In honor of Filipino American History Month, we had the pleasure of getting to know Bay Area freelance photographer and creator, Jordan Jimenez, also known as JSquared for his noteworthy work with professional athletes such as Jordan Poole, Deebo Samuel, Sabrina Ionescu, and many more!
Jordan’s journey into photography began during a challenging time in his life, as a high school senior grappling with depression. In search of change, he discovered photography—a means to see life from a new perspective. This art form became his way of focusing on the positive and appreciating the details of daily life.
As he honed his skills, Jordan found a way to reconnect with his first passion: basketball. Merging his love for the sport with his newfound passion for photography, he set out to tell stories within the beauty of the game. Now, nine years into his journey, he reflects on his gratitude for having collaborated with the biggest athletes and brands in the world.
Q: This past week has been a journey, taking you from the West Coast to the East Coast—What were the standout projects you tackled during this time?
A: This past week was a JOURNEY to say the least. One of the really cool things about being a freelance photographer is that my schedule can go from being clear with nothing to do to being fully booked and just gone for weeks at a time. Over the past month, one project that I’ve been working on is documenting the 2024 WNBA playoffs for Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty. Sabrina and I are both natives of the Bay and we first started shooting together a few years back when she was at Oregon. Over this past week, Sabrina and the Liberty took on the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals. So, with that, this week has consisted of so many flights. This is basically what my schedule looked like:
Sunday: Fly to NY, 7am to 330pm
Shoot the Liberty Game at 8
Liberty won the WNBA Finals, so stayed at the arena until about 2am photographing the celebrations
Monday: Fly back to SFO at 630am EST, arrive at 935am PST
Photograph music video in San Francisco 12-5pm
Tuesday: Edit all day
Wednesday :
Flight to NY, arrive at 11pm PST
Thursday:
Photograph Liberty Parade from 9-1pm
Flight to Washington D.C, arrive at 5pm
Photograph Wizards Opening night for Jordan Poole, tip off at 7pm
Friday:
Flight to SF, arrive at 10am
Flight to LA at 7pm
Saturday/Sunday: Family time at Disneyland
Monday: Flight to SF
Q: How many cities did you explore, and how many flights did you take?
A: So, in total over about the course of the week, I took about 7 flights and many Ubers. When I’m traveling, I don’t really get to explore the cities other than maybe walking to an arena or grabbing a quick cup of coffee. A lot of my time is spent just preparing for shoots and editing in my hotel room. I genuinely do enjoy it, it’s very grindy. I’m sure I could explore the cities a little bit more, but for me right now, working is the priority and just staying on schedule, especially when it’s so hectic. I try not to fall behind so that I can continue to take on more and more work and continue to create. When I’m able to, I’ll take little walks throughout the city and take photos as I go just to get some physical and creative exercise. For this past week, it was really cool to see Sabrina get a ring and as the WNBA season closes out, the NBA season begins. So, JP and I will be back at it again for another fun year. This will be our sixth year shooting together so I’m excited to allow a lot of our work come to the light this year.
Q: Closing out FAHM (Filipino American History Month), how does being a Filipino American influence your perspective as a photographer working with professional athletes?
A: Being Filipino American is such a huge part of who I am and how I operate. A lot of the values I have today come from my background. Starting with my parents, they’re both extremely hard working people who really pushed themselves to make sure that my siblings and I had everything we needed to be in a successful position, even if it was at their own cost. Just being able to watch them work and the way that they loved us was so formative for me. Growing up around a ton of Filipino people, I learned a lot about the value of having a strong, supportive and loving community. Filipinos are incredibly supportive and they applaud loudly for the ones that they’re proud of. For me, I just want to be an example for not only Filipinos but minorities in general that we really can do this. A lot of the time, we’re overlooked. We tend to be underdogs. But if I can do it, I know that I can be a leader and set the example for the people that follow and come in after me. In industries where we don’t have a strong presence just yet, I want to help lead the way and pave a path so that it’s so much easier for the next person. Even in the basketball space, I rarely ever come across Filipino people, but we LOVE hoop. Obviously I’m not a hooper anymore, but I’ve figured out a way where I can stay around the game and contribute in my own way. If I can do it and set an example for people who look like me to kick the doors down and break into the industry that they want to, then I’ll know I’ve played my role.
Q: Do you have any advice for others looking to carve their own path in a creative field?
A: For anyone trying to carve their own path in a creative field, I would say be yourself. Your path is your path, not anyone else’s. The thing is, we’re all unique. There’s nobody exactly like us. So, be unapologetically yourself and that’s how you stand out.
I think that a lot of it is very simple, but I also have seen that the biggest struggle for people is just starting. People are scared. It makes sense, starting something new without knowing how it’s gonna work out is very, very scary. There’s always the thought of “what if this doesn’t work out?” But there’s also the flip side of that “what if it does work out?!” So the first piece of advice I would give is just start. Try it out. See what you like, what you don’t like and just create for the sake of creating. It doesn’t have to be super serious where you’re no longer having fun. It should always be fun! Art is supposed to be fun. But you’ll never know how far you can take it until you start. Then once you start, KEEP GOING!!! Find something you truly love and stick with it. Be disciplined, stay consistent. It’s literally like playing basketball or working out. The more you do it, the better you get at it.
One more piece of advice I’ll give is this: be a good, cool person! You could be the best in the world, at what you do, but if nobody likes you, it doesn’t really matter. Not to say that you should be nice for the sake of your career, but understand that it’s about the human connection. Part of what makes this life so meaningful is the people that we get to be on this journey with. Make real connections, make new friends, and talk to everyone in the room. The cool thing about it all is we can all grow together and help each other out, there’s more than enough bread to go around and so many seats at the table. If you don’t see a seat open, pull up your own chair.
Follow Jordan’s journey through the lens: JSquared's Instagram
You Know Who Shot It!
-Alyssa Caampued
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