Besides his frequent collaborations with Gus Van Sant, David Fincher, Noah Baumbach and Sofia Coppola, Savides was known for the very delicate images that he created for "The Yards" (directed by James Gray) and "Birth" (directed by Jonathan Glazer). In both instances he underexposed the filmstock by several stops in order to break up the colors and give the blacks a purplish and brownish tint. This non-conventional approach lead to a look that resembles the paintings of Georges de La Tour and Caravaggio.