Otto's Shrunken Head

538 E. 14th St.
New York, NY 10009
B&W, 4 per strip, $7.00

Photos: December 13, 2003
Last visit: June 2, 2024

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The photobooth in the back hallway of Otto's Shrunken Head fits right in with the decor, the drinks, and the "Big Buck Hunter II: Sportsman's Paradise" game that sits beside it. Well, maybe not that last part. The booth certainly is of a piece with the tiki lounge atmosphere, though, and seemed to be fairly popular the night we tried it out. The machine is on the $4 token from the bartender system, like the Lakeside Lounge, and of four other bar booths in NYC, Otto's machine provides the best image. It's a terrific black and white "Auto-Photo" booth with great contrast and midtones, as well as the bonus leopard print background and the availability of drinks with paper umbrellas and plastic monkeys to spice up your photos.

UPDATE 1/18/10: Samarra writes, "The booth still produces very crisp and clean prints; midtones and contrast are still lovely. The framing of the strip has changed within the last year from black to white now. [The booth is] located slightly further back in the bar now and the only background options are solid white and an (awesome) skull-patterned fabric. The cost for a single strip of 4 images is still $4.00."

UPDATE 10/30/13: Liz reports the following: "Still up and running. Price is now $5. You pay at the bar and they give you a token to deposit. Background curtain is zebra which is a fun alternative to the standard!"

UPDATE 9/30/21: Stephanie let us know that the booth is still here, but out of order, and "stacked with boxes of beer."

UPDATE 5/21/23: Alyssa and Stephen let us know that after many years, Otto's booth is back up and running. "the photochemical booth is now up and running as of a few days ago!!! The owner of the booth was dealing w health complications and it was down for five years! But it's back, now for $7. I fear we were one of the few using it since it's been back so there are imperfections in the print but at least it's back!"

UPDATE 7/19/23: We were about to mark this booth as "inactive" but took a dive into the bar's Instagram feed to see if there might still be evidence of the booth's broken existence. Lo and behold, an Instagram post from 8 weeks ago boasts that "Our Photobooth Is Back." See for yourselves!

UPDATE 8/3/23: Kacey reports "Excellent photos! 7 dollars, you have to buy a token from the bar for 7 dollars in cash."

UPDATE 6/1/24: Tori let us know that Otto's booth is working well, more than a year after its reintroduction. "The contrast is just gorgeous, I was delighted when we got our prints! Tokens are $7, cash only from a bartender. They have an ATM set up right next to the booth, so it’s very convenient."

Contributed by Brian, Samarra, Liz, Stephanie, Alyssa, Stephen, Tim, Kacey, Tori