs of a Geisha) — beat Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain), Wally Pfister (Batman Begins), Emmanuel Lubezki (The New World), Robert Elswit (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
2004: Robert Richardson (The Aviator) — beat Caleb Deschanel (The Passion of the Christ), Bruno Delbonnel (A Very Long Engagement), Xiaoding Zhao (House of Flying Daggers), John Mathieson (The Phantom of the Opera)
2003: Russell Boyd (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) — beat César Charlone (City of God), Eduardo Serra (Girl with a Pearl Earring), John Seale (Cold Mountain), John Schwartzman (Seabiscuit)
2002: Conrad L. Hall (Road to Perdition) — beat Michael Ballhaus (Gangs of New York), Dion Beebe (Chicago), Edward Lachman (Far from Heaven), Pawel Edelman (The Pianist)
2001: Andrew Lesnie (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) — beat Roger Deakins (The Man Who Wasn’t There), Donald McAlpine (Moulin Rouge!), Bruno Delbonnel (Amélie), Slawomir Idziak (Black Hawk Down)
2000: Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) — beat Roger Deakins (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), John Mathieson (Gladiator), Caleb Deschanel (The Patriot), Lajos Koltai (Malèna: Lajos Koltai)
1999: Conrad L. Hall (American Beauty) — beat Robert Richardson (Snow Falling on Cedars), Emmanuel Lubezki (Sleepy Hollow), Dante Spinotti (The Insider), Roger Pratt (The End of the Affair)
1998: Janusz Kaminski (Saving Private Ryan) — beat John Toll (The Thin Red Line), Conrad L. Hall (A Civil Action), Richard Greatrex (Shakespeare in Love), Remi Adefarasin (Elizabeth)
1997: Russell Carpenter (Titanic) — beat Janusz Kaminski (Amistad), Roger Deakins (Kundun), Dante Spinotti (L.A. Confidential), Eduardo Serra (The Wings of the Dove)
1996: John Seale (The English Patient) — beat Roger Deakins (Fargo), Caleb Deschanel (Fly Away Home), Chris Menges (Michael Collins), Darius Khondji (Evita)
1995: John Toll (Braveheart) — beat Emmanuel Lubezki (A Little Princess), Yue Lu (Shanghai Triad), Michael Coulter (Sense and Sensibility), Stephen Goldblatt (Batman Forever)
1994: John Toll (Legends of the Fall) — beat Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption), Don Burgess (Forrest Gump), Piotr Sobocinski (Three Colors: Red), Owen Roizman (Wyatt Earp)
1993: Janusz Kaminski (Schindler’s List) — beat Conrad L. Hall (Searching for Bobby Fischer), Michael Chapman (The Fugitive), Stuart Dryburgh (The Piano), Changwei Gu (Farewell My Concubine)
1992: Philippe Rousselot (A River Runs Through It) — beat Jack N. Green (Unforgiven), Tony Pierce-Roberts (Howards End), Stephen H. Burum (Hoffa), Robert Fraisse (The Lover)
1991: Robert Richardson (JFK) — beat Adam Greenberg (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Stephen Goldblatt (The Prince of Tides), Adrian Biddle (Thelma & Louise), Allen Daviau (Bugsy)
1990: Dean Semler (Dances with Wolves) — beat Gordon Willis (The Godfather: Part III), Vittorio Storaro (Dick Tracy), Philippe Rousselot (Henry & June), Allen Daviau (Avalon)
1989: Freddie Francis (Glory) — beat Robert Richardson (Born on the Fourth of July), Haskell Wexler (Blaze), Mikael Salomon (The Abyss), Michael Ballhaus (The Fabulous Baker Boys)
1988: Peter Biziou (Mississippi Burning) — beat Sven Nykvist (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), John Seale (Rain Man), Conrad L. Hall (Tequila Sunrise), Dean Cundey (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
1987: Vittorio Storaro (The Last Emperor) — beat Michael Ballhaus (Broadcast News), Haskell Wexler (Matewan), Philippe Rousselot (Hope and Glory), Allen Daviau (Empire of the Sun)
1986: Chris Menges (The Mission) — beat Robert Richardson (Platoon), Tony Pierce-Roberts (A Room with a View), Jordan Cronenweth (Peggy Sue Got Married), Donald Peterman (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
