Our History

Three generations. Eight decades. One family-run camera store.

The Sweetwood Family

Bernard Sweetwood (Founder) built the company from nothing — a handshake deal with Macy’s on $35,000 of Kodak film, a fire that wiped out the original Hoboken store, a pivot from retail to wholesale, and eventually the rebirth of the business under the name Unique Photo. His wife Harriet was at his side through all of it.

Jonathan Sweetwood (2nd Generation, CEO) took over from his parents in the 1980s and guided Unique Photo through the digital transition of the 1990s and 2000s. In 2008 he opened the Fairfield, NJ flagship — the 50,000-square-foot superstore that is still the largest camera store and photography-education center in the Garden State.

Alexander Sweetwood (3rd Generation, President since 2015) became President at age 28 and is the driving force behind the modern Unique Photo. He grew up in the warehouse — literally playing on the conveyor belts and packing orders as a kid — and joined the company full time at 16. Under his leadership, Unique Photo has become the only camera retailer in the country with two large-format retail superstores, expanded into Philadelphia, and rebuilt its entire technology stack from scratch.

The Alexander Sweetwood Era (2015–Today)

Alexander is the third generation to lead Unique Photo, and the one who took it from a single-store regional camera shop into a true multi-state retailer with a custom, in-house technology platform. The highlights:

• Two retail superstores. Alexander pushed Unique Photo’s leadership to commit to a second large-format store at a time when most camera retailers were closing. The Old City Philadelphia flagship opened in 2019 — making Unique Photo the only independent camera retailer in the country with two large-format retail superstores serving both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
• Custom-built website and platform. Alexander personally led the rebuild of uniquephoto.com on a modern stack (Next.js / React / Elasticsearch / GraphQL) and a custom Laravel-based management backend. Everything from catalog and search to checkout, rentals, trade-ins, the photo lab and Unique University is built in-house — not bought off the shelf — so the customer experience is genuinely tailored to photographers.
• Unique University expansion. Photography education has grown into a full-fledged program with hundreds of classes a year, one-on-one training, professional seminars, and worldwide photo excursions. Online courses now stream from a custom video platform built in-house.
• Largest rentals program in New Jersey. Unique Photo’s rental department was rebuilt under Alexander into the largest camera-equipment rental program in the state, with same-day pickup, weekend rates, and shipping nationwide.
• Modern trade-ins. Trade-ins were re-engineered into a transparent, instant-quote system so customers can lock in a value before they ship gear or walk into the store — an unusual move in an industry full of opaque pricing.
• Photo lab + custom services. The professional photo lab handles everything from one-off prints to enterprise photo books, signage, canvas, and direct-to-fulfillment workflows for studios.
• Resilience. Unique Photo navigated the COVID era without closing a single store, kept staff employed, and came out the other side with a larger online business than before.

Alexander’s brother Jack Sweetwood serves as Vice President, and their cousin Zachary Sweetwood holds a top operations role. Father Jonathan Sweetwood continues as CEO.

The Philadelphia Move

Timeline

• 1947 — A studio in Brooklyn

  Growing up with a passion for photography, Bernard Sweetwood opens a small photography studio in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his sister, Roslyn. Bernard is the photographer; Roslyn performs the retouching.

  

  Bernard Sweetwood — founder of Unique Photo

• 1948 — The Macy’s handshake

  Bernard learns Macy’s wants to sell Kodak but can’t get a dealership. He purchases $35,000 of Kodak cameras, projectors and film on credit from his former employer — sealed with a handshake because the owner remembers him as “an honest man” — and hand-delivers the order for $70,000. That $35,000 profit is the seed money for the company.

• 1953 — Hoboken Camera Center

  Bernard and his new wife Harriet move the business to Hoboken, N.J. Bernard continues portrait photography and begins expanding retail through small satellite shops inside department stores.

  

  Harriet Sweetwood outside the Hoboken Camera Store, 1953

• 1955 — The Polaroid that got away

  Edwin Land, inventor of the Polaroid instant camera, approaches Bernard to invest. Bernard refuses, calling it “the ugliest camera he had ever seen.” Polaroid skyrockets; Bernard later calls it one of his biggest business mistakes.

