Advertising Photography That Doesn’t Stink: Behind the Goldeimer Compost Toilets Campaign

When most people think of advertising photography, they picture polished products, perfect lighting, and idealized lifestyles. But what happens when the product is a compost toilet?

Enter Goldeimer: a Hamburg-based brand with a big mission—to make sanitation sustainable and to talk about poop without shame. They needed visuals that captured their quirky, bold tone and reflected their activism and creativity. That’s where I came in.

This wasn’t your average commercial shoot. Instead of sterile studio backdrops, we staged scenes with character and grit. Instead of overly polished setups, we leaned into natural light, offbeat environments, and real human expression. The goal: advertising photography that felt as alive and disruptive as the Goldeimer brand itself.

We shot on location with a DIY feel that matched Goldeimer’s ethos, styling each scene to be playful yet punchy. The compost toilets—yes, actual toilets—became almost characters themselves. Props, gestures, and context all worked to tell a story: one of sustainability, humor, and real-world impact.

Advertising photography, at its best, isn’t just about selling—it’s about communicating a point of view. For Goldeimer, that meant visual storytelling that broke taboos while still being approachable and fun.

This project proves that good ad photography doesn’t have to be slick or serious. It just has to be honest, bold, and a little bit cheeky.