1985: David Watkin (Out of Africa) — beat Allen Daviau (The Color Purple), John Seale (Witness), Takao Saitô, Shôji Ueda, Asakazu Nakai (Ran), William A. Fraker (Murphy’s Romance)
1984: Chris Menges (The Killing Fields) — beat Caleb Deschanel (The Natural), Ernest Day (A Passage to India), Miroslav Ondricek (Amadeus), Vilmos Zsigmond (The River)
1983: Sven Nykvist (Fanny and Alexander) — beat Caleb Deschanel (The Right Stuff), Gordon Willis (Zelig), William A. Fraker (WarGames), Donald Peterman (Flashdance)
1982: Billy Williams, Ronnie Taylor (Gandhi) — beat Allen Daviau (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), Owen Roizman (Tootsie), Néstor Almendros (Sophie’s Choice), Jost Vacano (Das Boot)
1981: Vittorio Storaro (Reds) — beat Douglas Slocombe (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Billy Williams (On Golden Pond), Miroslav Ondricek (Ragtime), Alex Thomson (Excalibur)
1980: Geoffrey Unsworth, Ghislain Cloquet (Tess) — beat Michael Chapman (Raging Bull), Néstor Almendros (The Blue Lagoon), Ralf D. Bode (Coal Miner’s Daughter), James Crabe (The Formula)
1979: Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) — beat Giuseppe Rotunno (All That Jazz), William A. Fraker (1941), Néstor Almendros (Kramer vs. Kramer), Frank V. Phillips (The Black Hole)
1978: Néstor Almendros (Days of Heaven) — beat Vilmos Zsigmond (The Deer Hunter), William A. Fraker (Heaven Can Wait), Oswald Morris (The Wiz), Robert Surtees (Same Time, Next Year)
1977: Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) — beat Douglas Slocombe (Julia), William A. Fraker (Looking for Mr. Goodbar), Robert Surtees (The Turning Point), Islands in the Stream (Fred J. Koenekamp)
1976: Haskell Wexler (Bound for Glory) — beat Owen Roizman (Network), Ernest Laszlo (Logan’s Run), Robert Surtees (A Star is Born), Richard H. Kline (King Kong)
1975: John Alcott (Barry Lyndon) — beat Haskell Wexler, Bill Butler (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Conrad L. Hall (The Day of the Locust), Robert Surtees (The Hindenburg), James Wong Howe (Funny Lady)
1974: Fred J. Koenekamp, Joseph F. Biroc (The Towering Inferno) — beat John A. Alonzo (Chinatown), Bruce Surtees (Lenny), Geoffrey Unsworth (Murder on the Orient Express), Philip H. Lathrop (Earthquake)
1973: Sven Nykvist (Cries & Whispers) — beat Owen Roizman (The Exorcist), Robert Surtees (The Sting), Harry Stradling Jr. (The Way We Were), Jack Couffer (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
1972: Geoffrey Unsworth (Cabaret) — beat Harold E. Stine (The Poseidon Adventure), Douglas Slocombe (Travels with My Aunt), Harry Stradling Jr. (1776), Charles Lang (Butterflies Are Free)
1971: Oswald Morris (Fiddler on the Roof) — beat Owen Roizman (The French Connection), Robert Surtees (The Last Picture Show), Robert Surtees (Summer of ’42), Freddie Young (Nicholas and Alexandra)
1970: Freddie Young (Ryan’s Daughter) — beat Fred J. Koenekamp (Patton), Ernest Laszlo (Airport), Charles F. Wheeler, Osamu Furuya, Shinsaku Himeda, Masamichi Satoh (Tora! Tora! Tora!), Billy Williams (Women in Love)
1969: Conrad L. Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) — beat Harry Stradling Sr. (Hello, Dolly!), Charles Lang (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice), Arthur Ibbetson (Anne of the Thousand Days), Daniel L. Fapp (Marooned)
1968: Pasqualino De Santis (Romeo and Juliet) — beat Harry Stradling Sr. (Funny Girl), Oswald Morris (Oliver!), Ernest Laszlo (Star!), Daniel L. Fapp (Ice Station Zebra)
1967: Burnett Guffey (Bonnie and Clyde) — beat Robert Surtees (The Graduate), Conrad L. Hall (In Cold Blood), Richard H. Kline (Camelot), Robert Surtees (Doctor Dolittle)
