Young couple bring booming Asian trend to Cairns with self-service photo studio.

They’re everywhere in Asia and big Aussie cities and now the Far North is getting in on the trend with the launch of a Cairns-first instant print self-service photo studio.

Nostalgic photo booths and modern design are combined in Cairns’ newest and only self-studio.

Pikapic Studios on Shield Street in Cairns City opened last Saturday as the first self-studio in Cairns — a shoot it yourself photo studio featuring three private photo booths with customisable print strips and an array of fun props.

A popular concept in Asia, co-owners Thomas Breitenstein and Dasom You thought it was time Cairns had a studio of its own.

Thomas Breitenstein and Dasom You have opened Cairns' first self-service photo studio on Shield Street, Cairns City. Picture: Thomas Breitenstein

“Dasom is Korean and we travelled there a few months ago, I discovered this concept, we loved it and thought it was missing in Cairns,” Mr Breitenstein said.

Pikapic Cairns co owner Thomas Breitenstein has some fun taking photos with the props and costume on offer, before receiving his selfie photos. Picture: Brendan Radke

“It’s something that has started coming over to Australia – there’s two or three in Sydney, and a few in Melbourne and Brisbane – but we wanted to be the first one here.

“People are definitely enjoying it so far; Saturday was crazy – we had 60 orders on that night.”

The couple purposefully designed the studio to suit a wide audience, no matter their background or tastes.

“We want to see old couples, locals, tourists, we want to see everyone,” he said.

“We had a lot of Asian people come through because they know what it is, a lot of people from Cairns don’t know the concept yet but we hope we can target everyone eventually.

Pikapic is a fun new business on Shields Street that allows singles, couples, families and group to take selfies using an automated machine. Users can chose their own themes and filters before printing out a strip of their best photos taken. Picture: Brendan Radke

“It’s a good looking shop, it’s fun and trendy but we tried to steer away from Asian design features and make it suit Cairns.”

The pair plan to extend the business further and will soon open a self-service portrait studio on the premises.

“This building used to be a bank, so we have a big vault in the back and, in a few months, we want to have a full portrait studio set up, no photographer but you can take your own pictures in a professional setting.

“We have a lot of ideas and we’re not completely sure where we will go yet but we hope that we grow,” he added.

Pikapic Studio is open from 2pm to 10pm every day.

Originally published as Young couple bring booming Asian trend to Cairns with self-service photo studio.