How to develop a visual style for YouTube (and go viral) with Jordi Koalitic

Choose the right gear

Camera

“The Nikon Z9 is an incredibly powerful camera with sharp image quality. Its super-fast burst mode is the quickest I’ve ever tried – a game-changer for freezing things mid-air like I do,” Jordi says. “It allows me to capture those moments perfectly, and that’s crucial for a creative approach.” Recently, Jordi had the opportunity to test and try the new Nikon Z5II, working with water, shadows and light for outside-the-box images. “I believe everything can become art,” he adds. “The picture controls let me play with colour while capturing and the vari-angle screen makes tilting easy. The Z5II kept up with my vision, even when capturing challenging light, I could trust its autofocus system and image stabilisation. The Starlight View helped me to see what I was doing in low light.”

Lenses

“The NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S lets in a lot of light and is excellent for layered compositions,” Jordi says. “I can capture a foreground object, the subject in the middle and a detailed background, making it easier to tell a story through the image. For both wide-angle shots and portraits, I use the versatile NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and, thanks to the f/2.8 aperture, there’s always a lovely, blurred background that makes the subject stand out beautifully.”

The NIKKOR Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S is Jordi’s go-to for landscapes and capturing from a distance.

Lighting 

Lighting is crucial. Jordi uses a variety of lighting sources from Nanlite depending on the needs of each project, from LED strips and tubes for long exposures and uniform lighting, to directional spotlights to illuminate specific areas, and sparklers for visual effects. Flashlights are used for targeted lighting and lasers for creative projects.  

Camera setup for a certain style

“Even though the team and I are active on platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, where video content plays a big role, at heart we’re photographers first,” Jordi says. “Video allows us to show our creative process in the most natural and easy-to-understand way possible, but I always speak from the perspective of a photographer, not a videographer (that said, some of the videos on YouTube are created by our team collaborations – and specialised filmmakers – from Koalitic Kollective).”

Key camera settings:

• Mode: Manual for full control and when working with layers or objects in motion
• High shutter speed: 1/500 secs, 1/1000 secs, or 1/2000 secs to freeze elements in mid-air and capture motion in a crisp, detailed way
• Slow shutter speed: 3 to 10 secs for long exposure and capturing motion blur with a tripod.
• Picture Controls: Anything from neutral to vivid, depending on the scene
• Focus modes: AF-A or AF-C depending on the subject or scene

How to monetise

Jordi started his Instagram in 2016, hit a thousand followers in the first year and 10,000 by the second year. In 2019, that’s when everything took off – Jordi went from 100,000 to 500,000 followers and, by the end of the year, he and his team hit their first million. “That’s when we decided to start TikTok and YouTube, and everything started growing quickly from there,” he says. “By the end of 2020, we had more than three million followers on Instagram, more than ten million on TikTok, and our first million subscribers on YouTube. We’ve seen especially rapid growth on YouTube recently, thanks to the introduction of YouTube Shorts, which brought in more than three million subscribers just in the last year.”

A follower growth in 2019 also attracted local and international clients. “The offers for paid campaigns with brands became our first major source of income,” Jordi adds. “Around the same time, we started selling filters (presets), which was another revenue stream. A year later, we also started monetising on YouTube, so that added to our income as well.”

Creating content that shines

“Creativity is really the secret sauce to going viral on social media,” Jordi says. “Algorithms love creative and original content, things that people haven’t seen before and that surprise them. Lighting is also super important. We film during golden hour or blue hour (sunrise or sunset), when the natural light is soft and beautiful. We avoid shooting in harsh or low light because it can really affect the quality of the content.

“The way you present the content is also key. The first five seconds of a video are everything – you’ve got to hook people right away. So, we always try to start with something that grabs attention, builds a connection and, if possible, leaves room for a little surprise at the end to keep viewers engaged.

“When I first started, I used to stress about whether people would like the content or whether it would be criticised. Now I see criticism as a good sign. If people are talking about what you’re doing – whether it’s positive or not – it means you’re creating something that’s getting noticed and maybe even challenging norms. And that’s a good thing.”