The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography is one of several categories presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago. Since the 3rd Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (1990), the award is presented annually. Nominations from 1991 to 1994 are not available. The first Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography went to

Dean Semler Dean Semler ACS ASC (born 26 May 1943) is an Australian cinematographer and film director. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director. He is a three-time recip ...

for his work on ''

Dances with Wolves ''Dances with Wolves'' is a 1990 American epic western film starring, directed, and produced by Kevin Costner in his feature directorial debut. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 novel '' Dances with Wolves'' by Michael Blake that tells the ...

''. The most recent recipient of this award is Ari Wegner for '' The Power of the Dog''.

Roger Deakins Sir Roger Alexander Deakins (born 24 May 1949) 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 Cinema ...

is the cinematographer with the most nominations (13); those have resulted in the most wins (4).

Emmanuel Lubezki Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern (; born November 30, 1964) is a Mexican cinematographer. He sometimes goes by the nickname Chivo, which means "goat" in Spanish. Lubezki has worked with many acclaimed directors, including Mike Nichols, Tim Burton, ...

also has four wins, but from eight nominations. Robert Richardson has eight nominations, which have resulted in two wins. Other notable achievers include

Janusz Kamiński Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and director of film and television. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his films since 1993. He won the Academy Aw ...

(9 nominations, 1 win) and

Michael Ballhaus Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (5 August 1935 – 12 April 2017) was a German cinematographer who collaborated with directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols and James L. Brooks. He was a member of both the Academy of A ...

(4 nominations, 1 win). Six cinematographers have been nominated multiple times, but never received the award. These include

Conrad Hall Conrad Lafcadio Hall, (June 21, 1926 – January 4, 2003) was a French Polynesian-born American cinematographer. Named after writers Joseph Conrad and Lafcadio Hearn, he was best known for photographing such films as ''In Cold Blood'', ''Co ...

Robert Elswit Robert Christopher Elswit, (born April 22, 1950) is an American cinematographer. He has collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson on six of his films and won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for ''There Will Be Blood''. Elswit has also col ...

, and

Claudio Miranda Claudio Miranda, () is a Chilean cinematographer. He is best known for his work on Ang Lee's film '' Life of Pi'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and for David Fincher's film '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' ...

;

Mandy Walker Mandy Walker (born 1963) is an Australian cinematographer who has been Director of Photography on major Hollywood films including ''Mulan'', ''Hidden Figures'' and ''Elvis''. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Q ...

was the first female cinematographer to have received a nomination for the award. The 16th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2003) saw all 15 cinematographers who worked on ''

Winged Migration ''Winged Migration'' (french: Le Peuple Migrateur, also known as ''The Travelling Birds'' in some UK releases, or ''The Travelling Birds: An Adventure in Flight'' in Australia) is a 2001 documentary film directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel De ...

'' nominated for Best Cinematography, while the 17th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2004) was the first to result in a tie. In 2007, Deakins received two nominations for his work on '' The Assassination of Jesse James'' and ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, th ...

'', the first time a cinematographer has been nominated twice in one year.

Winner and nominees

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

References

;General * * ;Specific {{CFCA Awards Chron Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Awards for best cinematography Awards established in 1990