Sreeram is known for his association with Bharathan, Mani Ratnam, R Balki, Vikram Kumar, and received critical acclaim for his work in films such as Thevar Magan, Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Cheeni Kum, Agni Natchathiram, Paa, Geethanjali, Alaipayuthey, I, Pad Man, O Kadhal Kanmani, Thiruda Thiruda, Ishq, and Remo.

[3] He had a passion for photography and after many years of struggle[clarification needed] he joined the Madras Film Institute to pursue a course in cinematography.

[3][4][5] The "Samco" group, which included Kamal Haasan, C. Rudhraiya, Santhana Bharathi, Radharavi, R. C. Sakthi, Mani Ratnam, and a few others, used to meet at a hotel in Chennai and share their knowledge of cinema and future ambitions of making a perfect film.

His niece Preetha Jayaraman, a cinematographer in the Tamil film industry, was inspired to her calling largely by her uncle's work in the field.

[7] Sreeram received his diploma in motion picture photography from the Madras Film Institute in 1979,[8] and made his cinematic debut in the early 1980s.

[1] One of his earlier works, Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai (1985), won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director in 1984.

[4] It was showcased at the Rotterdam International Film Festival under the category "Director in Focus" eight years after its release.

[14][13] He has mentored some of the prominent cinematographers in the Indian film industry including Jeeva,[9] M. S. Prabhu, Ramji, Chezhiyan, Fowzia Fathima, Mahesh Muthuswami, Dwaraganath, Arun Vincent, Preetha Jayaraman, K. V. Anand,[15] Tirru,[16] Balasubramaniem, K. V. Guhan, Nirav Shah, Sivakumar Vijayan, Tanveer Mir, Vivekanand Santhosham, Sathyan Sooryan, and Arvind Krishna.