Today we’d like to introduce you to McCade Gordon
McCade, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My introduction to photography started in high school. I had a great teacher who really sparked my interest in what you could do with the medium. I was hooked pretty early on, and not really sure what else to do with my time, it became my main focus throughout high school. I went to college as Salt Lake Community College studying commercial photography, graduating in 2017. Luckily after graduating, I was introduced to a group of photographers who had been working in the industry for years, and I was able to quit my part time job and focus solely on freelance photography work. For the first couple of years I supported myself financially by working as a photo assistant on any job that came my way, and slowly transitioned to working as a digital tech on projects. I wasn’t getting enough shooting jobs to support myself at the time, so working on set was a great way to earn money and continue to learn the craft. And now in the past two years my shooting career has started to gain momentum and I’m now transitioning out of supporting roles on set to now managing my own projects.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Freelancing is always a challenge, and in the early years it was quite stressful and a lot of sacrifices had to be made to make ends meet. You might not know when your next job is, you might have an important thing in life planned and a week before be hit up for a project that you need to take for financial reasons. It’s a lot of ups and downs emotionally and physically. But if you stick with it for long enough to start to understand the ebbs and flows, it can be an extremely rewarding path.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in fashion and commercial photography. Something about my work which sets me a part from others is that I am always trying to push boundaries visually in to something that feels more creative and thought provoking. I tend to shy away from taking pictures that feel just pretty or nice. I want people to have an emotional reaction from my work, so any way I can disrupt the viewers expectation of the image, make them stop and look at it and wonder, that’s always my goal. It’s a balancing act when working commercially because you need to deliver great images to a client in hopes that they want to work with you again, but also to keep integrity to your voice as the artist as to not feel resentful for the work that you are doing. That’s why I still find myself shooting self funded projects for my portfolio which have my voice, but can be pitch to commercial clients in hopes to do work in my style. My most recent project was rewarded because of this practice. It was for the Utah Jazz, their new 2025 jersey release. They had seen a personal project I shot last year and wanted a similar vibe for their shoot. And the end result was something that myself and the Jazz were stoked on.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I’d say I was a pretty typical suburban kid growing up. I played lots of sports up until high school, and once I got to high school things shifted pretty hard. My high school days were very rebellious and full of exploration and growth and coming in to myself as a young adult. I didn’t want to be told what I should and shouldn’t do, and had a great time being a rebellious teen testing the waters and seeing what life had to offer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mccadegordon.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcccomit/
