The son of writer James Norman Hall, Hall attended the University of Southern California intending to study journalism but drifted instead to the university's cinema school, from which he graduated in 1949. He worked on documentaries, in television (The Outer Limits) and minor films (including cult classic Incubus), and as a studio camera operator before moving up to cinematographer in major studio films in the mid 1960s.
Hall died due to complications from bladder cancer. His son, Conrad W. Hall, is also a cinematographer.