He is best known for his work on the films Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), Wind River (2017), and Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021), as well as the limited series Mare of Easttown (2021), which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Richardson was born in England and attended Bournemouth School succeeded by Royal Holloway, University of London's media arts degree programme.

[2] Richardson met director Benh Zeitlin in Prague in 2004[3] and subsequently collaborated on the short film Glory at Sea in 2008.

[4] During pre-production on Beasts of the Southern Wild, Richardson shot a test reel which convinced the financiers to approve him as cinematographer for the film.

[5] Beasts of the Southern Wild debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival where Richardson won the Excellence in Cinematography Award.