1966 (color): Ted Moore (A Man for All Seasons) — beat Joseph MacDonald (The Sand Pebbles), Ernest Laszlo (Fantastic Voyage), Conrad L. Hall (The Professionals), Russell Harlan (Hawaii)
1966 (black and white): Haskell Wexler (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) — beat Marcel Grignon (Is Paris Burning?), James Wong Howe (Seconds), Kenneth Higgins (Georgy Girl), Joseph LaShelle (The Fortune Cookie)
1965 (color): Freddie Young (Doctor Zhivago) — beat Ted D. McCord (The Sound of Music), Russell Harlan (The Great Race), Leon Shamroy (The Agony and the Ecstasy); William C. Mellor, Loyal Griggs (The Greatest Story Ever Told)
1965 (black and white): Ernest Laszlo (Ship of Fools) — beat Conrad L. Hall (Morituri), Robert Burks (A Patch of Blue), Burnett Guffey (King Rat), Loyal Griggs (In Harm’s Way)
1964 (color): Harry Stradling Sr. (My Fair Lady) — beat Edward Colman (Mary Poppins), Geoffrey Unsworth (Becket), Daniel L. Fapp (The Unsinkable Molly Brown), Cheyenne Autumn (William H. Clothier)
1964 (black and white): Walter Lassally (Zorba the Greek) — beat Joseph F. Biroc (Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte), Milton R. Krasner (Fate Is the Hunter), Philip H. Lathrop (The Americanization of Emily), Gabriel Figueroa (The Night of the Iguana)
1963 (color): Leon Shamroy (Cleopatra) — beat Ernest Laszlo (It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World), William H. Daniels, Milton R. Krasner, Charles Lang, Joseph LaShelle (How the West Was Won), Leon Shamroy (The Cardinal), Joseph LaShelle (Irma la Douce)
1963 (black and white): James Wong Howe (Hud) — beat Ernest Haller (Lilies of the Field), Milton R. Krasner (Love with the Proper Stranger), Lucien Ballard (The Caretakers), George J. Folsey (The Balcony)
1962 (color): Freddie Young (Lawrence of Arabia): — beat Robert Surtees (Mutiny on the Bounty), Harry Stradling Sr. (Gypsy), Russell Harlan (Hatari!), Paul Vogel (The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm)
1962 (black and white): Jean Bourgoin, Walter Wottitz (The Longest Day) — beat Russell Harlan (To Kill a Mockingbird), Ernest Haller (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), Burnett Guffey (Birdman of Alcatraz), Ted D. McCord (Two for the Seesaw)
1961 (color): Daniel L. Fapp (West Side Story) — beat Harry Stradling Sr. (A Majority of One), Charles Lang (One-Eyed Jacks), Jack Cardiff (Fanny), Russell Metty (Flower Drum Song)
1961 (black and white): Eugen Schüfftan (The Hustler) — beat Ernest Laszlo (Judgment at Nuremberg), Edward Colman (The Absent Minded Professor), Franz Planer (The Children’s Hour), Daniel L. Fapp (One, Two, Three)
1960 (color): Russell Metty (Spartacus) — beat Sam Leavitt (Exodus), Joseph Ruttenberg, Charles Harten (BUtterfield 8), William H. Clothier (The Alamo), Joseph MacDonald (Pepe)
1960 (black and white): Freddie Francis (Sons and Lovers) — beat John L. Russell (Psycho), Joseph LaShelle (The Apartment), Ernest Laszlo (Inherit the Wind), Charles Lang (The Facts of Life)
1959 (color): Robert Surtees (Ben-Hur) — beat Daniel L. Fapp (The Five Pennies), Leon Shamroy (Porgy and Bess), Franz Planer (The Nun’s Story), Lee Garmes (The Big Fisherman)
1959 (black and white): William C. Mellor (The Diary of Anne Frank) — beat Charles Lang (Some Like It Hot), Sam Leavitt (Anatomy of a Murder), Joseph LaShelle (Career), Harry Stradling Sr. (The Young Philadelphians)
1958 (color): Joseph Ruttenberg (Gigi) — beat William H. Daniels (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), James Wong Howe (The Old Man and the Sea), Harry Stradling Sr. (Auntie Mame), Leon Shamroy (South Pacific)
1958 (black and white): Sam Leavitt (The Defiant Ones) — beat Daniel L. Fapp (Desire Under the Elms), Joseph MacDonald (The Young Lions), Charles Lang (Separate Tables), Lionel Lindon (I Want to Live!)
