SAN BRUNO, Calif. (KRON) — A Bay Area photographer is making his mark on the NBA.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in Jordan Jimenez eyes there’s nothing more beautiful than basketball.
“I think the thing that actually brought me to photography was basketball,” said Jimenez.
At just 23-years-old, the San Bruno native has already worked with some of the best in the NBA.
Clicking through his J Squared Photography Instagram page, you find snapshots of Pau Gasol, James Harden, Jeremy Lin, and of course, many of the Warriors.
“It’s kind of insane, most of the time it doesn’t really click in my head the kind of people I’m working with,” said Jimenez.
Jimenez first picked up a camera in high school as a way to cope with depression. Then he made the tough choice to drop out of college to pursue his dream.
“For me when I was first starting out I was always shooting like random workouts, random games, AAU tournaments – not even really paid really just shooting for free,” said Jimenez.
Thanks to some hard work and persistence, he’s now done freelance work for Slam magazine, Bleacher Report, the Warriors, and he often gets hired by athletes themselves.
Steph Curry has become a regular.
“He’s an even greater human being, super humble, super down to earth. As much as he is great on the court, luckily I’ve been able to see the side off the court and that’s even greater,” said Jimenez.
Jimenez hopes to grow his business to the point where he can hire others.
“Once I get to a different level I’ll be able to put on black and brown creatives who don’t get to the same rooms as me. My main goal is to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Jimenez.
Most importantly, he wants to show everyone the beauty around them, and within.
“The thing I love most about photography is helping people see a positive light in the world. Really believe in yourself. Because we’re all gifted in some sort of way and we all have some sort of talent to share with the world,” said Jimenez.
Jimenez was one of thirty people who were gifted a pair of shoes by Steph Curry, as a way to say thank you when the Warriors left Oakland.
To check out more of Jimenez’ work or get in touch, you can find him on Twitter or Instagram: