Throughout history, there have been many captivating shots in cinema that inventively visualise the stories they are illustrating, thoroughly enthralling the audience in their stories by combing imaginative framing/composition with an attractive colour palette and exceptional lighting. Some shots even go so far as to convey the narrative behind a certain character, item or location merely through a single image, becoming commemorated in the annuals of cinema for decades to come. Here are a few of my personal favourites…

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – Cinematographer, Roger Deakins

The Matrix (1999) – Cinematographer, Bill Pope

Jaws (1975) – Cinematographer, Bill Butler

Psycho (1960) – Cinematographer, John L. Russell

Pulp Fiction (1994) – Cinematographer, Andrzej Sekula

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Cinematographer, Douglas Slocombe

The Revenant (2016) – Cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki

American Beauty (1999) – Cinematographer, Conrad Hall

Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) – Cinematographer, Robert Richardson

Don’t Breathe (2016) – Cinematographer, Pedro Luque

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) – Cinematographer, Ben Davis

Annihilation (2018) – Cinematographers, Rob Hardy and Robert Hardy

Interstellar (2014) – Cinematographer, Hoyte Van Hoytema

American Psycho (2000) – Cinematographer, Andrzej Sekuła

The Shape of Water (2017) – Cinematographer, Dan Laustsen

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – Cinematographer, Allen Daviau

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Cinematographers, Geoffrey Unsworth and John Alcott

The Road (2009) – Cinematographer, Javier Aguirresarobe

Life of Pi (2012) – Cinematographer, Claudio Miranda

Fight Club (1999) – Cinematographer, Jeff Cronenweth

The Shining (1980) – Cinematographers, John Alcott and Martin Kenzie

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) – Cinematographer, Bill Pope

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – Cinematographer, Jacques Haitkin

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) – Cinematographer, Andrew Lesnie

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) – Cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki