Creating his own world one romantic and quirky photograph at a time, fashion photographer and documentarian Gorka Postigo has built a visual universe that feels both intimate and expansive. Born and raised in Spain and now based in Paris, he has spent his career filling his passport with stamps from some of the world’s most exciting cities. Yet he shares that his favourite place, without question, is behind the camera.
Over his career, he has photographed campaigns for Miu Miu, Jean Paul Gautier, and Paco Rabanne, and his work has appeared in Vogue Italia, Vogue Spain, and more. But it was in 2018 that his more personal work came into focus with the debut of ‘Presente Futuro.’ The project spotlighted transgender youth in Spain, opening at La Fresh Gallery in Madrid, and – due to its success – was published as a monograph just a year later.
His latest project, ‘You’ll Never See My New Friends,’ is yet another deeply personal endeavour. Debuting at LSD Paris during Paris Photo 2025, the 100-page book is a journey through 64 photographs chronicling loss, grief, queer resistance, and chosen family. Within its pages, Postigo explores photography as a means of healing, transformation, and connection. Taken over the past five years in Paris, London, Spain, Brazil, the Ivory Coast, Japan, and Shanghai, the photographs have not only filled Postigo’s passport but also left a lasting impression on his life and on the LGBTQIA+ community.
For Schön!’s latest instalment of our ‘passport’ series – where we discover the cities, restaurants, museums, and travel anecdotes that have left a mark (or stamp) – we chat to Postigo about the places that inspire him, both behind the lens and beyond, and the stamps he hopes to collect next.
Where are you right now, and what does a typical day look like for you?
I’m in my studio in Paris, where I spend about 80% of my time. Most of my days are filled with paperwork, pre-production, and post-production. It’s not as glamorous as many people imagine the life of a photographer to be.
If your passport had a stamp for every place that shaped you and your photography, which stamps would we see first?
If we speak about a physical place, it’s definitely Madrid, where I grew up. If we speak about an imaginary one, then MTV – I spent hours watching music videos, and that shaped so much of my cultural references and the visual language of ‘90s pop culture.
When you’re not behind the camera, how do you like to spend your time?
Behind the camera! [laughs] Honestly, I’d love to shoot much more than I actually do. Most of my anxiety comes from not shooting.
Which city, studio, or shoot gave you your first glimpse into the world of fashion photography?
I’d say a trip I did to New York City with a friend in the late ‘90s. Bumping into celebrities in SoHo in a pre-social media world was the closest I could ever get to this dreamy world I wanted to be a part of… Also, I remember, I came out as gay for the first time. I told my friend I was gay, and it felt so liberating!
Throughout your career, you’ve done both fashion and documentary photography. Out of all your work, which project feels like a passport back to your childhood?
Commercially, shooting a Calvin Klein campaign with Arca and seeing it on a Houston Street billboard in New York. That was a full-circle moment with my inner child who dreamed of that world.
In personal work, definitely the launch of ‘You’ll Never Meet My New Friends’ – a project that confronts my own spiritual journey, connecting people I’ve lost with new people I’ve met along the way.
Your photography style is characterised as an adventure in romanticism and quirkiness. If it had its own passport stamp, what would it look like?
Somewhere between a club stamp and a passport stamp – something you get at 4 a.m. on the way to somewhere unexpected.
Where do you still dream of getting a new stamp – a city you’d love to do a shoot in or document?
Honestly, my dream stamp is the paid stamp – both for the invoices I owe and those clients still owe me. In other words, to keep working so I can fund my personal projects.
What’s the most memorable stamp in your passport – a place that changed the way you see the world through your camera lens?
I’ve lost my passport so many times I barely remember the stamps… And now they barely stamp anything anymore. But recently, I’d say Brazil. It always gives me incredible people and memories that deeply enrich my experience.
Your Spanish heritage made an appearance within your ‘Presente Futuro’ project and subsequent monograph on the documentation of LGBTQIA+ youth in your home country. How does your work continue to present your culture as well as the queer community?
As queer people, we need to connect on a deeper level as a community. There are so many issues we don’t address, and we need to open those conversations. We live under the illusion of connection through technology, but in reality, there’s a deep disconnect.
With this book, I used social media to reach out to strangers and bring different experiences together – and I discovered that in the end, we all look for the same thing: Love and understanding.
Where did your new personal project, ‘You’ll Never Meet My New Friends,’ first come about?
It began with the need to navigate a personal process of grief.
The book explores loss, grief, queer resistance, and chosen family – with photographs taken in Paris, London, Spain, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Japan, and Shanghai. What is a moment during shooting that has stayed with you the most?
Photographing a trans father with his baby. At one point, he asked if I would mind if he breastfed, and invited me to document it. It was an incredibly generous moment – full of pride, beauty, and vulnerability. For me, it’s one of the most touching memories of the project, and also one of the most beautiful images in the book.
Why was this project so important for you, not only to photograph but to share with the world?
This project was important because it allowed me to make sense of a period of my life marked by loss, transformation, and rediscovery. Sharing it felt necessary. I didn’t want the work to stay only with me – I wanted these stories, these encounters, and these intimate moments to resonate with others who might be going through their own journey of grief or reinvention. It’s a way of saying: You’re not alone, and there is beauty and connection even in the most difficult transitions.
‘You’ll Never Meet My New Friends’ is unveiled on November 16 at Paris Photo 2025.
photography. Gorka Postigo from ‘You’ll Never Meet My New Friends’
words. Amber Louise
