Artist Bio

My name is Bobby Gordon (he/him) and I am a Northern California-based photographer creating images of the liberated, pleasure-filled world in which I hope to live. I make images to center and celebrate diverse bodies, gender expressions, cultural identities, and the often vilified but human experiences of vulnerability, desire, and pleasure.

I’ve developed a radically collaborative approach to creative portrait making, using a listening practice to encourage people to actively co-create their own images and continue having a say in how/where those pictures are later used.

The photoshoot itself is the “stage” where people are aware of the audience (me, my camera, and the later viewers), and as the “creative doula” I invite them to consciously and intentionally share of themselves. Once the shoot is complete we remain connected and make decisions together throughout the post-production and exhibition process.

With my process rooted in consent, my goal is for the people I photograph to be the protagonists in every aspect of telling their stories.

My photographs have been featured in exhibitions throughout Santa Cruz, CA (Good Vibrations), Los Angeles (Grand Park LA), and in various publications in the U.S. (San Francisco Chronicle, Contact Quarterly Journal) and Brazil (Metaxis Journal). They can also be seen in the artistic publications and album cover art of celebrated artists like La Doña (musician), José Vadi (writer), and Marina Magalhães (choreographer/writer). In 2020 I was a finalist for the Circadian Pictures Creative Fund award. 

From 2011-2023 I taught various courses on arts-activism at UCLA in the Department of World Arts & Cultures/Dance and currently teach at UC Santa Cruz in the Department of Performance, Play & Design. While continuing to teach and work as a freelance artist, I will be starting the MFA program in photography at San Jose State University in Fall 2026.

More on consent…

Consent for my photoshoots is enthusiastic, specific, and revocable. 

Enthusiastic

Before every shoot I discuss (or co-create) the idea with the model. They are either comfortable with and excited about the kind of images we plan to make or we do not make them, and make something different instead. The same is true for wardrobe choices (and/or the amount of n*d*ty), and the location where we will be shooting. 

Specific

The model has the right and ability to veto any particular pose, idea, or wardrobe/nudity they do not feel comfortable with (regardless of any previous agreement). Their consent to participate in the shoot does not mean they consent to doing whatever I (the photographer) suggests, and rejection of a specific concept simply means that we come up with a new mutually agreed upon idea, with no negative consequences for the model.

Revocable

Before, during, and after the shoot, the model has the right to veto any element of the shoot, and any edited photos that result. 

Posting: 

I always check in with the model to get consent before posting any images on social media, on my website, or for any other use. The only exception to this rule is if the model posts the image on their social media, I reserve the right to post the image on social media and on my website.

Nudity: 

Nudity, partial nudity, or simulated nudity are always discussed and agreed upon before the shoot. 

I have  a deep commitment to the comfort and safety of everyone I photograph. 

I treat models on set professionally with respect to their humanity and their personal boundaries.

I never use touch or physically move a model to tweak a pose, especially not when partially or fully nude.

I never make any comments about the person’s body I am photographing. 

I do seek to do everything I can to support the agency of the model, with the goal of their showing and expressing themselves how they want, as active co-makers of the image, rather than passive objects being photographed.