Hongdae self photo studio for friendship photos on white: Areye Studio

Areye Studio (스튜디오어라이)

Why I took friendship photos with my friend of 7 years

I took friendship photos with my friend of 7 years at Areye Studio, a self photo studio in Hongdae. Maybe it's because we work hard every single day, but time seems to fly by cruelly fast. My older friend and I have been close since our early twenties, and it's somehow been 7 years already. We've never once taken a proper photo together, so I thought we should finally leave behind some pretty pictures.

My friend stiffens up in front of a camera, so I wondered where we could shoot in a relaxed atmosphere, and ended up at a self photo studio. Areye Studio is a great place for friendship, maternity, couple and family photos, so let me introduce it to you all in this post!

How far is it from Hongik Univ. Station?

Areye Studio is only a 5–10 minute walk from Hongik Univ. Station, so it was easy to get to by public transport after work.

The studio is on the basement level, so you go into the building and head down. The moment I walked in it was so cool inside, such a relief! It's so hot these days that playing outside is tough, so isn't it great to make pretty memories in a nice cool self photo studio?

Studio rental space and lighting

Areye Studio also has a space you can rent as a studio. You bring your own camera gear and rent just the studio.

The lighting is really well set up, so it seems good for any kind of shoot. A great tip for anyone who needs to rent a space!

Hair and makeup touch-up area and waiting area

There's also a spot for quick makeup or hair touch-ups. A mirror with lights, haha, so handy for doing makeup! Hair dryers, curling irons and hairspray were all well stocked too.

I arrived earlier than our reservation and sat comfortably in the waiting area for my friend. The owner was so kind that I could wait and relax even more.

What props and backdrops are there?

I got a look at the shooting space, and there are lots of props, so even people who feel awkward on camera can use them to take cute, pretty photos!

There were pretty flowers, balloons and plenty more!

This is the self-shooting space. There's a white backdrop and plenty of other colors, so it was easy to pick a backdrop to match our outfits.

I loved that there were lots of chairs and props too. Use a bit of everything and your chances of getting prettier photos go UP!

A 30-minute shoot in a space just for the two of us

The shooting time at Areye Studio is about 30 minutes, which is plenty to take loads of photos! The owner kindly showed us how to pose, so we had a blast. We kept hitting the shutter, laughing out loud, and had a really refreshing, fun shoot. And since it was just the two of us while shooting, it was easy to relax and loosen up in a comfortable atmosphere.

Retouching and prints, with 4 free

Once you pick the photos you like, the owner lightly retouches them and prints them, and she gave us 4 prints as a free service. Aren't they pretty? Totally, completely satisfied! We matched in black and shot against a clean white backdrop, and I love how they turned out, and my friend did too!

Today I wrote down how we made pretty memories during a cool photo shoot at Areye Studio in Hongdae. If you want to make lovely memories too, give it a try! It's a great place for friendship, maternity, family and couple photos ♥