Our staff at Stocksy are a passionate bunch. Almost everyone at the company has some sort of connection to visual media. Some have a love of photography and are even contributors to the collection themselves. Some are moviemakers and can’t stop nerding out on video and filmmaking techniques. Some of us are illustrators and mixed media creators. Others simply love to take in the absolute privilege of working with gifted artists, being amongst a creative community, and working with some of the most progressive and inspiring visual media in the world.
It may sound hyperbolic and showy — do people that work for a stock media company really care about stock media that much? Yes. Yes, we do.
We share our favorite finds in Slack channels….
We gush when a great gallery comes together….
We get excited when we see our community’s work out in the wild…
We feel proud when our artists grow and succeed.
The Stocksy collection and the talented people that create it are important to each and every one of us. And so, we want to share with you some of our favorite Stocksy photos, footage, and illustrations of the year to see how we connect to this wonderful collection and culture in the grander scheme of another wild and unpredictable year. We hope you love these as much as we do.
Anna has a wonderful way of capturing relatable moments in places half a world away. This spotlessly-sunny beach day photo puts you right there under the red glow of the umbrella, debating whether it’s time yet for another dip to cool off. It’s been warming me for months.
-Aaron Bergunder, Graphic Designer
I am in awe of how Maryanne observed the way the illumination of the jellyfish looks almost electric. I have watched this gorgeous clip a lot!
– Julia Forsman, Senior Editor
I love the vibe of the photo created by Juan here where one can just feel how we still struggle to find ourselves in the office environment after working from home for so long.
– Piotr Dybowski, Creative Research Associate
I find this moment so poignant and touching — this moment of profound change for a family, of relief, the dad’s comforting expression, the tenderness of his hand reaching for his daughter’s, the tininess of the new baby’s hand. The framing subtly conveys so much emotional content and narrative.
–Genevieve Ross, Content Manager
Love seeing photographers getting closer to the action. Beautiful capture in combination with underwater close up. Makes you feel like being in the water.
–Boris Jovanovic, Editor
Such a strong portrait, I love the styling and the posing, as well as the juxtaposition of the soft fabric against the rough rock mountain background. There’s so much nuance to the expression, it really drives you in.
-Andrea Fernandez, Senior Creative Research Associate
I love this at home moment SO much: joy, chaos, perfection, and excellent use of light.
-Alexa Mazzarello, Creative Research Associate
Juan’s portfolio is a celebration of color with cleverly intertwined concepts. It is a joy to look at!
–Pavel Gramatikov, Editor
There’s something about this one for me–the grace of her hand, the movement of the dress, the elegant and rich tones. It has all the beauty of a fine art painting focused around a traditionally dull and boring office duty. I’m enamored by the magic of how it all comes together.
-Margaret Vincent, VP Legal
The color of the sky, the white picket fence, the sunshine yellow dress, the gentle giant, the ice cream cone, the sharing of abundance. This clip is like a modern snapshot of the commercial 1950’s American Dream — an internal image and feeling of safety that our fragile 2022 psyches fantasized about. Or was that just me?
-Tara Campbell, Brand Consultant
This clip felt super poetic. Reminded me of childhood days where you find random objects to play with. Accompanied with classical piano music I randomly listened to while watching this set makes a great moody combination.
-Marko Milovanović, Editor
UGC has been in such high demand lately but this is something Kayla has been doing so well long before it was a trend. I’m such a fan of her work and how she is able to capture such authentic, raw and emotive moments. Not only that, but this is all done on film, so some extra cool points there!
–Micky Wiswedel, Editor
This genuine moment of joy captured in an unexpected environment really stuck with me. I love the perspective that ZQZ Studio brings to their collection, they feel like genuine moments that are also highly usable and skillfully produced, a tough combination to pull off!
-Jordan Clarke, UX Director
I can imagine it’s tricky capturing a fun interaction in a work setting, and have it feel as real as this one does. I’d spend a LOT of time hunting for images like this in my years in a bank’s B2B marketing team, if only Stocksy was our stock media vendor.
-Kayleigh Rees, Digital Marketing Manager
I love all of Valeriya’s portfolio, but for me, this piece is a lovely balance between beautifully crafted textures, quite art deco shapes, and real attention to detail. Its just really, really good.
-KK Perales, Senior Editor
“I made this and it will be the best calamari you ate so far” is a message I see when I look at this image with such a thoughtful and effective use of light that brings the crispy food on stage. Great composition that leaves an interesting copy space.
-Jelena Jojic Tomic, Editor
This photo for me encapsulates the feeling of 2022. As humans (or dogs) we faced a lot of challenges this year. We may not have succeeded in what we sought out to do, but we always tried our best. View the remainder of this shoot you will see this Shiba Inu had a growth mindset and eventually got that treat. A lesson for us all that growth only comes from failure.
-Christina Minshull, Marketing Director
Yuan Lei’s captivating diptychs depicting rural life in his part of China are thoughtful, whimsical, and entirely compelling. Hard to choose just one, I love them all! 2nd choice any of Laura Herrera’s night shots.
-Mark Pollard, Metadata Specialist & Editor
This takes a typical stock concept and makes it completely fun and unique. I’ve used this series in way too many reports and presentations this year!
-Jen Grantham, Artist Relations Director
I love the moment and vibe Michela captured here. Interesting light that highlights the moment, the activity, and a realistic atmosphere lived in space. To me, this image reads as so much more than a young girl dancing in her room; it’s about letting go and being comfortable with yourself, and it’s very powerful and, at the same time, so much fun.
-Amy Covington, Editor
This is it! This is exactly the kind of in-the-moment energy, unique shared experience and feeling of connection that our clients have been asking for. I can feel the joy, the accomplishment, and even the wind as if I was experiencing this moment myself.
-Cara Dolan, Creative Research Lead
This clip felt very relevant to our times and I really respect the contributor embedding themselves with the firefighters for this set. There is a clear intention here to capture this event in a respectful, intimate and cinematic way. Powerful clip.
-Matt Addington, Editor
I am a big sucker for pet portraits but this one is my fav of 2022. The retro vibe, color, mood, and the fact this Shiba looks so into this. Definitely going to make the cover of Dogue.
-Masagi Sinnott, Senior Marketing Specialist
This one stood out because of the perfect timing of the drone taking off JUST in time for the puppy to grab hold of it. One can only imagine the footage if it would have happen otherwise. Bye-bye drone.
-Gabi Bucataru, Education Specialist
As somebody coming from a country where the biggest plants are small this video put a big smile on my face. It brought me right back to the first time I visited Okinawa, with its subtropical climate, where what I only had seen as tiny house plants grew into giants.
-Ivar Teunissen, Community Lead
Love this portrait from Evgenij, reminds me of being young and making silly things, it’s fresh and relatable, love the emotion captured, it takes me back.
-Leandro Crespi, Editor Lead
The combination of a lot things in one video make it perfect: explore, persevere, underwater, and of course, summer!
Felix Chacon, Editor
