PHOTOGRAPHER | DIRECTOR | CINEMATOGRAPHER
Advocate, Brand Ambassador, Founder and creator of “Inspired by Cinema” Jose Angel a world-renowned international award winning & published documentary photographer, director and cinematographer based between the U.S & Mexico and extending his brand as far as London, his filmmaking & directing style is far from normal. As a photographer and filmmaker very early on in life I knew that I wanted to create and tell stories with my photography and filmmaking. I was heavily influenced by these great mentors and legends Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Pedro Pablo Ibarra and Guillermo del Toro, Mexico's finest. Jose Angel has a very heavy presence with his work in the U.S. & Mexico and he spends a lot of time in between Mexico City, Queretaro, Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Monterrey N.L. San Pedro Garza Garcia. These locations and spaces help him get inspired and creative with his work, this plays a huge part of his creative process. Jose Angel didn’t step foot into this industry to become famous or popular, in fact he would rather remain behind the scenes and low key under the radar and move quietly. What started out as a simple idea to pick up a camera in 1997 became his biggest passion leading up into 2024 and closely reaching 3 decades of experience in the world of photography and telling stories behind the lens. Very early on I understood the value of my work, starting from scratch from the ground up and working my way up and owning my own Copyrights ©, Licensing, Royalties and Intellectual Property Rights in my artistic and creative work was extremely important to me as an artist. Jose Angel went on to collaborate with some of the biggest names and brands in the industry and hasn’t looked back ever since. Born from Mexican immigrant parents made him appreciate so much more his passion for his Mexican heritage and culture and he makes his mark on all his work or projects. Born and raised on the rough streets of Chicago and being surrounded by drugs, gangs, shootings and violence in his neighborhood wasn't the easiest or the best lifestyle for him as a kid, he lost a few close friends along the way due to gangs, violence and shootings in Chicago. Having family members and friends that had ties to gangs made him realize quickly that he needed to choose a different path for his future. That’s when he decided to pick up a camera and the rest was history, Angel has a specific approach and a very distinctive style and technique for every project. What seems different and odd to others he sees it as an opportunity to produce something different and further allows him to experiment with a wider spectrum and see the bigger picture with his creative process. His visual creative process starts with a simple idea and a very simple yet complex creative treatment or script for every one of his hand selected projects. Jose Angel pays a lot of attention to detail from textures, colors, shades, sounds, lighting, shadows, shapes and full framing, he likes a busy frame. Jose Angel is known for his staggering and countless long takes, long shots, composition and framing. Jose Angel is never willing to compromise with his filming approach, he knows what he wants and what kind of style and look he’s going for that is why these are some of his strengths that set him apart from the rest. His camera movement approach has never been about capturing completely perfect still or stabilized shots or takes. His mood on a set will determine if whether or not he'll capture his footage with a shoulder rig, hand held rig, gimbal stabilizer, 3 - Axis camera gimbal, camera crane, drone or any other piece of equipment. Jose Angel focuses more on the storyline and the emotions and feelings as the scene is unfolding right before your eyes. Jose Angel wants to make you feel some type of way when you view his work and that is what his end goal is.
Jose Angel is the creator and founder of “Inspired By Cinema” from a very early age Jose Angel picked up interest in the world of Arts such as photography, directing and cinematography. Growing up in Chicago in the 90’s in the center of the Art District really inspired him to follow his passion for art and photography. He was amazed with the kind of pictures he was able to capture with his first 35mm film camera soon after that he moved up into the digital format and from that point on the rest was history and he fell in love with photography, documentary, filmmaking and cinema. I want to be able to share with you the building process and the key elements from the beginning to the end of a scene. Everything that you do from music selection to long takes to shooting wide or tight or black & white or color will always set the tone for your opening scene or a closing scene. That is why he became an advocate for the film & cinema industry and created this platform and space to promote and showcase some of his close friends & mentors work and also for upcoming or professional artist that have a passion in the field of photography, directing, documentary, cinematography, filmmaking, acting, screen writing, writers, producers, film score composers and anything that has to do with the film, cinema & music industry because he is a huge advocate of arts. I want to be able to share with you my stories and some of my biggest inspirations, mentors and good friends in the film, cinema, sports and music industry in hopes of inspiring others to follow their dreams.
It all started with a simple idea that later on was going to become my biggest passion and it was going to change my world completely. I wasn’t sure where this new journey was going to take me or how far I was destined to go. Growing up I always enjoyed art, music, cinema, film and photography. Some of my biggest inspirations, mentors and friends that I look up to and highly respect in the film & music industry are Shane Stanley, Alfonso Cuaron, Pedro Pablo Ybarra, Michael Bay, Pepe Avila Del Pino, Jesse Spencer, Guillermo del Toro, Yalitza Aparicio, Eva Longoria, Ximena Cordoba, Fatima Molina, Natalia Jimenez, Los Dos Carnales, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Spike Lee, George Lopez, Kelvin Hayden, Taraji P. Henson, Kim Kardashian, Jason Davis, Jaime Foxx, Tom Cruise, Michael Mann, Jeremy Piven, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg, Casey Affleck, Ridley Scott, Denis Villeneuve, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Cameron, Rodrigo Prieto, Emmanuel Lubezki “Chivo” and Roger Deakins just to name a few. Coming up in the photography and film industry is no easy task it's a very competitive industry. I wasn’t sure how far I was going to make it, it wasn’t easy coming up and getting opportunities I had to put in long hours, days, months and years of hard work and dedication and earn a name for myself and I wasn’t willing to take any shortcuts or cut corners anywhere or get any plugs because I wanted to earn it all in the end on my own. I knew that the minute I stepped foot into this industry that I was going up against some of the best in the world, but that wasn’t going to stop me because I wasn’t trying to be one of the best I was just doing it for myself because it’s my biggest passion.
Growing up Jose Angel got into DJing and listening to House Music, Deep House, Tech House, Disco House, French House, Acid House and everything else in between. This allowed him to work alongside and build friendships and longtime relationships with some Legendary names in the House Music industry such as DJ Sneak, Bad Boy Bill, Tyree Cooper, Fast Eddie, Ralphi Rosario, DJ Jes, Derrick Carter, Czr, The Phantoms Revenge, Paul Johnson, Frankie Knuckles, Rafael “Ito” Garcia, Todd Terry, Mark Farina, Felix Da Housecat, DJ Colette & DJ AM just to name a few. This allowed him to experiment with different artist and incorporate their music in film scores on some of his projects. Jose Angel is currently working on a House Music Documentary to be released in the near future so stay tuned………
Jose Angel used his passion for photography & film-making as an escape from all the daily gang activity in his neighborhood and that really gave him a vision to create art. As the years past he used his artistic skills in hopes of creating something different and unique with his film and photography skills and used it to fuel his passion for art and inspire others along the way. This self taught renowned photographer and filmmaker has shared the stages and film sets with some of the most important influential iconic public figures, artist, musicians, actors, actresses, celebrities, athletes, directors, writers, producers and many more in the industry. Nothing has ever came easy or handed down to him he has worked extremely hard his whole life to get to this point in his career. It’s never been about the money or fame for Jose Angel it simply came down to following his biggest dream and tell stories with his camera and share it with the world in hopes of inspiring and motivating others to follow their dreams. Till this day every project remains a high priority on his A-list and will continue to expand his line of work. Follow Jose Angel from time to time..........."Do what you love and love what you do" but most importantly “Trust the Process”………….
FOUNDER: Jose Angel
U.S. Bookings: www.joseangelfilms.com
