Michael Kirby Smith is an Emmy-winning filmmaker and photographer who has worked exstensively with The New York Times as a photographer and senior video journalist. He has served as a director of photography on numerous feature and episodic films for both documentary and commercial clients. Michael's photography has been published by The New York Times, National Geographic Magazine, TIME Magazine, FADER, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

As a director and cinematographer, he has collaborated with organizations including The New Yorker, PBS Frontline, National Geographic Explorer, Rolling Stone, Netflix, Vice, Human Rights Watch, Patagonia, and the United Nations. Michael’s work has been recognized by the Emmy Awards (2021); the Sundance Institute (grantee, 2019); American Photography (2019); the Jonathan Logan Foundation (grantee, 2017 & 2018); the Fund for Investigative Journalism (grantee, 2016); the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting (grantee, 2014); the City of New York (2012); and the World Press Joop Swart Masterclass (nominee, 2012). 

In addition to filmmaking, Michael continues collaborations with artists, helping create their work. Projects have been shown at venues such as the MOMA, Tate Modern, Greene Naftali, the Museum of the City of New York, the Blanton Museum of Art, and the Arsenal Gallery. He holds a degree in studio art with a focus on photography and video art from the University of Texas at Austin.