Cover image via @_kanta.studio (Instagram) & Kanta Studio (Provided to SAYS)
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.
There's a new photo studio in KL that lets you take portraits like it's 1920 again
Tucked inside GMBB Kuala Lumpur, Kanta Studio brings back the golden age of salon photography, complete with a restored 19th-century camera, black-and-white film, and good old-fashioned darkroom magic.
It's the brainchild of Jeffrey Lim, a Malaysian art practitioner who's made it his mission to revive traditional silverprint photography.
Every portrait here is hand-developed on silver gelatin paper; no filters, no retouching, just light, chemistry, and craft.
Jeffrey Lim, Kanta Studio's founder and photographer.
Image via Kanta StudioThe star of the studio is a Shanghai-built camera that's more than a century old
Built between 1900 and 1920 in Shanghai, Kanta Studio's main camera was rescued and restored by Jeffrey after he discovered it through an antique dealer, a research trail that eventually led him to Beruas, Perak.
Over three painstaking months, Jeffrey told SAYS he restored it to working condition, carefully blending modern usability with historical soul
Each portrait session at Kanta Studio is a full experience
You'll pose, wait for your exposure to be captured, and then watch as your image comes to life through a hands-on printing process using silver halide chemistry.
Kanta's Instant Portrait Series offers three print sizes — 3×5″, 5×7″, and 8×10″ — with four exposures on archival-quality paper.
The photos aren't just souvenirs; they are art objects meant to last generations.
So, if you've ever wanted a portrait that feels more like a memory than a photo, maybe it's time to let a 100-year-old camera see you through its lens
These are the prices
Small-sized photo print (3 x 5 inches)
– 4 shots & prints / RM180 / 1.5 hours
Medium-sized photo print (5 x 7 inches)
– 4 shots & prints / RM270 / 2 hours
Large-sized photo print (8 x 10 inches)
– 3 shots & prints / RM360 / 2.5 hours
Special package (Limited time offer)
– 3 Large, 2 Medium, and 2 Small-sized
– 7 shots & prints / RM500 / 3.5 hours
Digital scan copies of photo prints (per package)
– Large and Medium-sized / RM50
– Small-sized / RM35
Kanta Studio
Address
6th Floor, Unit 36, GMBB Mall
2, Jalan Robertson, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours
11am – 7pm (Daily)
Website | Instagram | Facebook
