Chinatown shop’s passport photos spark viral NYC craze

Lights, camera… and one little Chinatown film shop that gets a lot of action. 

A tiny, unassuming photography store on 77 Elizabeth St. is suddenly the hottest place in town for a glow-up — the passport kind. 

Eliz Digital, a cramped Chinatown photo counter, has amassed a cult following of New Yorkers sprinting in for a photo that somehow makes federal ID requirements look flattering.

The wizard behind the lens? Owner Chunika Kesh — though she swears she’s no photo magician, as explained in a recent interview with CNN.

She said she has “no secret” to her viral portraits and credits the craze to something much simpler: making people feel relaxed in front of the camera.

Whatever she’s doing, it’s working — and the internet can’t get enough.

On TikTok, teacher Sam Shekian (@teachingwithms.shekian) confessed she gets a passport-style photo taken by Kesh “every single month,” a ritual she’s kept since 2022. 

She’s even filmed herself arranging the mini-mugshots on a gallery wall in her apartment like an ever-evolving art installation. 

Photographer Laura Fuchs has turned her devotion to Kesh and Eliz Digital into a full Instagram project. 

Her series, “Chunika & Me,” posted on her account @fuchswithfilm, documents her visits to the shop — from Kesh’s warm greeting to the final portraits, displayed side-by-side and like a love letter to the analog arts.

Over on X, the hype machine is just as loud. User @boltsfood went viral for posting his polished, white-background passport pic, raving, “the best portrait photographer in ny is the chinese passport photo lady on elizabeth lol.”

But it’s not just the passport posse driving the frenzy — Chinatown’s new photo queen is also drawing analog diehards looking for cheap, fast and high-quality disposable camera developing.

TikTokker @movewithanj praised the shop as a rare NYC bargain, telling followers it’s perfect “to get your disposable cameras developed in NYC for days.” 

Content creator @baileyisoverdressed agrees. In a walking vlog, she gushed, “join me on my walk to my favorite lady in Chinatown at Eliz Digital to get some film developed.”

So whether you’re renewing your passport, documenting your month-to-month glow-up, or trying to salvage those overexposed vacay snaps, one thing’s clear: in a city full of photo ops, Chinatown’s passport-photo whisperer is the one turning New Yorkers into believers — one flattering federal ID at a time.