Savides first solo job as a Cinematographer was on the thriller starring Alec Baldwin, Heaven's Prisoners (1996) directed by Phil Joanou. Before that film, he served as a Cinematographer on a TV short film entitled The Investigator (1994) directed by Matthew Tabak and a TV movie Lake Consequence (1993) directed by Rafael Eisenman. One of his earliest jobs was being the Director of photography on a workout video from Cindy Crawford.
Savides also won a "Best Cinematographer" New York Film Critics Circle award in 2003 for his cinematography work in Gerry and Elephant. Savides was also nominated five times for Best Cinematographer in the Independent Spirit Awards for his cinematography in Gerry, Elephant, Last Days, Milk and Greenberg. In 2007, Savides was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Cinematography for Zodiac. In 2008, Savides was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Cinematographer in American Gangster. In 2011, Savides was nominated for a Best Cinematography National Society of Film Critics Award for his cinematography work in Somewhere.
