Kevin Cummins was born in Manchester and studied photography in Salford. He is a respected music and portrait photographer. His career began when he started photographing rock bands in the mid-1970s. He went on to document the growing punk scene in Manchester and worked with the New Musical Express (NME) for 25 years, including 10 years as the newspaper’s chief photographer. He was a founding contributor to The Face magazine and instrumental in setting up City Life, the what’s on guide for Manchester. He moved to London in 1987 and began to work with major UK publications, including The Times, The Observer, The Guardian, Esquire, Maxim, Elle, Vogue and Mojo.

He has worked with major theatres across the UK, including Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre, The Royal Opera House, The Royal Northern Ballet, The Liverpool Playhouse and The Oxford Playhouse.

In 1986, he worked on a commission from Wigan Heritage Centre, photographing contemporary life in Wigan. In 1987, he worked on a commission from Salford City Art Gallery to photograph 40 famous Salfordians to celebrate the LS Lowry centenary. This work was shortlisted for the Fox Talbot photographic award. In 2002, Cummins recorded the final year of Manchester City Football Club at their Maine Road ground. These images were published in August 2003 in the book ‘We’re Not Really Here’.

His work is found in the collections of The National Portrait Gallery, The V&A and the National Science and Media Museum, and has been exhibited around the world.

Cummins was a founder member, in 2008, of the World Photography Academy and, in the same year, sat on the judging panel for the Sony World Photography Awards.

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