His first known credit was as cinematographer on the documentary film "Born on the Fourth of July" in 1985. His second major work was ' (1989), followed by ', which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (his camera work was called "intrusive" by one reviewer). He next worked on the 1991 documentary "Where Are We? Our Trip Through America" (1992) which followed gay filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman as they went from small town to small town, interviewing local people. "Newsday" said, "The film owes much of its success to director of photography Jean De Segonzac, whose alert camera takes in such eccentric details as a copy of "The New Sweden" on the coffee table of a model mobile home and a kitten lapping water from a miniature kidney-shaped pool.