Dominick Lewis, a 31-year-old African American man from Florida, is the owner and CEO of Photodom, one of the few Black-owned camera stores in New York City. What began as a $40,000 GoFundMe project has grown into a business earning more than $1 million a year.
Lewis discovered photography while studying at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He first joined the Navy ROTC program but soon realized it wasn’t the right fit. After two years, he left school, bought a camera, and spent his free time exploring the city, learning photography through trial and error.
“Being a photographer to me means responsibility to tell the truth and to tell your story. I feel like the camera historically has been used as a tool for colonization, and I feel like reestablishing the means of that camera to show black joy. It’s your responsibility to document your own journey because no one will do it for you,” he told CNBC.
Back in Florida, Lewis opened the Palm Beach Photo Studio in 2015. The business lasted only nine months, but it taught him what it really takes to run a company. In 2017, he launched an online brand called Photodom, selling photography gear and custom-designed T-shirts from a small storage unit he shared with his brother.
Realizing he needed a bigger market, Lewis moved to New York in 2018. He lived with his grandmother in Brooklyn while growing Photodom, hosting photo walks and shipping orders from his bedroom. By early 2020, when the pandemic began, he had opened a small studio where local photographers started sending their film after other labs closed.
That same summer, as Black Lives Matter protests spread across the city, Lewis decided to open a physical camera store for his community. He launched a GoFundMe campaign with a $25,000 goal but raised nearly $40,000 within days. The funds helped him open Photodom’s Brooklyn storefront in September 2020.
“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.”
Photodom quickly became a community hub, offering film development, camera gear, and photography workshops. By the end of 2021, the store had brought in nearly $727,000 in sales. By 2023, revenue had grown to more than $1.1 million, and Lewis had expanded his staff to 10 employees.
“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,” he adds.
Now entering its fifth year, Photodom continues to grow. Lewis plans to add a darkroom and eventually open a second location in Harlem or the South Bronx. He believes his success comes from learning every part of the business himself -- from building websites to processing film.
Learn more about the brand via its official website at Photodom.shop