• 1960s — Expansion across the tri-state

  The Sweetwoods open dozens of shops inside S. S. Kresges, Modell’s, and Atlantic Superama. Harriet rings up so many sales at Modell’s she sets the register on fire and starts writing receipts on paper bags.

  

  Harriet Sweetwood

• 1963–1964 — Fire and restart

  Thefts at outside stores cripple profits. In 1964 a massive fire destroys the Hoboken Camera Center and the business closes its doors.

• 1967–1968 — Reborn as Unique Photo

  Bernard and Harriet reconsider their model and pivot to wholesale-only distribution. Hoboken Camera changes its name to Unique Photo and re-opens a small warehouse with five employees in Kearny, N.J.

• 1970s — Wholesale takes off

  Unique Photo becomes the largest distributor of Westinghouse flash bulbs in the United States. Film sales explode through the decade.

• 1981 — Jonathan joins

  After Rutgers and Seton Hall Law School, Jonathan Sweetwood — son of Bernard and Harriet — joins the company full time.

• 1983 — 50,000 sq ft warehouse in Orange

  Operations move to a new 50,000-square-foot warehouse in Orange, N.J. with 50 employees. Unique Photo becomes one of the first wholesalers to sell directly to professional photographers.

  

  Unique Photo offices in Orange, NJ

• 1985 — Second generation takes over

  Jonathan takes over day-to-day operations of Unique Photo.

• 1990s — The digital disruption

  Digital photography rapidly changes the marketplace. Sales of film, paper and chemistry begin to drop. Once again, the Sweetwoods are challenged to change the business model amid a disruptive technology.

• 1996 — Florham Park + first website

  Unique Photo relocates to Florham Park, N.J. with a small retail outlet and a larger modern warehouse. The same year it launches its first website — uniquephoto.com — with a product catalog, photo contests and magazine articles.

  

  Unique Photo website — 1996

• 2000s — The retail pivot

  Cell-phone cameras arrive. Unique Photo’s independent camera-store clients begin closing, and wholesale sales fall. The Sweetwoods shift focus back to retail.

• 2002 — Alexander joins (at 16)

  Alexander Sweetwood, Jonathan’s son, begins working for the company at age 16 — the third generation enters the business.

• 2008 — Fairfield superstore opens

  Unique Photo unveils the massive 50,000-square-foot Fairfield, NJ flagship — the largest camera store and center for photography education in New Jersey. Printing, equipment rentals, repairs, trade-ins and the “Unique University” education program launch alongside it.

  

• 2013 — Jack joins

  Jack Sweetwood, Jonathan’s younger son, joins the company full time.

• 2015 — Alexander becomes President

  Alexander and Jack take over leadership of the company. Alexander becomes President and Jack Vice President. Jonathan continues as CEO. Alexander is 28.

  

  Alexander Sweetwood — President of Unique Photo

• 2016–2019 — A custom technology stack

  Alexander leads a ground-up rebuild of the company’s technology — a custom Next.js/React storefront on Elasticsearch and GraphQL, a custom Laravel management backend (CloudFacts), an in-house photo-lab pipeline, and a custom rentals/trade-ins system. Nearly every workflow on the site is built and operated in-house rather than bought as SaaS.

• 2019 — Philadelphia superstore opens

  Driven by Alexander, who pushed for the move and led the buildout with his team, Unique Photo opens its second large-format retail superstore at 28 South 2nd Street in Old City Philadelphia. Alexander personally handles the purchasing of every major brand line that fills the new showroom. Unique Photo becomes the only independent camera retailer in the country with two large-format superstores.

  

  Unique Photo Philly — 28 South 2nd Street, Old City Philadelphia

• 2020–2021 — Through the pandemic

  Unique Photo navigates COVID without closing a store. The online business grows substantially; the in-house Unique University moves to live-streamed online classes; trade-ins, rentals and the photo lab all continue without interruption.

• 2022 — 75th anniversary

  Unique Photo celebrates its 75th anniversary at the Unique Photo Expo in Fairfield, NJ.

• Today — The largest camera retailer in NJ & PA

  Two retail superstores. 20,000+ products. A custom-built website that handles everything from same-day shipping to multi-day workshops. A photo lab that prints everything from personal canvases to commercial signage. The Sweetwood family still maintains the forward-thinking, determined attitude that transformed a small Brooklyn studio into a leader in the photography industry.