Gwangjin self-photo studio for birthday portraits: U&E Studio Seongsu

Why I wanted birthday photos

My birthday was recently coming up, and I wanted to make some special memories 🎂 Just eating delicious food and blowing out candles on a cake felt a little incomplete, so this time I decided to preserve the memories in photos.

I usually love taking pictures, but studio shoots can feel pricey, and posing in front of a photographer is oddly awkward, right? Then I found U&E Studio Seongsu! It is a premium self-photo studio with professional equipment and lighting already set up, and what I loved most was being able to shoot freely with just a remote control. More than anything, I wanted natural birthday photos, and this was exactly what I had been looking for :) 🤍

What are the parking and waiting area like?

Free parking is available behind the building. It is not easy to find somewhere to park in Seongsu-dong, so having a private lot here was sooo convenientㅠ!

U&E is on the third floor~

When you come upstairs, this super cozy space appears! It kind of felt like walking into a dermatology clinic..? 🤍 That warm feeling immediately made me much less nervous about taking photos.

This is the waiting area. Each session, including shooting and tidying up, runs for an hour, and this place is popular, so the time slots are all booked. If you arrive early, I think you can get ready here! The waiting area was spacious and pleasant too, so it was nice for leaving bags and things~!

The three-person shooting package and review benefit

This is the package we used. Three people for one hour, six prints, and even three frames..? Isn’t that such an amazing deal!!! At other places, even a vaguely similar shoot costs ₩70,000–₩80,000 as a baseline, but here you can take unlimited photos generously for a full hour, receive all the originals, get retouching, and have them shipped to you!! I loved not having the pressure of choosing photos and doing retouching on the dayㅠ

And there is one more big perk here!! If you write a review, wearing an outfit or dress is free!! It would be absolutely perfect for a bridal shower, maternity shoot, 100-day celebration, or wedding shoot!!!

High ceilings and free photography props

Wow, is this some celebrity editorial shoot location? The ceiling is a whopping 4 m high. The openness is unreal! It did not feel cramped at all, and the high ceiling made it feel so much more comfortable~

The photography props are free too. I have seen sunglasses props at four-cut photo booths, but this was my first time seeing so many flower props. At another photo studio, these would probably cost an extra ₩20,000–₩30,000 for sure..

There are height-boosting chairs too, along with boxes that suit bridal showers or wedding snaps! You can get an instant perfect shot just holding props like these!!

Ahh haha, there is even a cute Miss Korea sash. Something like this would be great to wear for a birthday or anniversary. My boyfriend wore it instead of me hahaha

There are this many more props here too. Have you ever seen so many props? There were seriously so many that I did not know what to use. I genuinely wanted to use them all!!!💛

Self-shooting with a remote control

This is what the setup looks like in front of you. You can just comfortably press the remote! It was convenient because I could see myself in real time. Instant feedback was possible! Hahaha, though the left-right reversal might be confusing haha

Outfit rental and dressing-room prep

This is the outfit-rental zone you can use by writing a review. You can rent shoes too. Seriously.. the outfits and heels were so well prepared that you could shoot here instead of going to an expensive wedding studio!! I think it would be perfect for a vow-renewal wedding shoot too.

There is a dressing room too. I used the curling iron myself!! There is a hair dryer, iron, and lots more, so please use everything comfortably!

This one is so, so cute. It is a frame balloon that is perfect for birthdays, and we used it well during our shoot too haha

Our birthday photo results

Once everything is done, they transfer the photos to a monitor. A staff member helps with this near the end. Even if you do not know much, they help you with everything, so no worries!!

We took photos with this kind of vibe, and taking pictures for an anniversary or birthday definitely made it feel even more like my birthday~ It put me in such a good mood too haha I loved them so much that I have even made one my wallpaper now,,💓 You should definitely take photos for your anniversary too!

I visited U&E Studio Seongsu in Seongsu because I wanted to make a special memory that felt a little different for my birthday 📸🤍 The photos came out beautifully and the atmosphere was comfortable, so it was great for a special day such as a birthday or anniversary. Above all, seeing the results gave a different feeling from photos I take myself, so I was happy to have proper photos for the first time in a while :)