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Teen content creator earns praise from NFL stars – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
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A high school student in Celina, Texas, has gained attention for his work in the world of sports media and as a digital creator.
Jacob López is 17 years old, a senior at Celina High School and the owner of JL Studioz, his own company.
“My focus is on videography and photography for sporting events and different athletes,” López said.
His Instagram account By @JLStudio serves as his portfolio, showcasing his unique style and the athletes he has photographed and captured, including Dak Prescott.
“I started my Instagram in 2022 while I was at McKinney North, and during that time there I gained about 300 followers,” López said.
López would later transfer to Celina High School.
“I joined Celina and started posting a lot more, and my Instagram grew to 12,000 followers,” López said.
López first picked up the camera as a young child. During a family outing, his parents noticed his eye as a photographer.
“I remember one time I was camping with my dad in Arkansas, and we were in a river,” López said. “I picked up my phone and there was a bridge. I took a picture of it when this blue truck crossed the bridge,” López said.
López still has a copy of the photo.
“That's kind of where I started with this whole video and photography thing,” López said.
His hobby is now his business, which requires hours of filming and editing. As his Instagram followers grew, so did his clientele.
“I started with just the high school (athletes) from my school,” López said. “And then it grew into filming college players at LSU, OU, Oregon.”
At a young age, López's work has led to him getting behind the lens on several occasions with NFL players.
“I had to contact Dak Prescott's quarterback coach, Damien Williams,” López said.
López had previously worked with Williams, a former Mississippi State quarterback and current director of the quarterback training facility 3DQBTexas.
“He introduced me to Dak, and I met him and Ezekiel Elliott as well,” López said. “I was at school and I saw him there,” López said. “I was already working with his quarterback coach. And he actually saw me. He told me to go to where he was. And we just started talking.”
Eventually, López said Prescott asked to see his work.
“He really liked it. And then he told me I could photograph some things for him. We did a few shoots,” López said.
At the top of López's Instagram profile is a 24-second clip posted on June 8 with a short caption “@_4dak.” The video has been viewed 382,000 times.
“I showed him the video and he really liked it,” López said. “He even started following me on Instagram.”
This season, López has concentrated a lot its time to work for Celina TV Productionsa student-broadcast program directed by his teacher, Jay Slivocka.
“He helped me a lot too,” López said.
His work at the school, López said, has also helped him cultivate relationships to help him achieve his long-term goal of attending college.
“Even our football coach, Mr. Bill Elliott, and some of the coaches also helped me with letters of recommendation,” López said.
Through it all, López manages to balance producing content for his company's largest paid client.
“Life in Texas Football, I film a lot of games for them, including Celina games,” López said.
López said he is saving every penny to give him the education and opportunity to get the job of his dreams.
“I want to go to university. You probably do the same thing at a D1 college,” López said. “Then you film for a professional competition or even become a professional athlete's personal videographer.”
López said he is grateful for the support he has received from his parents, sister and the Celina community.
“I started this as a hobby and just to have fun. And I never thought it could get to where I am today. And you know, there's hopefully more things planned for me in the future. López said.
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