Origins of Addictive Stock

Addictive Stock is a photo and stock video production/distribution company that compiles the work of world-renowned photographers. With the growing collection of quality content by Addictive Stock, we wanted to highlight their account as content submitted to our Premium site has diverse shot locations from all around that is another feature that makes them unique. As Addictive Stock is showcased on many stock platforms and highlighted on Dissolve Premium we spoke with Victor Torres CEO & Founder to understand how Addictive Stock is what it is today.

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How did the name Addictive Stock form? How do you incorporate your brand into your work?

The "Addictive" name comes from the concept of the stock itself. I have been in this business since 2007 and what started as a game of uploading amateur photos and making a handful of dollars became my professional job today. During that process, I was living the illusion of producing content and distributing it in the agencies I worked with and, of course, experiencing that addiction of checking every 5 minutes if a license had been sold.

Talking with other photographers, we shared that feeling and that addiction of selling our stock images. So when we created the company, we had it clear that we wanted a name that would represent that feeling that artists in this business have.

What is Addictive Stock's vision?

The vision of Addictive, in the beginning, was to provide a global service to photographers who wanted to sell certain content in stock but did not want or did not have time to do it on their own. The intention was to only work with 10-20 very high-level photographers, but we realized that it was not sustainable for the business. Stock is a volume business, and we needed to create a large portfolio soon to establish Addictive in the market. Our success was quick, and we immediately began receiving thousands of requests to work with us.

Currently, we only accept new authors who have a level above the average or who offer a very different or unusual type of content. In the end, it is logical that people want to work with Addictive. It is a friendly, free service that also takes care of the tasks that stock photographers hate (keywording and distribution). In addition, authors have the option with us to distribute their work in the best premium agencies on the market, where in some cases, it is complicated to enter individually and directly.

We give authors creative support and art direction to learn and improve their productions, something that our artists value very positively.

As creatives, you must want to be creating all of the time. How do you balance your work projects with your passion projects?

Yes, as a premium agency committed to creating quality creative content, we want to provide our collection with a breath of fresh air in the sector. More and more large companies are looking for content in stock for their advertising projects, and the demand for both quality and creative levels is more significant. Addictive wants to offer this type of imagery of which there is not much in stock, but, as you say, you have to find a balance between what sells the most and those "different" contents that are logically less in demand. There is no rule to do this; just bet and risk on particular content that can attract new customers.

What does it take to be part of the Addictive Stock team?

It is easy, just visit the Addictive Stock website and fill in the form with your data. It is essential to understand that the level that we demand when moving in premium agencies is high, so we always request that before applying that you be aware that the photographer's level is consistent with that. Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time reviewing requests from very amateur people, even many of them who are not even fond of photography and think they can sell the snap photos they take on their mobiles :)

We only ask for a link to the photographer/videographer's website and his Instagram account or other social networks. In case the author does not have any of that, we can use a link from Dropbox, Google Drive or another platform where we can see online the most outstanding photos of the person who applied.

What do you look for when viewing a submitted portfolio/resume?

To be honest, most of the apps are reviewed in 10 seconds maximum, and this is enough time to see globally if the content the author produces can fit into Addictive. For this reason, it is essential to prepare a clean and diverse portfolio, with only the best of the best, so that it captures the attention of our editors.

So it can be said that the first thing we look at is that aesthetically it meets the minimum requirements. If the portfolio passes that first "test" of 10 seconds, we later delve deeper into the portfolio to further study the content. At this point, we appreciate it if the author does different things and offers exciting content for Addictive.

Also, later, we study the technical quality of the photos, something that sometimes cannot be seen on Instagram or any website. When we have doubts, we request a test session from the author to see how he develops a session globally and the quality of the actual photos. It has happened to us many times that after accepting an author whose work is fascinating, we have seen that the quality of the images is very insufficient (for many reasons) and does not meet the demands that premium agencies ask of us.

What is some advice you can give to any aspiring photographers or filmmakers?

On the one hand, it is essential to understand how stock works, which is what the market demands and be aware of the good and bad things this business has (a specific post could be made about this :). Before launching with the stock adventure, you have to be clear about what objectives you have and, based on that, allocate more or less effort. Today, stock and photography industry is not an easy business, and it is necessary to have a very high level of production to compete, and it may also take time to see results. I give face-to-face courses to stock photographers in Spain, and the word I constantly repeat to them is "patience". I have seen excellent photographers giving up because they think they will get a salary doing only 2-3 sessions. This is a long-distance race, and you have to invest time and money for the machine to generate a significant income.

Of course, it is crucial to see many stock photos and video and advertising campaigns, in general, to know how and what content to produce. It is also advisable to have good quality photographic equipment to compete with professionals who already sell their work in stock. My advice is to improve the equipment with the first income that is obtained in stock.

What filming and editing tools do you utilize most?

By having very diverse authors, we have an extensive range of qualities of equipment and editing tools. We have authors with very modest cameras and others who have very professional teams. Regarding software, most of our authors use Lightroom / Photoshop and Capture One for video and Adobe Premiere and DaVinci for video.

Final thoughts

Overall, it was extremely lovely to hear from Victor Torres himself. Addictive Stock is highlighted in the industry and admired by so many individuals. It is incredible to hear the origin of the stock video production/distribution company and how to be part of the Addictive Stock community.

View our Addictive Stock collection on Dissolve Premium today.