(October 16, 1892 – May 30, 1953) was an American cinematographer active from the era of silent films to the early 1950s.

Over the course of his career, Barnes was nominated for an Academy Award eight times, including for his work on The Devil Dancer (1927) with Gilda Gray and Clive Brook.

"Barnes’ photographic interpretation of Rebecca is the sort of thing to which his fellow cinematographers may point, as indeed they did in bestowing upon it the industry's premiere Award, as a complete example of what truly great camerawork can mean to a production".

He was married to Elizabeth "Betty" Wood from 1936 to 1938; they had a son named George Carlton Barnes (born December 18, 1937).

[3] At the 13th Awards Banquet of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Barnes was proclaimed the winner of the 1940 Academy Award for the year's best black-and-white cinematography in recognition of his skill in filming Rebecca.