An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Karthik Ganesh has rolled the camera for several commercials, documentaries, TV shows and Bollywood movies. He debuted in Hindi cinema with the action thriller Aurangzeb (2013), which stars Arjun Kapoor in the lead role. Since then, Ganesh has served as a cinematographer in indie movies like Rahenge Sadaa Gardish Mein Taare (2017), Side A Side B (2017) and Scavenger`s Daughter (2017).

In 2019, he helmed the camera department for the black comedy-drama Bombairiya, which stars Radhika Apte in the lead role. His 2021 project includes the horror film The Wife.