When most people think about product photography, they picture products arriving at a studio.
For this shoot, we flipped that on its head.
Instead of bringing Melitta Professional Australia’s products, packaging and coffee machines to our Sydney studio, we took our studio to them.
Working on-site with the Melitta team to create a combination of ecommerce product photography and styled content delivered some unexpected benefits.
It also reinforced something we’ve been seeing more often: sometimes the most efficient solution isn’t moving the products to the studio—it’s moving the studio to the products.
Why Bringing the Studio to Melitta Made Sense
So when does an on-location product photography shoot make sense?
For this particular project, shooting on location was the most practical option as we needed to use the Melitta coffee machines to make the coffee for the shoot.
The Melitta team had products, packaging, coffee machines and key stakeholders all in one place. Rather than coordinating deliveries, transporting equipment and asking multiple team members to spend a day away from the office, we were able to create the content where everything already lived.
One of the biggest advantages was immediate access to everything we needed. If we wanted to test a different product variation, grab additional packaging or review another machine, it was only a few steps away.
For busy marketing teams, reducing the logistics around a shoot can often be just as valuable as the photography itself.
Benefits You don’t Expect from Office Shoots.
One of the biggest advantages of shooting on location is how much easier collaboration becomes.
When the marketing team, products and key stakeholders are all in the same place, questions can be answered quickly, products can be sourced immediately and decisions can be made on the spot. Rather than waiting days to review imagery, stakeholders can review content as it’s being captured, helping us make adjustments and keep the shoot moving efficiently.
For busy marketing teams, this can be a significant time saver. Team members can step into the shoot when needed to review content, answer questions or provide feedback, before getting back to their day.
On-location shoots can also provide a valuable behind-the-scenes experience for the wider team. Whether it’s junior marketers learning how content is created or product teams seeing how their products are brought to life, there’s often a greater appreciation for the planning, styling and creative decision-making that goes into a professional product photography shoot.
The result is often a more collaborative production process, faster decision-making and less disruption to the business overall.
Same Studio Quality, Different Location
The biggest misconception about on-location product photography is that quality needs to be compromised. In reality, the location changes, but the process doesn’t.
For this project, we brought professional lighting, cameras and production equipment to Melitta’s office, effectively creating a temporary product photography studio within their workspace.
We also shoot tethered, meaning images appear on-screen in real time as they’re captured. This allows clients to review content as we go, provide immediate feedback and feel confident that the final images are aligned with their expectations.
To ensure colour accuracy remained consistent, we also took product samples back to the studio during post-production for final colour matching and quality control.
As you can see from the images below, whilst the location may change, our production process and quality standards remain the same.
What Do We Need From an Office Location Space to Work?
Because we bring our own professional lighting equipment, we don’t rely on natural light.
What matters most is having enough space to work safely and efficiently. Ideally, we’ll have:
- Easy access from the car park to the shooting location
- Lift access if equipment needs to be moved between floors
- A room large enough for lighting, camera equipment and crew movement
- High ceilings where possible for more flexible lighting setups
- A table for product preparation and styling
- A separate table or surface for shooting
- Power points for lighting and laptops
As a guide, a room with high ceilings of around 50 square metres is usually suitable for most product photography projects, although the space required will vary depending on the size and complexity of the products being photographed.
Before every on-location shoot, we’ll assess the space through discussion with the client, and in most instances via a site visit, where we discuss whether it’s suitable for the content being created.
When we’d recommend an on-location shoot
While this approach worked well for Melitta, it’s not necessarily the right solution for every project.
We typically recommend on-location product photography when:
- Products are large, heavy or difficult to transport
- Multiple stakeholders need to be involved throughout the shoot
- Products, props and packaging are already located on-site
- Lifestyle and product content need to be captured in the same environment
- Brands want a more collaborative production experience
For high-volume ecommerce photography, ghost mannequin photography or projects requiring highly controlled shooting conditions, a dedicated studio environment is often still the better option.
The best approach depends on the objectives of the shoot, the products involved and the available space—not simply the location itself.
Could an On-Location Shoot Work for Your Brand?
As content requirements continue to grow, many brands are looking for ways to make production more efficient without compromising quality.
For the right project, bringing the studio to the client can reduce logistics, improve collaboration and make better use of everyone’s time.
If you’re planning a product photography, ecommerce photography or campaign shoot and wondering whether an on-location setup could work for your brand, we’d be happy to talk through the options and help you determine the best approach.
Contact us for a chat today.
