Roger Erickson was raised in Oakland, California, where he began his tutelage in fine art photography while studying psychology at San Francisco State University.
[citation needed] Over the course of his career, Roger Erickson has photographed many celebrities, musicians and athletes.
Among them are Mark Wahlberg, Chris Evans, Eminem, Taraji P. Henson, Juliette Lewis, Jared Leto, Regina King, Billy Bob Thornton, Samuel Jackson, Gillian Anderson, Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Neil Young, Wanda Sykes, Keke Palmer Usher, Chaka Khan, Ozzy Osbourne, Shaun White, Chris Paul, Zang Ziyi, 50 Cent, Ray Liotta, Ian McShane, Edward Albee, Ja Rule, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Greg Louganis, Billie Jean King,[6] Sugar Ray Leonard, Georges St. Pierre, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, J Dilla, Lil' Kim, Joan Jett, Ice Cube, Lena Waithe,[7] Eve (rapper), Outkast and LL Cool J.
In 2014, Meg Shiffler, Gallery Director of the San Francisco Arts Commission and Galleries, acquired Roger Erickson's photographic series entitled "Outspoken: Portraits of LGBTQ Luminaries"[8] for a four-month solo exhibition in the restored Beaux-Arts architecture San Francisco City Hall Building from June 9 to October 16, 2015.
The exhibition coincided with the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the legalization of same sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges).