Jon Fauer attended schools in Switzerland, graduated from Collegiate School in New York, and received degrees in art and film from Dartmouth College. He studied under Andrew Laszlo, ASC, Maurice Rapf, Joseph Losey, and Arthur Mayer.

At Dartmouth he began making medical films as part of his pre-med program, discovered he enjoyed film more than medicine, and, using short-ends to shoot ski films and dramatic short subjects, decided to make a career of it.

His first major film, Wildwater, commissioned by U.S. Kayak Team coach Jay Evans, featured the World Whitewater Championships in Merano, Italy. That film, and the numerous awards it won, led to documentaries around the world in the jungles of Guatemala, the mountains of New Zealand, and the Altiplano of Bolivia; from the North Pole for American Sportsman to the Chesapeake for National Geographic. His work led to membership in The Explorers Club of New York.

Documentary camerawork led to feature films and TV commercials. Among other credits, Fauer was Director of Photography on Tales from the Darkside and the title sequence for Bonfire of the Vanities; camera operator on Splash and St. Elmo's Fire; 2nd Unit Director of Photography on All the Right Moves and Remo Williams.

He has directed and shot hundreds of commercials worldwide. His work includes major campaigns for Sears, Canon, US Coast Guard, Snickers, Mercedes, Buick, Pontiac, Sony, and MCI, featuring the likes of Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lee Iacocca, Naomi Campbell, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Luis Garcia, John McEnroe, and Jesse the Chimpanzee.

He is a member of the Explorers Club, Directors Guild of America, International Cinematographers Guild and the American Society of Cinematographers.