July 30, 2025
Dominick Lewis is the owner of one of New York City’s few Black-owned camera stores, which he’s successfully grown into a million-dollar business.
One of the few Black-owned camera shops in New York City has scaled its business from bringing in about $700,000 a year to over $1 million, transforming it into what’s quickly becoming a photography staple in the city.
Dominick Lewis grew his million-dollar camera business, Photodom, from the ground up, starting as an e-commerce shop in 2017 before expanding into a brick-and-mortar location in 2020, all with a strong community-focused mission.
“I felt that starting something at that time, especially a physical camera store, could have been very impactful for the community,” Lewis told CNBC Make It.
Just over a year after opening, Photodom pulled in $726,910 in total sales in 2021. At the time, Lewis was paying himself around $50,000 a year and had a team of five. By 2023, sales had climbed to $1,096,319, and in 2024, they rose even higher to $1,146,737. Lewis now leads a staff of 10 and earns a yearly salary of $97,000. His biggest joy is being an asset to the local community he aims to serve.
“The neighborhood loves us being here. People can feel comfortable going to and asking any type of questions that they want about cameras and photography,” Lewis said.
“Being one of the only Black owned camera stores is a big responsibility. I feel like it’s a very important thing to have this belonging because in the past, it could mean violence if you went to a space that was not meant for you.”
This wasn’t Lewis’s first attempt at launching a store. He initially opened a photography studio in his home state of Florida in 2015, but lost the lease just nine months in and realized he needed to rethink his approach.
Recognizing that Florida’s photography market moved more slowly, he decided to return to New York City, where he spent part of his childhood, and moved in with his grandmother while working to build what would become Photodom.
Lewis started by selling custom merchandise and organizing “photo walks” and meetups with fellow photographers. But as his bedroom overflowed with camera gear, he knew it was time to return to studio life. He went on to lease a studio in Brooklyn, where he found a larger, more supportive photography community.
Launching in 2020 came with its own benefits. With many other businesses shut down, Photodom quickly became the go-to spot for film development in the Big Apple. As online orders rolled in and demand for services grew, Lewis realized it was time to open a physical storefront.
He secured a second space in the same building as his studio and launched a GoFundMe campaign to help bring the storefront to life. Although his goal was $25,000, Lewis raised more than $40,000 in just a few days.
“A lot of people were supportive of the efforts to make something that was Black-owned and very personal to the community that we served,” he says. “I knew the GoFundMe would be something that could help make the space feel more personal. I was shocked because I didn’t think that many people knew about what I was doing.”
In the five years since its launch, Photodom has relocated to a larger space and broadened its services to include photography classes and workshops. Lewis envisions transforming the business into an institution dedicated to the craft of photography.
“My vision for the store was definitely to make it a one-stop shop for photographers, especially analog photographers,” Lewis shared. “I wanted a space that carried a lot of different things. I always envision Photodom as an institution. A place that is very necessary for all purposes around it.”
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