Kevin Cummins was born in Manchester (UK) on 19 August 1961. After studying photography for four years in Salford, Kevin embarked on a career that was to encompass a wide range of photographic work. The burgeoning punk scene in Manchester dominated his early work and he quickly became one of the premier documentary photographers of the era.

He then started working with Manchester’s prestigious Royal Exchange Theatre and was soon in demand by major theatre companies across the UK, most notably: The Royal Opera House, The Royal Northern Ballet, The Liverpool Playhouse and The Oxford Playhouse. Kevin was instrumental in establishing City Life, Manchester’s ‘what’s on’ guide and was a founding contributor to the magazine The Face.

Since moving to London in 1987, Kevin has contributed to many major UK publications, including: The Times, The Observer, The Guardian, Esquire, Maxim, Elle, Vogue, Mojo, FourFourTwo, Sleaze Nation and The Big Issue.

He spent 10 years as the chief photographer for New Musical Express – the world’s biggest selling rock weekly. During this time he also did a session with Kate Bush, in September 1989. For the NME 50th anniversary, Liam Gallagher and Richard Ashcroft each chose two of Kevin’s NME cover photographs as the best iconic rock and roll images and most defining moments of their generation.

In 2008 Kevin was invited to become a founder member of the World Photography Academy and to sit on the judging panel for the Sony World Photography Awards.

In 2015 Cummins was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Arts) by Manchester Metropolitan University.