As AI-generated slop continues to flood the internet (and the real world), Leeanna and Aaron DiGruccio are fighting back with their unique take on a classic tradition—the mall family portrait. Leeanna and Aaron are the creatives behind M4LL PH0T0, a photobooth pop-up business that has become a major draw at festivals and markets across southwestern Ontario.
Their portraits are uniquely nostalgic and modern. Nailing that feeling comes from a simple approach. Each session uses the same setup with one or more people sitting on stools gazing up to their left, and another person, pet, or even a half-eaten container of chicken dumplings superimposed in the upper corner. It’s an instantly recognizable photograph, even if you have not seen one like it before.
“People who’ve heard of us come up and say, ‘I know what a M4LL PH0T0 is.’ If they haven’t, we have a little blurb that explains it. Either it clicks or it doesn’t, and their first impression is that it’s ridiculous. We give them our routine, so there’s no option paralysis and people trust us with the output,” Aaron said.
In addition to M4LL PH0T0, the pair own DIGRUCC.IO, an event and corporate photography business. Portrait photography comes naturally to Aaron and Leeanna. Over the last 20 years, Aaron has worked with Newschool Photography Inc. taking graduation and school portraits, and Leeanna built her experience taking school photos in Oklahoma.
“We know how to sit you down and pose you. With M4LL PH0T0, I wanted to stick to one pose, because the idea was to set up at markets. We’re not studio photographers. We’re event photographers,” she said.
Choosing the iconic pose was an easy choice for Leeanna, who worked at a photo studio inside Sears in her native Texas.
“The pose that sticks out most for me is people sitting and looking off, because there was always a guy behind the camera saying, ‘Hey, over here, smile,’ and people would look at his hand instead of the camera. I had my photo taken at Sears as a kid, and working there was a treat,” Leeanna said.
Department store portrait studios would often focus on multiple poses to encourage families to purchase more photos. For Leeanna and Aaron, the goal for M4LL PH0T0 is to create portraits that are affordable and fun.
“Sears portraits were about 25 bucks, and you usually got a 5×7 in one pose. You could buy more prints and more poses — that’s how we upsold you. With M4LL PH0T0, it’s supposed to be fun and silly. And we don’t charge for kids, because getting photographs taken is really expensive. Our whole point is to be a bit of an activist: a place where you can get a really great bad photo that’s affordable,” she said.
That last bit has become their tagline— ”high-quality bad photos”.
Since launching late last year, M4LL PH0T0 has quickly built a cult following at markets including the recent KW Punk Rock Flea Market. Leeanna said they have regulars who come to almost every market where they have booth space.
“They follow us, and they always bring a new person, because they want that person to have the experience,” she said.
As the business has taken off, Leeanna and Aaron have updated the M4LL PH0T0 booth with new branding to reflect the Y2K aesthetic from their youth that inspired them.
“Everything is static-TV and checkerboard branded. It’s just fun. People are starting to recognize the look. We hear, ‘It’s a M4LL PH0T0,’ and we’re flattered and kind of proud that it’s gone from our company name to a common noun,” Aaron said.
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