Academy Award for Best Cinematography
American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cinematography
BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography
CableACE Award for Direction of Photography and/or Lighting Direction for a Dramatic or Theatrical Special/Movie or Miniseries
Camerimage Golden Frog Award
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
(For episode "The War Between The Classes")
Houston Film Critics Society for Best Cinematography
Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
International Online Cinema Awards for Best Cinematography
International Online Film Critics' Poll Award for Best Cinematography
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer
New York Film Critics Online for Best Cinematography
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
St. Louis Film Critics Association
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
Elswit has cited early independent filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence. Elswit is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant in the 1970s.
Elswit was born in California. An early short film he worked on, was a 1982 TV adaptation of the Ray Bradbury short story All Summer in a Day.
Elswit received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography in 2006 for his work on the movie Good Night, and Good Luck. He lost that Oscar to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha. Two years later, Elswit would again be nominated and this time win the Oscar for Best Cinematography, for his work on There Will Be Blood.
Elswit is a fierce defender of shooting with film, and whenever possible refuses to use digital cameras. Images shot digitally, he says, have "no texture, no grain." He’d eventually start shooting in digital, starting with Nightcrawler.
