Meet Jay Matsu | Photographer / Videographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jay Matsu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jay, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Opportunity is literally everywhere you look. In the field of photography/ videography, your work can be integrated in every aspect of life – Restaurants, real estate, hotel, music, events, birthday parties, weddings, portraits, the list is infinite. Every person you meet regardless of where you meet them, there is an opportunity to turn that person into a client or referral. As a pretty extroverted person, I love learning about people’s dreams and passions, that thing that gets them excited to get out of bed. My job is to turn that passion into reality and I truly believe media is the way. I am able to show any person or business’ story and use my skillset to inspire or promote something that they truly believe in. The most important thing I’ve attributed to my success is constantly making friends and meaningful connections with others and helping them make their visions come to life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
While working a 9-5 job as an engineer for an Aerospace company, Northrop Grumman, I often found myself wanting to express more creativity in my day to day life. The work felt mundane, and I needed an outlet to fuel my creative passion. Within a month of starting my engineer job, I picked up a weekend job shooting photos for a nightclub in LA. I was able to enjoy fun weekends at the club, meet awesome people, but most importantly practice my nightlife photography and hone in my style. I started connecting with the resident DJs and started getting hired for places outside of that nightclub. Over the years, I got opportunities to shoot larger and larger events, eventually shooting major festivals, such as Electric Daisy Carnival, one of the largest EDM festivals in the world, in Las Vegas. Currently, I shoot for a DJ named Yetep, a melodic bass DJ, and have the opportunity to tour around the country on his tours.

The biggest takeaway I have is to separate yourself from others – not to follow what other media creatives are doing, but to make your own lane in the space. Put in the work. Deliver your media to your artist at the quickest turnaround possible, not getting drunk after the shows and sleeping in the next day till noon. After every show when the whole team is asleep, I’m editing photos or clips so my artist could post something the next day for his socials. The grind and dedication towards your craft will be seen by others and separate you from other media who are there just for a free ticket and to party.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In Southern California, you can’t go wrong with our beautiful coast. Growing up near Torrance Beach, I was spoiled to be able to bike over the beach any time I wanted. I would take any person visiting to the coast and grab some food/ drink while watching the sunset.

Palos Verdes also has some amazing views and perfect scenery for picnics/ photos so I recommend exploring that area as well.

Foodwise, my roots are in Asian food so I recommend getting soontofu at Jang Su Jang. They’ve got the best tofu soup and it’s perfect comfort food on any occasion.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My dad bought me my first camera when I took a trip to Japan through an organization with the city of Torrance. The camera was cheap and small, but it sparked something within me – this satisfaction of capturing memories, beautiful landscapes, and having the ability to look back at them and relive my experiences all over again. I never thought that that single camera would eventually become a sustainable career that would allow me to travel around the world and experience things I would’ve never imagined.

Also, my mom played a huge role in career, as she would literally be the biggest fan of anything I made – asking me to make prints of my photos to hang up around the house, showing her friends and family members my videos any chance she could. Despite me having a full time career in engineering, my parents supported my decision to quit a 6-figure, stable job to pursue something that I genuinely loved doing. A lot of asian parents wouldn’t support leaving a respectable job, not using my expensive 4 year degree, so I’m extremely appreciative of their support.

Website: https://jaymatsu.com

Instagram: jay_matsu

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaymatsumoto/

Facebook: Jay Matsumoto

Image Credits
Snowboard Photo: @eddiethe.yeti