Product photography for the launch of Alusense's compostable coffee capsules
Client: AluSense
Service: Full photo production including creative concept development
Deliverables: 30 final images + GIF animations
Project Overview
They needed a full set of visual assets to cover the launch across multiple touchpoints — social media, their website, trade fair stand visuals and printed product information sheets.
Unlike the two previous case studies on this page where a creative agency carried the concept, this was a direct client project where Studio Ballena was asked to develop the creative proposals from scratch.
We worked up the initial concepts, refined them in close collaboration with Alusense based on their feedback, and moved into production once the direction was agreed.
The Challenge
Alusense's product deserved better than that, and frankly so did their launch.
The real challenge was finding a way to communicate the compostable story without leaning on the visual language everyone else uses, while still making the product feel fresh, premium and shelf-worthy.
The capsules themselves come in a strong range of vibrant colours, and that became the creative anchor.
The question was how to build a visual style around that in a way that felt distinctive, graphical and modern — rather than generic sustainability marketing.
Our Approach
Rather than softening the product with natural props and diffused light, we went the opposite way — a bold, graphical shooting style using hard light as the primary tool.
Hard light suited the geometry and finish of the capsules well, and gave the images a clean, high-contrast look that stood apart from the earthy aesthetic typical of the category.
With around 30 final images to deliver across a range of formats and use cases — from social crops to large-format trade fair prints — the shot list had to be planned carefully to ensure every intended application was covered before we wrapped.
The Results
On top of the agreed deliverables, we also produced a series of GIF animations created from the stills, adding a layer of dynamic content to the package.
Alusense hadn't asked for these, but we felt the imagery lent itself well to motion and put them together as an extra.
The client put them to use immediately and was genuinely delighted with them.
Alusense is a returning client, and this project continued the same pattern as previous work together — a smooth process from concept through pre-production and shoot day, and a result they were very happy with.
Behind the Scenes
Some insight in our production and behind the scenes
