Largely due to his ability to work fast and with minimal (natural) lighting, and his use of hand-held cameras, Coutard was the most popular cinematographer among New Wave directors. Though he shot 14 films with Godard over a highly experimental eight-year period, he was also known for his ability to adapt himself to numerous directorial styles. Stand-outs of his nouvelle vague period include the richly textured black-and-white of Francois Truffaut's "Jules and Jim" (1962), the bleak grays of Godard's "Alphaville" (1965), the overwrought color of Godard's "Contempt" (1963; in which he appears)