Nav: Home > Coffee >

Café Commercial Photography Chaos! Multiple Coffee Shops Post Notices Banning Professional Photoshoots

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex As the trend of professional café visits and commercial photography continues to intensify, many coffee shops have recently issued statements.

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more premium coffee beans, add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

The Rise of Commercial "Coffee Shop Hopping" and Photoshoots

With the growing trend of professional coffee shop hopping and commercial photography, many coffee shops have recently posted notices stating they don't accept commercial shop visits nor commercial shoots without payment of venue fees.

Regarding such regulations, many shop owners feel frustrated but find it difficult to express their grievances...

Regarding professional shop hopping, originally bloggers and merchants were in a mutually beneficial relationship. Being able to attract people for commercial photography is also a good thing for a coffee shop, as it means their space design is appreciated. However, it's unclear when things started going wrong...

The Growing Problems

More and more shop-hopping bloggers are operating in gray areas. Some accept payment for false advertising, while others use their "influencer" status to demand free items from merchants in exchange for "promotion," or even require promotion fees, otherwise threatening to publish negative reviews/articles/videos.

An increasing number of commercial photographers don't pay any venue rental fees. They enter with large bags of equipment after ordering just one drink—or sometimes no drink at all—bringing various professional equipment and boxes of clothes, occupying restrooms and parts of public spaces for extended periods.

Regarding the published notices, we've communicated with several coffee shop owners. Among them are newly opened shops and others that have been operating for years, all expressing helplessness about today's shop-hopping and commercial photography phenomena. Most owners stated: "When customers see malicious negative reviews online or see people posing throughout the shop, they dare not come in..."

Shop Owners' Experiences

- Maruko

Several owners mentioned that shop hopping has changed in nature. Some call in advance claiming to be influencers, saying they can write reviews and provide brand exposure opportunities as long as the shop offers free drinks and food.

More outrageous ones show up uninvited, order a coffee, then claim to be shop-hopping experts, showing accounts with only a few hundred followers and demanding free items. Some even resort to threatening negative reviews when refused, and merchants have no way to appeal against such malicious negative reviews.

Regarding commercial photography, several owners tearfully shared their experiences, because many commercial photographers act morally绑架ed after consuming just one drink...

Because they've made a purchase, merchants find it difficult to ask these commercial photographers to leave. But not stopping this once leads to more similar situations, with even more different groups coming for commercial shoots, as if they're sharing information about where they can shoot without paying venue fees...

-侃侃 kent

Some, when asked to pay venue fees, argue they're not booking the entire venue, claiming they're just taking a few photos and shouldn't have to pay high venue fees, considering it extortion. Some even confidently state that there are few customers in the shop so they're not affecting anything, that they are still consuming, and can even bring a lively atmosphere to the shop.

Regarding such statements, no owner can accept them, as they seriously affect the experience of other customers in the shop. Many customers come to coffee shops seeking tranquility or a social place to meet friends and chat.

-卡酱bagel

But often, they turn around as soon as they see the "long guns and short barrels" (professional cameras) inside and various strong lights flashing... Some early customers also feel very annoyed by the back-and-forth movement of commercial photographers and their various poses, and we rarely see these customers return...

The Challenge for Coffee Shop Owners

How to prevent these people from coming has become a major headache for coffee shop owners. Although posting such notices may be considered petty, more and more coffee shops are explicitly refusing such behavior.

- Sin

Nowadays, more and more shop-hopping articles indiscriminately praise a shop and some products, raising people's expectations, but the actual products don't meet these expectations. This has led to general consumers becoming wary of shop-hopping recommendations and videos.

The trend of commercial photography has become increasingly taken for granted. Originally, commercial photography was diversified income for shops, better supporting their long-term development. But it has evolved into not only bringing no additional income but also losing more customers.