Selfies have always been an influencer staple. Now, the lift selfie – let’s call it the liftie – is dominating socials and has led to the re-emergence of photo booth activations.
The liftie (a person taking a photo in an elevator to showcase their outfit) started gaining traction in 2022. The format has been so popular that there are now photo booths replicating silver, industrial lifts. These opened in Singapore, South Korea and Australia in late 2023. The latest liftie booth opened at Pic Me in Paris in August 2024. TikToker Savannah (onfaitquoipartout) vlogged her visit and her video has more than 300,000 views.
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On TikTok, #ElevatorPhotobooth has been tagged in 278 posts, #ElevatorOutfitCheck in 325 and #LiftSelfies in 203. Creators including Victor Kunda, Mira Al-Momani, Camille Charrière, Safaâ Alban Lloyd, Dami Hope, Julia Hobbs, Jess Cheng and Sophia Tassew have all participated in the lift outfit check trend. Meanwhile, brands such as Charles & Keith and Karl Lagerfeld have used this format to showcase their garments.
The liftie’s popularity is part of the wider shift towards more raw, unfiltered content. In the past few years, influencers have started posting grainy or blurry photos, taking 0.5 selfies, using Y2K digital cameras and taking photos in CCTV and security cameras at shops. It’s messy, real and easy to replicate.
@evie this is your sign to get your bestie and go to a photo booth 🎀🥹 @Shopneomie @Olivia Grace Herring inspo: @faye
Now, self-photo locations such as Pic Me are genius because not only do they give people the chance to take an aesthetic lift selfie if they don’t live or work in a building with one, but they also tap into people’s love of photo booths.
On TikTok, #Photobooth has been tagged in more than one million posts. Lifestyle creator Hannah Townsend visited Old Friend Photo Booth in New York – created by influencers Zoë Isabella Poetry and Brandon J Minton – and her Instagram Reel has a 7.7% engagement rate. In March, lifestyle vloggers Evie Clark and Olivia Grace Herring visited an old photo booth and took turns taking photos – Clark’s TikTok has had more than 6.4 million views. Although analogue options such as AUTOFOTO are the most popular, Korean self-portrait studios such as CHEEZ and Pick Pic are gaining traction in London.
For brands, being aware of content formats and photo trends can help influence your next event, campaign idea and predict key photoshoot opportunities. Creators particularly like taking photos both in and around lifts, aesthetic bathrooms and couches. Unique photo booths are always a success at pop-ups – earlier this year, consumers queued for more than eight hours to take a picture in rhode’s free photo booth – and offer a tangible memento.
By Caroline Edwards, news and features writer for CORQ. Picture credit: Jess Cheng via Instagram.
