On the fourth floor of a shopping mall outside the North Fifth Ring Road in Beijing, between the bustling dining area and bookstore, there is a JUST that covers only about two square metersFOTO self-service shooting equipment. The semi closed door curtain leaves a private space for the photographer, and the words "Create My Life Memories" and "Big Head Poster" are written above the device.

Opening the door curtain, a yellow machine came into view. Swipe your finger lightly on the screen, and various IP co branded designs will appear one by one, including the "Full time Master Jumps to the Peak" series borders and the "Pudding Dog Happy Party" series borders. The levels of beauty and filters can also be adjusted as desired. Taking photos, selecting photos, and printing, it only takes a few minutes.

The headshot, which was once popular on the streets and alleys in the millennium but later almost disappeared, is returning in a brand new form. This time, they are no longer limited to small shops outside schools, but appear in batches in the courtyards, corridors, movie entrances, and even scenic spots and cultural tourism projects of shopping malls in first and second tier cities. Compared to the past, the new style of headshot has added trendy gameplay such as IP co branding and celebrity co framing, catering to the new trends of IP economy and fan economy.

Demand

Zhang Hongyang, the person in charge of Guangzhou Qianlai Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., has recently received several invitations for cooperation in cultural and tourism projects. The other party hopes to purchase self-service photography equipment and set up exclusive elements for the scenic area to provide interactive experiences for tourists. Customers have more new requirements: high-definition image quality, clear printing, and natural beauty that cannot be seen when turned on.

There are more orders and requirements, and the self-service camera equipment supplier Zhang Hongyang is even busier than before. He said that his company has deployed nearly 10000 self-service cameras nationwide and collaborated with hundreds of domestic and foreign brands.

Using a self-service camera to take headshots was a popular way of taking photos since the 1990s, but with the development of digital photography and mobile phone photography technology, this popular entertainment method among young people was quickly eliminated. Nowadays, big head stickers are making a comeback and can be seen everywhere in the core business districts of first tier cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, as well as in shopping malls such as Joy City, Heshenghui, and Wanda Plaza.

Several shopping malls under the Kaide Group have introduced self-service cameras. Kaide told reporters that the new generation of self-service cameras are equipped with fun borders and AR functions, many of which are themed borders for popular anime, games, and other IPs and celebrities, which have strong appeal to young people and fan groups. On various social media platforms, many netizens share their shooting experiences. For shopping malls, using self-service cameras not only attracts young people, but also leverages social media popularity with low cost.

Zhang Hongyang saw the enthusiasm of young people for pursuing IP and celebrities, so he also increased his cooperation in IP co branding, celebrity co production, and other aspects to meet the aesthetic needs of young people. At present, his company has reached continuous cooperation authorization with more than 20 popular IPs.

In addition, hardware upgrades have significantly improved the shooting quality of headshots: old-fashioned low definition cameras have been replaced by DSLR cameras; Printing equipment has been replaced from film printers and inkjet printers with imported printers, resulting in lower failure rates and longer photo retention times; The device has added professional beauty lights and flash, optimizing the shooting lighting effect.

The expansion of consumer scenarios has also provided more opportunities for Big Head Adhesive to be used. For example, the combination of self-service cameras and cultural tourism projects has given rise to the emerging form of "newspaper photography". The so-called newspaper photography is a design that imitates the style of a newspaper - with elements such as the headline, date, and title readily available, with the "headline" position specifically reserved as a photography area. Tourists can choose newspapers with different themes according to their preferences. At present, such devices have been installed in scenic spots such as the ancient city wall in Xi'an and the arcade old street in Haikou, becoming new highlights that attract tourists to check in.

Cultural and tourism units are also one of Zhang Hongyang's main clients at present. In addition, 40% of the customers in the shopping mall are focused on location placement, mainly using semi open small volume models that are suitable for crowded areas such as mall corridors and escalators; There are also customers in the store and collection store categories who often use large aircraft models with immersive landscaping, such as airplanes, subways, elevators, and other scene designs, for trendy and themed stores; Some customers have also moved small interactive cameras to events such as weddings, conferences, and corporate flash mobs. The prices of these devices range from 15000 yuan to 40000 yuan.

Industry

At present, the top brands of headshot photography equipment include JUSTFOTO, photoism, and photocube have different operational strategies and brand positioning.

FOTO was born in 2018 and has deployed over 2000 devices, covering more than 1600 venues across the country, including shopping malls, scenic spots, and neighborhoods. The registered users of the mini program are about 10 million, with the core users being young women aged 15 to 35. The average customer price ranges from 29.9 yuan to 59.9 yuan. The brand's cooperative IP covers well-known brands such as Sanrio and Disney.

Photoism, a Korean brand founded in 2019, entered China in 2024, focusing on the experience of "co production" with Korean idol stars. Users can use photo frames with celebrity images to pose for interactive photography. The brand announced on April 9th on Xiaohongshu that it has set up 54 self-service photo booths nationwide, covering cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Chongqing. With JUSTCompared to FOTO, photoism has a relatively higher unit price per customer.Photoism told reporters that its main consumer group for its products is girls who pursue Korean pop music, aged between 18 and 40.

Since June 2020, PaiCube has been operating and its business has covered over 160 core cities across the country, with over a thousand devices deployed and a total of over 10 million service users. In December 2025, Wanda Film announced the completion of its strategic investment in Paifang and the centralized introduction of equipment in Wanda Cinemas across the country. The co branded IPs of Paifang include well-known IPs such as Cherry Little Maruko, I'm Not Fat Tiger, Kapibala, and various film and television IPs, focusing on new scenes of image social consumption.

According to Meituan information and incomplete statistics from reporters, there are about 90 JUST machines in BeijingFOTO devices are mostly placed in shopping malls. In early April of this year, Photoism set up a new self-service photo spot in Building 3.3 of Sanlitun. Prior to this, Photoism had already set up 4 stores and 2 standalone locations in Beijing, located in Chaoyang Joy City, Chaoyang Heshenghui, Xizhimen Kaide MALL, Huaxi LIVE Wukesong, Shiji Jinyuan, and Chaoyang Park.

In addition to self-service photo booths, many brands are also exploring store based operations. FOTO has opened offline stores in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places, providing DIY cultural and creative peripherals such as photo frame placement and character signage, in addition to headshot photography, to create a richer product portfolio; Photoism has also established 4 stores in Beijing to expand offline experience scenarios.

The current big head sticker market has formed two mainstream operating models: one is that top brands go through direct sales or franchise routes, create a unified IP, provide brand services, and charge franchise fees and shares; Another type is for individual entrepreneurs to directly purchase equipment from upstream factories, register their own brands, and place them in designated locations without paying franchise fees or later commission, only bearing the cost of consumables.

Zhang Hongyang stated that the current research and development focus of upstream manufacturers is to integrate AI technology, deepen IP cooperation, expand more cultural and tourism gameplay, and integrate cultural and creative products such as refrigerator stickers, badges, commemorative coins, and photography services to better adapt to scenes such as museums and cultural tourism attractions. In addition, the development of new scenarios such as events and collection stores will also bring greater market space for big stickers.