He was inspired to become a cinematographer after stumbling onto the set of Is Paris Burning?, where he was spontaneously recruited by the crew to drag cables for camera and lighting equipment.
[3] While attending the University of California, San Diego as physics major, he took an elective film-watching class called "Thursday Night at the Movies."
Since 2014, Boyd has focused more on directing, and has served as both a regular and guest directors on shows including Once Upon a Time, Sleepy Hollow, The Night Shift, Shades of Blue, and The Mist.
For much of his early career, Boyd worked as a camera operator on B-horror movies like Evilspeak, Ghoulies, From Beyond, Prison, Return of the Living Dead Part II, and DeepStar Six.
Boyd had a cameo role in Puppet Master, a film on which he served as assistant camera operator, alongside his then-wife Barbara Crampton.
The following year, he shot the Renny Harlin-helmed action film 12 Rounds and the period drama Get Low starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Bill Murray.