Cloquet married into the Becker filmmaking family (which included directors Jacques and Jean, cinematographer Étienne, and actress Françoise Fabian), when he wed Jacques Becker's daughter Sophie, then a script girl.
He shot Jacques Becker's last film, Le Trou, and then worked several times with Becker's son Jean, who was also Cloquet's brother-in-law.
Cloquet is known for his work with Robert Bresson, though he also collaborated with Claude Sautet, Jacques Demy, André Delvaux, Chris Marker, and Marguerite Duras.