While studying in Bath, Deakins developed a passion for photography; he cited the photographer Roger Mayne, a guest lecturer at the academy, as a major source of inspiration.

[4][6] After college, Deakins applied to the newly opened National Film School, but was denied admission as his photography was considered not "filmic" enough.

He spent the following year wandering the countryside, photographing rural life in North Devon, before finally being admitted to the National Film School in 1972.

He also made short music videos for Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Marvin Gaye, Tracey Ullman, Madness, Level 42 and Meat Loaf.

[8] Deakins's first dramatic project was a miniseries titled Wolcott, about a black detective working in the East End of London.

The camerawork of the miniseries impressed his former schoolmate and frequent collaborator Michael Radford, who enlisted Deakins for their first dramatic feature, the 1983 film Another Time, Another Place.

[7] The film was praised for its bold, unusual palette,[4] which Deakins achieved through a process known as bleach bypass, where the silver is retained in the print, creating a washed-out look that reflected Orwell's bleak vision.

The Coens had been impressed with Deakins's work, and reached out to him after their previous collaborator Barry Sonnenfeld left to pursue a career in directing.

(2000), Deakins spent some two months fine-tuning the look, turning the lush green Mississippi landscape into a burnt, autumnal yellow and desaturating the overall image.

This feat made O Brother the first ever feature film to be digitally color-corrected in its entirety,[11] and earned Deakins his fourth Academy Award nomination.

[12] The following year, for his work in the Coen brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Deakins received his fifth Oscar nomination[13] and won his first BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography.

[14] In 2008, Deakins received dual Oscar nominations—his sixth and seventh—for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and No Country for Old Men (2007).

[15] Deakins served as director of photography for Stephen Daldry's The Reader (2008) but left mid-production due to delays and previous commitments, and was replaced by Chris Menges.

[17] Deakins signed on as cinematographer for Skyfall (2012), having previously worked with director Sam Mendes on Jarhead (2005) and Revolutionary Road (2008).

[3][4] Since April 2020 he and his wife have hosted the Team Deakins podcast, whose guests have included Sam Mendes, John Crowley, and Denis Villeneuve.

[3] He was hired to shoot The Shawshank Redemption at the insistence of Tim Robbins, who had previously worked with him on the Coen brothers film The Hudsucker Proxy.