We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jay Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jay, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I do not have any formal training in photography or videography. Most of my knowledge comes from online tutorials or experimentation and experience. Looking back, I would have found a mentor who could show me the ropes in person to get that real time feedback as I was problem solving. Based on my experience both personal and watching others, the most essential skill is understanding the fundamentals and not getting tied up in specific particulars of one situation. This becomes an obstacle because it is impossible to find tutorials about all the situations you will face and there is no replacement for applying the fundamentals to problem solve. Another obstacle is time, you have to get out there and experiment and push yourself into corners then figure out solutions. Time behind the camera always beats time watching tutorials.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Building a photo & video business came slowly over time, piece by piece. I started with inanimate objects that did not mind me taking forever to get a good photo, then moved into working with people once I felt comfortable with my skill level. At this point I have done real estate, stock, sports, and portrait photography.
Video is my new frontier, I am excited to start offering another option for solving my clients’ problems. The goal is to focus on small businesses that require high quality content but get overlooked by other media companies who are more interested in the big brands with deep pockets. I want to help the local, the family business, the young up-and-coming, the side hustler… anyone who wants to tell their story and grow their brand at a grassroots level.
Taking photos and videos is my craft but it’s not my focus. My focus is helping people and businesses – using media like photos and videos – capture important moments and build their dreams.
Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?
I am a huge advocate for multiple income streams and investing, both in my personal and professional life. I spend a portion of my time creating content that currently or in the future will pay over time, such as stock and monetized social media like YouTube. The less you have to trade hours for dollars, the more time you have to be creative, experiment, hone skills, take bigger risks, etc.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For creative people it feels great to see others enjoying what we make. It’s risky to create art and put it out there for the world to judge, but when you can help someone by creating an artistic solution out of thin air it’s very fulfilling. The harder the solution is to create, the better it feels when it works. 
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Image Credits
Anasti Marie Cesar Rodriguez Delavi Ahiatsi