For over thirty years, the Studio Photographers has created unique, documentary-style photographs for its clients. “I really want someone who observes those photographs to learn something about the people in them,” says David Salomone, 30.

Above, David Salomone of the Studio Photographers; left and below, examples of the company’s work.

Salomone’s father, Frank, started the business in Brick in 1974, and is still involved today. The Studio’s five employees—including David’s wife, Tami—now man three locations: Millburn, Freehold, and Staten Island. They shoot New Jersey-area and destination weddings, family and children’s portraits, and other special events.

A job perk, Salomone says, is the ability to think creatively for clients. “If we want to try something new and different, we can push the envelope.  Our clients appreciate that and want us to do that,” he says. Capturing peoples’ real emotions in a photograph is key. “I don’t want to have them look a certain way that isn’t them,” he says.

The Studio offers an unconventional sales practice: Instead of ordering a specific package before the event, clients choose what they want after they’ve seen the finished product. “I feel we offer more freedom in the way [customers] purchase photography,” Salomone says. “They reward me by purchasing pictures afterwards,” he says.

The family-run Studio Photographers strives to connect to its clients for their important occasions. Since the business relies mostly on referrals, the photographers have attended many of the same families’ milestones, like weddings and, later, christenings. “We’re there to become a part of their lives,” Salomone says.