He is known for his work with directors including Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, James L. Brooks, and Wolfgang Petersen.

[4] Ballhaus came to prominence for his work with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder on films including Whity (1971), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Chinese Roulette (1976) and The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978).

After settling in the United States, he worked on American films such as Baby It's You (1983) for John Sayles; Old Enough (1984) for Marisa Silver; Under the Cherry Moon (1986) for Prince; After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York (2002) and The Departed (2006) for Martin Scorsese; Broadcast News (1987) and I'll Do Anything (1994) for James L. Brooks; The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) for Steve Kloves; Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) for Francis Ford Coppola; Sleepers (1996) for Barry Levinson; and Wild Wild West (1999) for Barry Sonnenfeld.

[5] Ballhaus was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, for his work on Broadcast News, The Fabulous Baker Boys and Gangs of New York, but never won.

Ballhaus was married to actress and art director Helga Maria Betten from 1958 until her death in 2006.