After an X user posted his arresting portrait taken for his passport photo and declared that the “Chinese passport photo lady on Elizabeth” is the best portrait photographer in New York City, the tiny shop where he got the passport photo done has become a viral sensation.

Tucked away in Chinatown, Eliz Digital is described as having a “cult following” by CNN, which recently visited the store. Followers are so devoted that one customer comes to Eliz Digital every month to have her photo taken.

the best portrait photographer in ny is the chinese passport photo lady on elizabeth lol pic.twitter.com/JDOrqIMl7f

— me (@boltsfood) September 13, 2025

I’m a woman of routine,” says teacher Sam Shekian. “I’m going to keep going — January, February, March. And then it just became a thing, I can’t stop now, how could I stop?”

The store’s owner and photographer-in-chief, Chunika Kesh, shoots with an entry-level Canon DSLR paired with a kit lens and a Speedlite fitted with an octagonal softbox diffuser, angled up toward the ceiling. When the ceiling is white, bouncing the flash can deliver surprisingly beautiful results — provided the photographer knows their angles and distances.

But taking great photos of customers is not all that Eliz Digital does: it also develops film and customers can get a disposable camera developed there for cheaper than normal.

@movewithanj A good rec – Eliz Digitals in Chinatown for my film girls. #disposablecamera #camera #nycfilm #chinatown #nycrecs ♬ original sound – ANJ | PILATES & NYC

Meanwhile, analog photographer Laura Fuchs has made an Instagram series out of visiting Kesh, which started after she went to drop off film there for development and had two shots left on her roll. Fuchs will take Kesh’s photo and vice versa. “It became kind of a tradition,” Fuchs tells CNN. “People love it, and they love her.”

Part of the shop’s appeal is likely its retro charm; one Google reviewer says “it feels like you walked into a time machine,” likening it to a store from the 1990s. Film photography seems particularly popular in New York City; this summer Photodom — a popular film photography store — opened in a shiny new location in Bushwick.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.