Colin Watkinson

Biography

Colin Watkinson is a British cinematographer and director of photography whose career in the film industry began in 1989. He initially worked in visual effects before progressing through the camera department as a clapper loader and focus puller, eventually becoming a director of photography.

Watkinson gained major recognition for his cinematography on Tarsem Singh's visually distinctive fantasy film The Fall (2006). His work on the film earned him the 2008 Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography, along with nominations from several other critics' organizations.

He subsequently worked on television productions including Entourage and Emerald City. He photographed all 10 episodes of the first season of Hulu's acclaimed dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale (2017), helping establish the show's distinctive visual style.

His work on The Handmaid's Tale earned him the 2017 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) for the pilot episode, Offred. He received further Emmy nominations in 2018 and 2019 and won an American Society of Cinematographers Award in 2020.

Watkinson has also served as a cinematographer on Luckiest Girl Alive (2022), Truth Be Told, The Power (2023), and Alien: Earth (2025). He photographed two episodes of Amazon's The Power, another collaboration in the science-fiction genre.

In addition to cinematography, Watkinson made his directing debut on The Handmaid's Tale, directing three episodes during the series' third season. He is a member of both the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC).

With a career spanning film, television, commercials, music videos, and visual effects, Colin Watkinson is particularly recognized for The Fall, The Handmaid's Tale, Emerald City, The Power, and Alien: Earth.