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KOREATOWN, LOS ANGELES () — It seems everything old is new again and for Tom’s One Hour Photo in Koreatown, it’s all thanks to a celebrity who wanted some old school glamour shots. The owner is Hiep Tuong, known simply as Tom. He’s had the studio for nearly four decades.
It’s where he helped introduce a concept that blew up in the 90’s – photoshoots with hand painted backgrounds and creative poses.
“Junior high, high school, and college, same thing. When you go to school together and after when you’re done, everybody come take a picture like this and make a small photo like this and sign the back,” said Tuong.
But once smart phones became a thing, the industry changed and shops started to close. Tuong had to pivot until 2019, when singer Kacey Musgraves came in for a photoshoot and even set up an Instagram account for the shop.
“She took my phone and I say for what? She took my phone, and she do the name, and she opened the Instagram,” he said.
Since then, business has been booming. In the 90’s, he says business was up about two percent. Now, it’s up 10 to 15 percent.
Some of our 7 Producers came along for a trip down memory lane! The backdrops set the vibe and Tom set the mood, but what hooked us was the viewing session on his computer.
Several big time companies have also hired Tuong to do these old school photos at their events, like Netflix, HBO and Apple Music.
Since the photo shop is so popular, they only accept appointments, which can be made by calling 213-389-2677.
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