PETALING JAYA, July 28 — At a minimalist studio here in SS2, makeup artist Asaki Yok tinkers with several numeric sliders akin to a character creation screen in a fictional role-playing game while editing a recently taken digital photograph.

"How would you like your chin to be? Sharper? Double-chinned? How smooth do you want your face to be? You can be taller and slimmer as well if you wish too,” she asked as she adjusted each sliders’ values displayed by an AI selfie studio software on a monitor.

The ‘intended’ result is a more ‘captivating’ version of the subject that sometimes exceeds one’s physical self-concepts.

Despite its namesake, there are no instruction prompts as one might presume with other AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Gemini.

"AI selfie studio is a self-service photo studio where users, with the help of AI, adjust lighting and the colour of the shooting scene for an optimal photograph result,” Fiu Studio co-founder and makeup artist Shallee Lee told Malay Mail in an interview recently.

Founded in January 2023, Fiu Studio is one of a handful AI selfie studios operating in the Klang Valley ever since the novel trend arrived in Malaysia roughly end-2022.

By definition, selfie studios are equipped with a professional digital camera, a display monitor and studio lights, costumes and props that offer people an immersive environment for taking selfies (or wefies) within a stipulated duration.

Above all else, there are no professional photographers present — a factor that contributes to its emerging popularity.

An ‘almost’ blameless service

Selfie studios have been a trend in Asia since around 2014, and in particular they have sprung up in major Chinese cities and provincial-level capitals in a large yet unknown number.

Yok, who is also the studio’s co-founder, added that the trend and existence of selfie studios first came to be known through Xiaohongshu — a Shanghai-based social media and e-commerce platform with over 450 million registered users in countries with sizable Chinese diaspora populations.

"After the Movement Control Order (MCO), the wedding industry was moving very slow and we thought that this (selfie studio) trend was interesting, so we decided to bring it back to Malaysia out of curiosity and our love for taking photos,” Lee explained.

"Some people are camera shy and with selfie studios they have more freedom to take pictures they want. They can bring their friends along and it’s all pretty fun for the youngsters to spend time together,” Yok further explained on why the trend is such a hit amongst the younger generation here.

Apart from a photographer’s absence, what truly sets these studios apart is its AI beautification software that allows one to ‘morph’ one physical appearance to their heart’s desire.

Costing less than RM400 for a 45-minutes shoot (with all unedited softcopies return) inclusive of makeup and hairstyling, one would be compelled by the allure of a good bargain when compared to a professional photographer’s service.

Yok and Lee jokingly stated customers were also ‘unable’ to pin blame since the photos are shot and edited at their own pleasure.

"We have heard from our clients that they had a bad experience with photographers and most, if not all are very satisfied with the end result,” they said.

For the software, it costs an upwards of RM25,000 for licensing alone, is Chinese-developed and whose servers are located in China.

With servers based overseas, licensees needed to make additional payments after their ‘allotted storage space’ is used up or to purchase a newly released theme.

"Certainly not a one-off thing and not unlimited as we thought at first, that is why we do not give so many edited copies of photos to our customers.

"This also means any arising technical issues had to be relayed to the Chinese developers maintaining the software overseas,” they said.

Expectations

Customers would be presented with various themes to choose from, from Christmas to New Year; maternity and bridal shoots; retro, birthday, formal and fantasy, to name a few.

There are also various backgrounds to accompany their chosen theme from plain to even a green screen.

Subject to requests, there are even costumes provided by the studio from traditional attires to formalwear; and princess dresses and even a cowboy outfit for those wishing to cosplay.

"Of course, customers can bring their own attires as well and they can send us what kind of look they want for us to curate our wardrobe to the best of our abilities,” Lee said.

But most importantly, customers are advised to do their ‘homework’ on posing before operating the studio since time is of the essence.

Still relatively new in Malaysia, both Lee and Yok conceded there were underlying reservations of the service that comes with the occasional odd requests.

"We still get people who do not know what AI selfie studios are and they assume them to be the vintage photo booths of the past, but we tell them to experience it for themselves first.

When asked, they recalled two instances of weird requests received, one was asking if full nudity is allowed, and the other was a cross-dressing request.

"But we discuss with clients on what kind of themes or styles they prefer, and we will set all the equipment up including prepping the costumes and props for them,” they said.

With the trend now picking up, both Yok and Lee expressed optimism of the service’s long-term sustainability here in Malaysia, referencing its tremendous and alluring success in China where selfie studios are now seen in commonplace such as shopping malls.

"There is demand in the market, but most Malaysian consumers still prefer a professional photographer to lead them.

"Normally, we prefer a more natural style of photography, and we are sure this service cannot surpass a photographer’s professional skill, but most customers come here knowing what to expect already,” they said.