After two years of building Alias on the side, Lewis dropped out of college to pursue photography full-time. “As I got older, I realized I needed to pursue things that fulfill me and make me happy, not just for the money. And photography was that for me,” he explains.
So Lewis moved back to Palm Beach, where he spent three years attempting to make his small but growing online business into something more tangible. At 21, he opened Palm Beach Photo Studio. Lewis admits that at the time, he didn't have the business knowledge, and he had to shut the shop down following a dispute with the landlord after a community event. But Lewis attributes his success with Photodom to all the experience gained along the way. “You learn a lot more from your failures than your success,” he says. “The things you fail at linger longer in your mind.”
A year after closing up, Lewis moved back to New York. And in 2020, he officially opened Photodom, taking everything he learned from Internet Alias and Palm Beach Photo Studio—plus all the odd jobs in between—and applying it to his current business model. Over 100 people came to the store on the first day, and many more in the following weeks. Since then, the shop has become a hub for local photographers, and Lewis strives to give back to the community that has continued to support him since the beginning.
We recently spoke with Lewis about running an analog photo shop, diversity in the photography industry, and more.
What services do you offer at Photodom?
I had a vision of what Photodom would look like on a small scale and didn’t imagine how big it would get, even now. I didn’t think processing and developing film would be something we would do, but now it’s one of our most-used services. We sell clothing, cameras, and offer gear rentals too, but we are growing to fit the needs of the people within our neighborhoods. We plan to do workshops and classes in the future. But, ultimately, we want to listen to those that come to the shop the most and be able to provide the services the community wants to see.
What is the monthly Photodom Grant Program?
The Photodom Grant Program is a project-based initiative open to any photographer 18 or older. We offer $1,000 a month to those who are looking for support with their project. We look for unique ideas, projects that can speak to a larger audience, and projects with meaning.