Patrick-D. Kaethner spent his childhood and youth in West Berlin, experiencing the fall of the Berlin Wall and the transformation of the city as a teenager.
After completing his Abitur, he entered the film industry as an assistant camera operator, where he discovered his passion for cinematography.
Following various camera internships (on set, technical equipment rental, and film lab), he worked as a 2nd and 1st camera assistant, becoming a camera operator and 2nd unit cinematographer from 1998 onwards.
From 2001 to 2018, Patrick-D. Kaethner worked as a freelance Steadicam operator after attending a workshop in Philadelphia/Chester Springs with Steadicam inventor Garret Brown.
Since 2011, he has also worked as a cinematographer.
As of 2018, he exclusively works as a cinematographer.
He participated in various camera and screenplay workshops and further education, including sessions with Slawomir Idziak and Karl-Walter Lindenlaub.
Over the past 24 years, Patrick-D. Kaethner has contributed to over 180 film and TV productions, including "The Pianist" and "The Ghostwriter" (Roman Polanski), "The Reader" (Stephen Daldry), "Famous Five" and "Famous Five 2" (Mike Marzuk), "WhoAmI – No System is Safe" (Baran Bo Odar), "His Last Race" (Kilian Riedhof), "You Are Wanted" Season 1 and 2 (Matthias Schweighöfer/Bernhard Jasper), "Dark" (Baran Bo Odar), "Bad Banks" (Christian Schwochow), and "Takeover" (Florian Ross).
His previous filming locations spanned the globe, including Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Romania, Malta, Austria, and Germany.
Patrick-D. Kaethner is fluent in German and English, with basic knowledge of French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
He is one of the founding members of the non-profit association "Kinderhilfe Fortaleza" e.V.