Alan Stewart studied advertising and industrial photography at Glasgow’s College of Printing, graduating in 1984. During his final year, working with 16mm film sparked his interest in filmmaking. He entered the industry as a camera trainee on a drama production photographed by Scottish cinematographer Mark Littlewood, then progressed through the camera department as a clapper loader, focus puller and camera operator.
Based in Scotland during the early part of his career, Stewart worked on commercials, documentaries, music videos and films, gaining experience alongside cinematographers including Ellen Kuras and Seamus McGarvey. He moved to England in the mid-1990s and was jointly nominated for a BAFTA Television Award in 1998 for his work on the BBC drama series Holding On. He subsequently worked as a camera operator and second-unit cinematographer on major productions, including Band of Brothers (2001), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Inkheart (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Pan (2015) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).
Stewart’s work as a principal director of photography includes Aladdin (2019), directed by Guy Ritchie, which marked his move into cinematography on a major Hollywood studio feature. He continued collaborating with Ritchie on The Gentlemen (2019), Wrath of Man (2021) and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023). His other feature credits include Tom & Jerry (2021), directed by Tim Story, and The Union (2024), directed by Julian Farino.