If you’ve been to a local high school football, maybe a kids soccer game, or at a recent high school graduation ceremony, perhaps you may have seen photographer Jacob Cantu on the sidelines taking pictures and capturing memories.

Cantu first started taking photos as a junior in high school after his mother bought his father a camera for Christmas. His father never used the camera so Cantu taught himself photography. Cantu said he fell through the photography rabbit hole by taking photos for his friends and bringing his camera to Victoria East games.

This eventually snowballed into him getting opportunities as a sports photographer after graduating in 2021, as his friends would recommend him to take photos of the football team.

Now Cantu photographs a variety of things ranging from sports to senior portraits. What keeps Cantu motivated with his photography is knowing he has the ability to capture memories for those involved.

“There’s a lot of memories through the pictures I take,” Cantu said

“Let’s say it’s a championship game or a graduation party. Those are big moments that you’re capturing and everyone’s gonna look back to that picture.”

Cantu shares his work on his Facebook page which has 1,300 followers. Most of his followers are members of the community who leave supportive comments on his posts.

“Everything I post, it’s just nothing but love from the community,” Cantu said.

Cantu hopes to take his photography further by taking photos for the NFL or the Houston Astros. Ultimately his personal goal with photography is to explore new places and make as many friends as possible.