Meet Joseph Garcia | Videographer / Photographer

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

Hi Joseph, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Growing up, my parents recorded almost all of my basketball games—from elementary school through high school at Garfield and Roosevelt. With all that footage, I would edit my best clips into highlight tapes to post and send to college coaches in hopes of getting recruited. Over time, teammates and even opponents started asking if I could create highlight clips for them too. That’s when it clicked for me that I could do something with video & photos.

At first, I started recording games from a tripod setup, capturing footage from a distance. After graduating high school, I was unsure whether I would continue pursuing college basketball or figure out a different path. Around that time, I looked into refereeing to make some extra money, so I went to Bravo High School to get trained on how to referee. However, that opportunity shifted into more of an assistant coaching role, helping the varsity team.

Before the first game, I had a last-minute idea to bring my camera (a Canon EOS M50) to test out shooting photos and handheld videos. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but my first video came out surprisingly well, and my creativity took off during the editing process. After posting it, I started getting booked by other teams, right away after that very first video dropped and I’m very grateful for those Schools / Parents reaching out and giving me an opportunity such as Sotomayor High School, Banning HighSchool & Many More. That was the real beginning of my journey.

At the time, in the inner-city sports scene, no one was really getting mixtapes or professional-quality photos unless a parent was filming from the stands. Looking back, I take pride in the fact that I was one of the first to bring high-quality highlight tapes to the city—something that was unseen in our community.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a full-time college student and part-time worker, and every bit of my free time goes into my media work and building my personal brand, Joseph Garcia Media. I cover everything from sports media, quinceaneras, business promotions, nonprofit community events, interviews, and even weddings, prom, and graduation shoots. Right now, I’m also in the process of building Grind Sports Collective, a sports media brand dedicated to capturing and elevating athletes through high-quality content.

Coming up from Boyle Heights has given me an extra boost of motivation. I don’t really have anyone to look up to who’s doing what I do at the highest stages, so my drive to reach that level isn’t just for me—it’s for others from my community. I want to prove that we can break barriers and make an impact in spaces where we’re not often represented. If I can inspire even one person from my neighborhood to chase their dreams, then everything I’ve worked for will be worth it.

To say the least, this journey hasn’t been easy. I’ve spent countless nights pulling all-nighters, working on edits, and pushing myself to improve my craft. I’m deeply dedicated to what I do and love it wholeheartedly. But there have been moments where I’ve felt stuck—spending hours in front of a screen, drained of motivation. When that happens, my advice is to have another passion to fall back on. For me, that’s basketball and working out. When I hit a creative block in media, I turn to sports, and the energy I get from that helps reignite my creativity.

I’ve also gone through phases where I didn’t edit for weeks or even months, just watching tutorials and learning but not applying what I’d learned. Looking back, my biggest advice to anyone in the creative field is this: the best way to get better is to just create. Experiment with settings, mess around with edits, and let your creativity flow—you’ll surprise yourself with what you can do.

Another important lesson is don’t be afraid to talk about your work. You never know who you’ll meet or what opportunities might come from a simple conversation. Some of my best opportunities have come from just being open about what I do—not because I was looking for an opportunity, but because I was being genuine.

Most importantly, I’ve learned to trust in God to guide me in the right direction. Everything I’ve experienced—the people I’ve met, the skills I’ve developed, and the confidence I’ve gained—all come back to faith. My biggest piece of advice? Find God in everything you do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting, we’d have to go to some of the best spots in LA. Disneyland and Universal Studios are a must. For food, gotta go to In-N-Out and Shakey’s Bunch of Lunch. Since I’m a coffee guy, we’d go to Tierra Mia, Picaresca Café, Philz, Coffee Bean, or any solid family-owned coffee shop to try their matcha or lattes. For chill spots, Laguna Beach is my go-to, but for first-timers, Santa Monica and the surrounding beaches are solid too. Plenty of hiking spots to go to if we’re tryna get outside. And if it’s basketball or baseball season, gotta go to a Dodger, Lakers, or Clippers game for the full experience.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to a very dedicated person that helped me out in my journey. Robert Talamentes his social media page is @goatd.official , his work is amazing and he is a down to earth person that shoots high level content.

Website: https://josephgarciamedia.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephgarciamedia/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-garcia-433b7b252

Image Credits
All The Photos are mine except the one with the @gothamexhibit , watermark