1957: Jack Hildyard (The Bridge on the River Kwai) — beat Milton R. Krasner (An Affair to Remember), Ray June (Funny Face), William C. Mellor (Peyton Place), Ellsworth Fredericks (Sayonara)
1956 (color): Lionel Lindon (Around the World in Eighty Days) — beat Loyal Griggs (The Ten Commandments), Harry Stradling Sr. (The Eddy Duchin Story), Leon Shamroy (The King and I), Jack Cardiff (War and Peace)
1956 (black and white): Joseph Ruttenberg (Somebody Up There Likes Me) — beat Harold Rosson (The Bad Seed), Boris Kaufman (Baby Doll), Burnett Guffey (The Harder They Fall), Walter Strenge (Stagecoach to Fury)
1955 (color): Robert Burks (To Catch a Thief) — beat Robert Surtees (Oklahoma!), Leon Shamroy (Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing), Harry Stradling Sr. (Guys and Dolls), Harold Lipstein (A Man Called Peter)
1955 (black and white): James Wong Howe (The Rose Tattoo) — beat Joseph LaShelle (Marty), Charles Lang (Queen Bee), Russell Harlan (Blackboard Jungle), Arthur E. Arling (I’ll Cry Tomorrow)
1954 (color) Milton R. Krasner (Three Coins in the Fountain) — beat Robert Burks (Rear Window), Leon Shamroy (The Egyptian), William V. Skall (The Silver Chalice), George J. Folsey (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
1954 (black and white): Boris Kaufman (On the Waterfront) — beat Charles Lang (Sabrina), George J. Folsey (Executive Suite), John F. Warren (The Country Girl), John F. Seitz (Rogue Cop)
1953 (color): Loyal Griggs (Shane) — beat George J. Folsey (All the Brothers Were Valiant), Leon Shamroy (The Robe), Robert H. Planck (Lili), Edward Cronjager (Beneath the 12-Mile Reef)
1953 (black and white): Burnett Guffey (From Here to Eternity) — beat Franz Planer, Henri Alekan (Roman Holiday), Joseph Ruttenberg (Julius Caesar), Hal Mohr (The Four Poster), Joseph C. Brun (Martin Luther)
1952 (color): Winton C. Hoch, Archie Stout (The Quiet Man) — beat Leon Shamroy (The Snows of Kilimanjaro), George J. Folsey (Million Dollar Mermaid), Harry Stradling Sr. (Hans Christian Andersen), Freddie Young (Ivanhoe)
1952 (black and white): Robert Surtees (The Bad and the Beautiful) — beat Russell Harlan (The Big Sky), Joseph LaShelle (My Cousin Rachel), Virgil Miller (Navajo), Charles Lang (Sudden Fear)
1951 (color): Alfred Gilks, John Alton (An American in Paris) — Leon Shamroy (David and Bathsheba), John F. Seitz, W. Howard Greene (When Worlds Collide), Charles Rosher (Show Boat), Robert Surtees, William V. Skall (Quo Vadis)
1951 (black and white): William C. Mellor (A Place in the Sun) — beat Harry Stradling Sr. (A Streetcar Named Desire), Robert Burks (Strangers on a Train), Franz Planer (Death of a Salesman), Norbert Brodine (The Frogmen)
1950 (color): Robert Surtees (King Solomon’s Mines) — beat Ernest Haller (The Flame and the Arrow), Ernest Palmer (Broken Arrow), Charles Rosher (Annie Get Your Gun), George Barnes (Samson and Delilah)
1950 (black and white): Robert Krasker (The Third Man) — beat Milton R. Krasner (All About Eve), John F. Seitz (Sunset Blvd.), Harold Rosson (The Asphalt Jungle), Victor Milner (The Furies)
1949 (color): Winton C. Hoch (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon) — beat Harry Stradling Sr. (The Barkleys of Broadway), Charles G. Clarke (Sand), Robert H. Planck, Charles Edgar Schoenbaum (Little Women), William E. Snyder (Jolson Sings Again)
1949 (black and white): Paul Vogel (Battleground) — beat Leo Tover (The Heiress), Franz Planer (Champion), Leon Shamroy (Prince of Foxes), Joseph LaShelle (Come to the Stable)
1948 (color): Joseph A. Valentine, William V. Skall, Winton C. Hoch (Joan of Arc) — beat Robert H. Planck (The Three Musketeers), Charles G. Clarke (Green Grass of Wyoming), William E. Snyder (The Loves of Carmen)
