In an era where AI is increasingly blurring the line between reality and fabrication, photographer and visual creator Jordi Koalitic has built an audience of tens of millions by doing exactly the opposite.
The Barcelona-based creator, who co-founded Koalitic Kollective with brother Arnau Puig, is internationally known for photographs and videos that seem impossible at first glance. Fish float through the sky. Portals appear to open from book pages. Magical storm-like swirls fill the sky as a Harry Potter-esque character holds up a wand. Surreal perspectives emerge from everyday objects.
The secret isn’t AI, elaborate CGI, or massive production budgets. Often, it’s just a tennis ball, a fish tank, a guitar, or a mirror. Ordinary objects used in extraordinary ways.
“We’re kind of the opposite of AI,” Jordi explains. For him, the appeal lies in creating effects physically rather than generating them digitally. “We still love practical effects. We still love going somewhere to shoot the sunset and create authentic content.”
That commitment to hands-on creativity, along with a focus on lighting, practical effects, long-exposure photography, and in-camera techniques, have transformed him into one of the world’s most recognizable photography creators, It’s also led to collaborations with brands including Nikon (for which Jordi is an official ambassador), Adidas, Lamborghini, McLaren, Xiaomi, and more, including a new one with Adorama. The team has also worked with many celebrities, including Will Smith, Scarlet Johansson, Jared Leto, and Machine Gun Kelly, among many others.
From Filmmaker to Social Media Sensation
Long before millions of followers discovered his work, Jordi was working as a filmmaker, producing music videos, corporate content, and commercial projects. While photography remained a hobby, filmmaking paid the bills.
But the constant client direction began to wear on him.
“I had a lot of briefings, a lot of people telling me what I should do,” he recalls. “I didn’t like that.” Photography offered something different, he says: creative freedom.
The turning point came in 2019, when he began sharing not only his finished images but also the process behind them. He developed a distinctive visual style built around transforming ordinary objects into tools for optical illusions and creative effects and sharing captivating behind-the-scenes reels.
The combination proved explosive. Within just a few months, his audience grew from roughly 100,000 followers to more than one million. The rapid growth attracted major brands and celebrities alike. Today, Jordi has 7.3 million followers on Instagram and 20.6 million on TikTok, with almost 450 million likes. In turn, his YouTube channel has amassed, cumulatively speaking, more than 4.095 billion total views and has 6.61 million subscribers.
Building the Koalitic Kollective
While Jordi remains the public face and creative force of the brand, Arnau is listed on the website as “a driver of visual innovation.” Jordi Escrigas has worked with them since 2019 as brand manager and, together with Jordi and Arnau, co-founded Koalitic Kollective in early 2025. Pedro Cadena, meanwhile, has more recently taken on a strategic role in helping expand the brand internationally.
Interestingly, much of their creative development happens internally. Unlike many social-first creators who frequently collaborate with others, the Koalitic team has largely followed its own path. (Their talented Kollective members include Mike Grandio (creative and action video), Mirko Vigna (creative filmmaker), Manu Angles (filmmaker and PPV creator), Marcos Alberca (photographer and videographer), Alex Ortega (filmmaker and PPV creator), and Dave Castaño (creative filmmaker).
“We like to work from our own ideas, keep experimenting, and develop a visual language that feels very much our own,” Jordi says. “It’s not that we don’t value what other creators do; there’s a lot of talent out there, but we’ve always worked best by following our own creative path.”
That independent mindset has become part of Koalitic Kollective’s identity and helps explain why their work remains instantly recognizable across platforms.
The Power of Revealing the Secret
For many photographers, techniques are closely guarded. Team Koalitic chose the opposite approach.
One of the defining characteristics of the brand is its willingness to reveal exactly how images are made. “We were among the first photographers sharing the secrets of our work,” says Jordi.
Those behind-the-scenes videos became as important as the photographs themselves. Followers weren’t simply admiring the final image; they were learning how creativity can transform simple materials into visual magic.
Despite operating in a social media ecosystem driven by trends, Jordi says the team has never built its identity around following them.
“We’ve always tried to define ourselves more by creating our own ideas than by following trends,” he explains. “Sometimes there’s a trend we find interesting, but if we explore it, we always try to give it our own twist and bring it into our creative world.”
“A good idea is better than a good execution most of the time,” Jordi says. “You can improve your execution, but first you need the idea.”
That philosophy has helped attract an audience that extends far beyond professional photographers. Many followers are aspiring creators looking to learn how imaginative thinking can overcome limited resources.
Why Real Beats Artificial
In a world increasingly filled with AI-generated imagery, transparency has become even more compelling.
As AI-generated imagery advances, Jordi and his Koalitic Kollective stand out by demonstrating that authentic, handmade creativity still captivates a global audience.
Many of Jordi’s images initially appear impossible, leading some viewers to assume they were digitally generated. Yet much of the appeal comes from discovering that the effect was created physically, in-camera, through experimentation and clever perspective.
One image, for example, uses a fish tank filled with water and ink positioned in front of a subject to create the appearance of a swirling, ominous storm cloud. Another relies on a tennis ball attached to a string, photographed with long-exposure techniques to create a Saturn-like planetary effect.
The process frequently involves trial and error rather than software.
“We analyze and try a lot,” brother Arnau explains. “If one thing doesn’t work, we try another.”
Post-production remains minimal. Koalitic primarily uses Adobe Lightroom for color and exposure adjustments, while Photoshop is reserved for small cleanup tasks such as removing support strings used in practical effects.
Taking the Show on the Road
This practical approach to creativity will be front and center during Jordi’s upcoming visit to New York City as his ongoing collaboration with Adorama becomes even more cemented.
The trip will bring the entire Jordi Koalitic Team to the U.S, including Jordi’s parents, who will be visiting New York for the first time. “They gave us everything,” Jordi says. “So, we’re bringing them with us.”
The Adorama partnership includes an in-store workshop on June 10th, an interview on Seth Miranda’s Coffee with Creators podcast (also on June 10th), live demonstrations, photo walks, and a new print collaboration with Adorama’s Printique lab that allows collectors to purchase Koalitic’s work.
During the workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to see some of Jordi and the team’s signature practical effects in action, including his long-exposure techniques and fiber-optic light painting.
The New York events are part of a broader relationship between Koalitic Kollective and Adorama. The team recently joined Adorama as brand ambassadors as part of a year-long collaboration focused on showcasing how creative ideas, not just equipment (like Jordi’s trusty Nikon Z 9), drive memorable photography.
Keeping Creativity Front and Center
“We’ll always put the creative idea at the center of what we are doing and then show how the gear helps us bring it to life,” says Jordi.
One recent example is a project inspired by the anime One Piece, in which the team recreated stylized visual effects using practical techniques and equipment sourced from Adorama. The campaign generated more than 100 million views and reflects the kind of imaginative, hands-on work that has become synonymous with the Koalitic brand.
In the end, despite changing algorithms, emerging technologies, and shifting trends, the core of Jordi and his team’s approach remains consistent:
“Stay curious. Experiment often. Think creatively.”
Some of the most rewarding feedback, he says, comes from viewers who tell him they picked up a camera or simply started looking at the world differently after watching one of Koalitic’s videos.
“When someone tells us that, thanks to one of our videos, they tried an idea or started seeing photography in a different way, it really motivates us.”
