27-week maternity photoshoot at Dongtan self-photo studio U&I

Hi everyone! I'm currently 27 weeks pregnant. Honestly, at this stage my bump isn't dramatically big yet, so I went back and forth on whether to even do maternity photos! But thankfully I got a wonderful opportunity to do a maternity shoot at U&I self-photo studio in Dongtan!

After actually going, I realized that no matter the size of your bump, you can get such polished, natural shots — I would have really regretted skipping this. I'll walk you through everything: location, pricing, interior facilities, and shooting tips.

U&I Dongtan Branch: location, parking and opening hours

U&I Dongtan Branch is a self-photo studio on the 2nd floor of Dongtan IT Valley 2, Building 1, in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, open daily from 10:00 to 18:00. Parking is available from ground level to B2 in the building, and a free parking voucher is provided if you use the studio.

• ⏰ Open daily 10:00–18:00
• 🅿️ Parking available from ground level to B2 (free parking voucher provided with studio use)
• 💡 By public transit: take bus H102 / 51-3 / H11 and get off at Hyundai Transys, 2-minute walk

How much do the maternity shoot and dress rental cost?

Even though U&I Dongtan is a premium self-photo studio, the pricing and package benefits are really generous. Dress and suit rental is just ₩5,000, and with the early bird special booking, a 34% discount brought the total to ₩99,000.

• Premium anniversary self-photo studio usage fee included free
• Free use of the 4M large cyclorama (group photos possible)
• Basic package included free: 6 printed photos + 2 retouched shots
• Free frames included: paper frames (1 stand type, 2 standard type)
• All shooting events and props included free
• Costume rental (dresses, suits, etc.): ₩5,000 — the rental fee is really cheap!
• ★ Early bird special booking: ₩99,000 with 34% discount

Because the cyclorama is 4 meters wide, there's plenty of room not just for two-person maternity shots but also for family group photos later once the baby is born — a big advantage!

Walking in: what U&I Dongtan looks like inside

After parking, head up to the 2nd floor and look for room 231 — you'll immediately spot 'U&I Studio.' We arrived at our booked time and waited a moment before a friendly staff member came right out to guide us.

Once the door opened, the interior of the studio was even more spacious, clean, and comfortable than expected! There was an overall bright tone and a sophisticated atmosphere.

The powder room at U&I Dongtan

To the right of the entrance is the powder room! It's set up so you can fix your hair or touch up makeup, letting you tidy your hair right before shooting!

Props you can use for a maternity shoot

Going further past the powder room, there were lots of fun, colorful props to make the shoot more enjoyable!

• Colorful artificial flower bouquets
• Cute headbands
• A mini chalkboard for writing heartfelt messages
• Number balloons, great for marking D-day or weeks of pregnancy
• A cake prop
• Witty glasses
• Shoes (only the glitter shoes fit — based on a 245mm foot size)

Outfits and the fitting room

On the right side, there are women's dresses, men's suits, and even baby clothes prepared.

There's a separate, clean fitting room set up further inside, which made the flow really convenient and let us change comfortably without feeling self-conscious.

How does the self-photo session actually work?

We had a 2 pm booking. The staff member spent about 5 minutes explaining how to use the remote, camera angles, and precautions during shooting.

Once the briefing ended at 2:05, we shot freely until 2:50!

The first 5 minutes or so were a bit awkward figuring out angles and expressions... a little shy and stiff! But since it was just the two of us shooting privately with no one watching, we quickly got comfortable and could pose smoothly, haha.

We wrote our baby's nickname on the chalkboard for a shot, and using the number balloons and baby shoe props made the whole thing much more fun!

The studio lighting wasn't overdone — it gave skin a soft, smooth glow, so our complexion came out looking so pretty!

My husband and I got so into trying out different poses that the time flew by — when the shoot ended, we were like, 'wait, it's already over?' and felt a bit sad about it...

The tired-after-shooting issue, lol — solved thoughtfully with candy and water waiting for us!!!

Do you get the original files for free?

U&I Studio sends all the original files by email right after the shoot ends. At most other self-photo studios, you usually have to pay extra to get the originals, right? When I checked the email, thanks to how good the lighting was, even the unedited originals themselves looked genuinely great.

3 tips for shooting at U&I Dongtan

How you use your roughly 45 minutes at U&I Dongtan really matters. Just covering tripod time-lapse, prop planning, and saved pose references makes things go much more smoothly.

1. Definitely shoot a time-lapse — there's a tripod on one side of the studio, so make sure to turn on time-lapse on your phone! You'll end up with an adorable behind-the-scenes video.

2. Plan your props in advance — since there are so many kinds, deciding beforehand which props to use will let you use your time much more efficiently.

3. Save some pose references — capture a few maternity self-photo poses you like from Instagram or Pinterest, so you can switch poses smoothly during the shoot without getting stuck.

Was the U&I Dongtan maternity shoot worth it?

We went to U&I self-photo studio in Dongtan with a mix of worry and excitement! Thanks to the private, comfortable space, tasteful lighting, abundant props, and great value pricing, we made unforgettable, happy memories. Even us awkward couple got several photos we really loved — our satisfaction was 200%!!!! If you're in Dongtan looking for a natural, pretty self-photo studio for anniversary or maternity shoots, definitely visit U&I Studio!

The finished photos U&I Dongtan sent us

The photos came out so beautifully! We put them in the frames that came with the package and displayed them, and they looked really lovely. Satisfying all the way to the end — I recommend U&I Studio~