1948 (black and white): William H. Daniels (The Naked City) — Ted D. McCord (Johnny Belinda), Charles Lang (A Foreign Affair), Joseph D. August (Portrait of Jennie), Nicholas Musuraca (I Remember Mama)
1947 (color): Jack Cardiff (Black Narcissus) — beat J. Peverell Marley, William V. Skall (Life with Father), Harry Jackson (Mother Wore Tights)
1947 (black and white): Guy Green (Great Expectations) — beat Charles Lang (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir), George J. Folsey (Green Dolphin Street)
1946 (color): Charles Rosher, Leonard Smith, Arthur E. Arling (The Yearling) — beat Joseph Walker (The Jolson Story)
1946 (black and white): Arthur C. Miller (Anna and the King of Siam) — beat George J. Folsey (The Green Years)
1945 (color): Leon Shamroy (Leave Her to Heaven) — beat Leonard Smith (National Velvet), Robert H. Planck, Charles P. Boyle (Anchors Aweigh), Tony Gaudio, Allen M. Davey (A Song to Remember), George Barnes (The Spanish Main)
1945 (black and white): Harry Stradling Sr. (The Picture of Dorian Gray) — beat George Barnes (Spellbound), Ernest Haller (Mildred Pierce), John F. Seitz (The Lost Weekend), Arthur C. Miller (The Keys of the Kingdom)
1944 (color): Leon Shamroy (Wilson) — beat George J. Folsey (Meet Me in St. Louis), Rudolph Maté, Allen M. Davey (Cover Girl), Charles Rosher (Kismet), Ray Rennahan (Lady in the Dark), Edward Cronjager (Home in Indiana)
1944 (black and white): Joseph LaShelle (Laura) — beat John F. Seitz (Double Indemnity), Joseph Ruttenberg (Gaslight), Lionel Lindon (Going My Way), Glen MacWilliams (Lifeboat), Robert Surtees, Harold Rosson (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo), George J. Folsey (The White Cliffs of Dover), Charles Lang (The Uninvited), Sidney Wagner (Dragon Seed), Stanley Cortez, Lee Garmes (Since You Went Away)
1943 (color): Hal Mohr, W. Howard Greene (Phantom of the Opera) — beat Leonard Smith (Lassie Come Home), George J. Folsey (Thousands Cheer), Ray Rennahan (For Whom the Bell Tolls), Edward Cronjager (Heaven Can Wait), Charles G. Clarke, Allen M. Davey (Hello Frisco, Hello)
1943 (black and white): Arthur C. Miller (The Song of Bernadette) — beat Arthur Edeson (Casablanca), James Wong Howe (The North Star), John F. Seitz (Five Graves to Cairo), Harry Stradling Sr. (The Human Comedy), Joseph Ruttenberg (Madame Curie), Rudolph Maté (Sahara), James Wong Howe, Elmer Dyer, Charles A. Marshall (Air Force), Tony Gaudio (Corvette K-225), Charles Lang (So Proudly We Hail!)
1942 (color): Leon Shamroy (The Black Swan) — beat Edward Cronjager, William V. Skall (To the Shores of Tripoli), Sol Polito (Captains of the Clouds), W. Howard Greene (Jungle Book), Milton R. Krasner, William V. Skall, W. Howard Greene (Arabian Nights), Victor Milner, William V. Skall (Reap the Wild Wind)
1942 (black and white): Joseph Ruttenberg (Mrs. Miniver) — beat Rudolph Maté (The Pride of the Yankees), Stanley Cortez (The Magnificent Ambersons), Ted Tetzlaff (The Talk of the Town), Edward Cronjager (The Pied Piper), Charles G. Clarke (Moontide), James Wong Howe (Kings Row), Leon Shamroy (Ten Gentlemen from West Point), Arthur C. Miller (This Above All), John J. Mescall (Take a Letter, Darling)
1941 (color): Ernest Palmer, Ray Rennahan (Blood and Sand) — beat William V. Skall, Leonard Smith (Billy the Kid), Bert Glennon (Dive Bomber), Harry Hallenberger, Ray Rennahan (Louisiana Purchase), Wilfred M. Cline, Karl Struss, William E. Snyder (Aloma of the South Seas), Karl Freund, W. Howard Greene (Blossoms in the Dust)
