Michael Kotschi trained as a carpenter, worked as an architectural photographer and went on to study cinematography at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (dffb) from 2000 to 2006. Among his teachers were Michael Ballhaus, Hans Fromm, Sophie Maintigneux and Rali Raltchev.

Since 2003, he has been working as a cinematographer on feature films and documentaries in Germany and internationally. His early collaborations with director Bastian Günther quickly gained international attention: Ende einer Strecke (2005) received the First Steps Award, while Houston (2012) premiered in the World Dramatic Competition at Sundance and screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Kotschi has continued to work regularly with Günther ever since. Their collaborations include California City and One of These Days (2019), for which Kotschi received nominations for both the Deutscher Kamerapreis and the Deutscher Filmpreis (LOLA) for Best Cinematography.

Kotschi has been nominated three times for the Deutscher Kamerapreis and won the award in 2021 for Fremde Tochter, directed by longtime collaborator Stephan Lacant. Their work together also includes Toter Winkel, which received an International Emmy nomination, and Oktoberfest 1905, winner of the Bernd Burgemeister Fernsehpreis for Best Series at Filmfest München 2025. Further acclaimed projects include the documentary Glücksritterinnen, winner of Best Documentary at Achtung Berlin, and Wagenknecht, which screened in the Berlinale section Perspektive Deutsches Kino.

A member of both the German Society of Cinematographers (BVK) and the German Film Academy (DFA), Michael Kotschi is based in Berlin and works internationally across Europe, Africa and North America.