Richards was born and grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts.^[1]

He received a BA in English from Northeastern University then studied photography at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, supervised by Minor White.^[1]

During the 1960s, Richards was a civil rights activist and VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteer.^[1]

His first book was Few Comforts or Surprises (1973), a depiction of rural poverty in Arkansas. His second book, the self-published Dorchester Days (1978), set in Dorchester, Massachusetts is "an angry, bitter book", both political and personal.^[6] Gerry Badger writes that "[Richards's] involvement with the people he is photographing is total, and he is one of the best of photojournalists in getting that across, often helped by his own prose".^[6]

Richards founded Many Voices Press to publish his books, beginning with Dorchester Days.^[5] He was invited to join Magnum Photos in 1978, where he remained until 1995, then rejoined in 2002 for three more years.^[1][5] He joined VII Photo Agency in 2006.^[7] He lives in Brooklyn, New York.^[2]

• Few Comforts or Surprises: The Arkansas Delta. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1973. ISBN 0-262-18062-6.
• Dorchester Days.
  • Wollaston, MA: self-published / Many Voices, 1978.
  • Second edition, revised and expanded. London: Phaidon, 2000. ISBN 0-7148-4001-7. With an introduction by Dorothea Lynch and an afterword by Richards.
• 50 Hours. New York: Many Voices, 1983. ISBN 0-394-62023-2. With Dorothea Lynch.
• Exploding into Life. New York: Aperture in association with Many Voices, 1986. ISBN 0-89381-177-7. With Dorothea Lynch.
• Below the Line: Living Poor in America. Mount Vernon, NY: Consumers Union, 1987. ISBN 0-89043-061-6 (paperback); ISBN 0-89043-062-4 (hardback). Text ed. Christiane Bird, story researched by Janine Altongy.
• The Knife and Gun Club: Scenes from an Emergency Room. New York: Atlantic Monthly, 1989. ISBN 0-87113-255-9. 2nd ed. 1995.
• With Edward Barnes. Cocaine True, Cocaine Blue. New York: Aperture, 1994. ISBN 0-89381-543-8 (hardback), ISBN 0-89381-564-0 (paperback). New York: Aperture, 1996. ISBN 0-89381-687-6.
• Americans We: Photographs and Notes. New York: Aperture, 1994. ISBN 0-89381-594-2.
• Eugene Richards. Photo Poche series. Paris: Nathan, 1997. ISBN 978-2-09-754106-2.
• Eugene Richards. Phaidon 55 series. London and New York: Phaidon, 2001. Text by Charles Bowden. ISBN 978-0-7148-4025-3
• Stepping through the Ashes. New York: Aperture, 2002. ISBN 1-931788-01-4. With interviews by Janine Altongy.
• The Fat Baby. London: Phaidon, 2004. ISBN 0-7148-4196-X.
• A Procession of Them. University of Texas Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-292-71910-1.
• The Blue Room. 2008. ISBN 978-0-7148-4832-7.^[8]
• War Is Personal. 2010. ISBN 978-0-292-70441-1.^[9][10]
• Red Ball of a Sun Slipping Down. New York: Many Voices, 2014. ISBN 978-0991218905.
• The Day I Was Born. New York: Many Voices, 2020. Edition of 1000 copies.^[11]

• The Blue Room, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France, 2009^[12]
• Eugene Richards: The Run-On of Time, George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York, 2017;^[13][14] Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, 2017/18^[15]

• 1981: W. Eugene Smith Grant from the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund.^[16]
• 1987: Infinity Award: Photojournalism award from the International Center of Photography, New York, for Below The Line: Living Poor in America^[5]
• 1995: Infinity Award: Publication award, from the International Center of Photography, New York for Americans We^[5]
• 2014: Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO^[17]

• Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts: 23 prints (as of 5 January 2022)^[18]
• Centre Pompidou, Paris: 4 prints (as of 5 January 2022)^[19]
• Fogg Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts: 6 prints (as of 5 January 2022)^[20]
• Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago: 2 prints (as of 4 January 2022)^[21][22]
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts: 4 prints (as of 5 January 2022)^[23]
• Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri: 26 prints (as of 5 January 2022)^[24]
• Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.: 4 prints (as of 5 January 2022)^[25]

• Lassiter, Kenneth T., Gary Bechtold, et al. Techniques of the Masters (videoconference, April 18, 1991). 1991.
• Richards, Eugene. Eugene Richards Photographer of the Year. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Company, 1991.

• Official website
• "Eugene Richards portfolio", VII