1941 (black and white): Arthur C. Miller (How Green Was My Valley) — beat Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane), Sol Polito (Sergeant York), Charles Lang (Sundown), Leo Tover (Hold Back the Dawn), Joseph Walker (Here Comes Mr. Jordan), Karl Freund (The Chocolate Soldier), Joseph Ruttenberg (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Edward Cronjager (Sun Valley Serenade), Rudolph Maté (That Hamilton Woman)
1940 (color): Georges Périnal (The Thief of Bagdad) — beat Arthur C. Miller, Ray Rennahan (The Blue Bird), Oliver T. Marsh, Allen M. Davey (Bitter Sweet), Northwest Passage (Sidney Wagner, William V. Skall), Leon Shamroy, Ray Rennahan (Down Argentine Way), Victor Milner, W. Howard Greene (North West Mounted Police)
1940 (black and white): George Barnes (Rebecca) — beat James Wong Howe (Abe Lincoln in Illinois), Harold Rosson (Boom Town), Gregg Toland (The Long Voyage Home), Joseph Ruttenberg (Waterloo Bridge), Tony Gaudio (The Letter), Charles Lang (Arise, My Love), Ernest Haller (All This, and Heaven Too), Rudolph Maté (Foreign Correspondent), Joseph A. Valentine (Spring Parade)
1939 (color): Ernest Haller, Ray Rennahan (Gone With the Wind) — beat Harold Rosson (The Wizard of Oz), Sol Polito, W. Howard Greene (The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex), William V. Skall (The Mikado), Ray Rennahan, Bert Glennon (Drums Along the Mohawk), Georges Périnal, Osmond Borradaile (The Four Feathers)
1939 (black and white): Gregg Toland (Wuthering Heights) — beat Bert Glennon (Stagecoach), Joseph A. Valentine (First Love), Joseph H. August (Gunga Din), Gregg Toland (Intermezzo: A Love Story), Tony Gaudio (Juarez), Joseph Walker (Only Angels Have Wings), Arthur C. Miller (The Rains Came), Victor Milner (The Great Victor Herbert), Norbert Brodine (Lady of the Tropics)
1938: Joseph Ruttenberg (The Great Waltz) — beat Ernest Haller (Jezebel), Victor Milner (The Buccaneer), Joseph Walker (You Can’t Take It With You), Leon Shamroy (The Young in Heart), James Wong Howe (Algiers), Robert De Grasse (Vivacious Lady), Ernest Miller, Harry J. Wild (Army Girl), Joseph A. Valentine (Mad About Music), J. Peverell Marley (Suez), Norbert Brodine (Merrily We Live)
1937: Karl Freund (The Good Earth) — beat Gregg Toland (Dead End), Joseph A. Valentine (Wings Over Honolulu)
1936: Tony Gaudio (Anthony Adverse) — beat George J. Folsey (The Gorgeous Hussy), Victor Milner (The General Died at Dawn)
1935: Hal Mohr (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) — beat Gregg Toland (Les Misérables), Ray June (Barbary Coast), Victor Milner (The Crusades)
1934: Victor Milner (Cleopatra) — beat George J. Folsey (Operator 13), Charles Rosher (The Affairs of Cellini)
Aug. 1, 1932-Dec. 31, 1933: Charles Lang (A Farewell to Arms) — beat George J. Folsey (Reunion in Vienna), Karl Struss (The Sign of the Cross)
Aug. 1, 1931-July 31, 1932: Lee Garmes (Shanghai Express) — beat Karl Struss (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Ray June (Arrowsmith)
Aug. 1, 1930-July 31, 1931: Floyd Crosby (Tabu: A Story of the South Seas) — beat Edward Cronjager (Cimarron), Charles Lang (The Right to Love), Barney McGill (Svengali), Lee Garmes (Morocco)
Aug. 1, 1929-July 31, 1930: Joseph T. Rucker, Willard Van der Veer (With Byrd at the South Pole) — beat Arthur Edeson (All Quiet on the Western Front), Victor Milner (The Love Parade), William H. Daniels (Anna Christie), Tony Gaudio, Harry Perry (Hell’s Angels)
Aug. 1, 1928-July 31, 1929: Clyde De Vinna (White Shadows in the South Seas) — beat John F. Seitz (The Divine Lady), Arthur Edeson (In Old Arizona), Ernest Palmer (Street Angel), Ernest Palmer (4 Devils), George Barnes (Our Dancing Daughters)
1927-28: Charles Rosher, Karl Struss (Sunrise) — beat George Barnes (The Devil Dancer), George Barnes (The Magic Flame), George Barnes (Sadie Thompson)
