Become a model: 3D photo booth opens in Japan

Tokyo – Omote 3D, an installation that organisers say is the world’s first 3D photo booth, is up and running in Tokyo’s Omotesando district.

The exhibit is produced by Party, a creative lab with offices in Tokyo and New York. To have a portrait figurine made, guests stand still for 15 minutes while a scanner creates a 3D image, which is then fed into a 3D printer to produce a scaled down, full-colour replica.

The device shares none of the spontaneity of a 2D photo booth, however. In addition to the requirement to stand still, guests are advised not to wear complex patterns or jewellery and to remove their glasses. In an age of fast digital imagery, the formality is almost reminiscent of a Victorian portrait studio.

Prices start at ¥21,000 ($256, €196, £160) and a larger portrait of a couple costs ¥84,000 ($1,026, €785, £638). Cost has not prevented portrait sessions from being booked up weeks in advance.

The high premium on a tangible product is another example of consumers demanding more tactile experiences of media, as we showed in our Digi-tactile microtrend.