CJ Studios

CJ Studios “I am not here to work nine to five. I am here to capture a simcha so that my clients can relive those magical moments for years to come.”

It’s not about doing a job. It’s not about taking pictures or shooting video. It is about making your simcha live on forever, a responsibility that we take very, very seriously.

09/30/2025

Why I started Kibid.org

When the bride is a photographer herself… let’s just say the pressure was ON. 📸But CJ? We’re the photographers’ photogra...
09/29/2025

When the bride is a photographer herself… let’s just say the pressure was ON. 📸
But CJ? We’re the photographers’ photographer. We know how to deliver.

This Grove wedding in North Jersey was unforgettable — elegant, bold, and flawless from start to finish. And yes… every time we clicked the shutter, we knew the bride was silently grading us. (Pretty sure we passed. With extra credit. 😅)

At the end of the day, though, that’s the beauty of weddings: it’s not just about impressing the pros, it’s about capturing moments so real and meaningful that everyone forgets about the cameras.

09/28/2025

Kibid.org

09/21/2025

On Rosh Hashanah 1969, my great-grandfather Benjamin passed away suddenly. He wasn’t in shul that morning — he was at Sears. He was a proud immigrant, a veteran, but like so many of his generation he never had a chance for a strong Jewish education. For years I heard his story told like it was “because” he wasn’t in shul. But that made Hashem sound like a boogeyman, and that never sat right with me.

What I’ve come to realize is different: Rosh Hashanah isn’t about fear. It’s about coming home.

Think of a father’s face when his grown kids come back home. Or the look in a parent’s eyes under the chuppah. Or the joy of families reunited at a Yom Tov table. That’s Rosh Hashanah — Hashem’s children walking back in the door, His face lighting up because we’re finally home.

We’re blessed to witness those reunions all year — weddings, simchas, milestones. But Rosh Hashanah is the ultimate family reunion. Us and Hashem. Children and Father. A homecoming.

🍎🍯 L’chaim to a sweet year ahead — a year of reunions, joy, and memories that last forever.

09/18/2025

Every photographer has that client.
You know the one — the wedding ended 12 hours ago and they’ve already called… not once… not twice… but 53 times.

And it’s never about the bride.
It’s never “can we see our first kiss under the chuppah?”
It’s:
👉 “Can I get the pictures of my daughter’s dresses so I can sell them??”

Like… ma’am.
You had a phone.
It had a camera.
But no — we need a high-res, hand-edited, museum-quality portrait of The Dress™ before it can hit Facebook Marketplace.

And the best part?
The calls don’t stop.
Office phone. Cell phone. WhatsApp. Email. Carrier pigeon. Morse code.
“Any update??”
It’s been a day.

Look, we love you. We love your dresses. But please — let us deliver the bride’s gallery before we deliver the gown’s close-up. 😂

09/17/2025

You’d think in Lakewood and Toms River — one of the most Jewish areas in NJ — everyone’s already connected. But that’s exactly why we go out every Friday for Mivtzoyim.

Last week, we met someone who didn’t even know he was Jewish. Zero clue. Lives right here in Toms River. Watching his face when we told him — like a whole new world opened — was unreal.

That’s why we keep showing up. Because you never know who’s waiting for that one question… and one spark can light up everything. ✨

Once upon a time, there was a couple getting married in Chynka, Brooklyn. The hall was simple, but they wanted something...
09/16/2025

Once upon a time, there was a couple getting married in Chynka, Brooklyn. The hall was simple, but they wanted something more—something a little more modern, a little more romantic.

So before heading in, they got ready at a beautiful Williamsburg hotel and did all their photos there. And honestly? That move paid off.

By the time they walked into Chynka, their gallery was already loaded with shots that looked like anything but a “standard Brooklyn wedding.” Elegant, timeless, and completely their vibe.

Sometimes, it’s all about stepping outside the box before you step under the chuppah.

09/15/2025

When it came time to plan my daughter’s Bas Mitzvah, I had to pause and think hard about what was the right decision.

I’m at events almost every day — and I see families put together the most high-end, jaw-dropping celebrations. My kids see them too, and of course, there’s always that little voice of comparison: “Why can’t we have that?”

But one thing I’ve learned over and over is: you are not your clients. Every family has a different story, a different budget, and a different way of celebrating. And that’s okay.

For us, the focus wasn’t on outspending anyone — it was on creating a meaningful celebration within our means, while teaching our kids an important lesson: joy doesn’t come from price tags.

We ended up making a Bas Mitzvah well under 5k — and you know what? It was beautiful. Everyone had a blast, and my daughter felt like a queen.

Sometimes, showing the next generation that you don’t have to break the bank to celebrate milestones is just as valuable as the celebration itself.

That was our goal: to set the bar a little lower publicly, so others feel empowered to celebrate within their means too — and not feel pressured to overspend.

Because whether it’s a wedding, a bar mitzvah, or any simcha… what matters most isn’t the budget. It’s the joy, the family, the memories. That’s the real wealth.

09/14/2025

Sometimes I really think the secret ingredient to being a great photographer is ADD. Like, full-blown, squirrel-chasing, brain-bouncing ADD. Half the photographers I know are living proof.

Because here’s the thing: weddings aren’t calm, serene little strolls through a park. They’re chaos. Beautiful chaos. And if your brain isn’t wired to jump from “emotional tear on the kallah’s cheek” → “uncle in the corner sneaking kugel” → “sunset lighting hitting just right” → “oh wait, squirrel” in 2.5 seconds, you’re probably missing half the magic.

People think we’re just clicking a button. Nah. Inside my head it’s: Shadows. Highlights. Angles. Composition. Emotion. Detail shot. OY the detail shot. What’s the groom doing with his tie? Aunt Shaindy’s dancing again. Do I have enough memory cards? Am I dehydrated? Someone move that EXIT sign. Wait… squirrel.

That’s the job. Constant overstimulation. Constant chaos. But somehow, that’s also where the creativity comes from. If your brain can’t juggle fifteen different things at once and still pull off a killer photo? Sorry. Wrong industry.

So yeah, maybe ADD isn’t a weakness in photography. Maybe it’s literally the superpower.















Would you drive out in the middle of a Pennsylvania snowstorm in February for a wedding? Sure, cozy hotel, fireplace, wa...
09/11/2025

Would you drive out in the middle of a Pennsylvania snowstorm in February for a wedding? Sure, cozy hotel, fireplace, warm hearts — sounds perfect.

But here’s the thing: I just asked ChatGPT to tell me what season an outdoor picture was in, and yep, it nailed it — August/September, fall vibes all around. 🍂

So where am I living right now? People are calling to book November weddings… editors are still sending me June galleries… I’m hearing the shofar every day… and I’m like, okay, are we in winter, fall, or summer?

That’s the wedding world: sometimes you’re photographing December, editing June, planning November, and spiritually already at Tishrei. Basically, all four seasons at once. 🌦️❄️☀️🍁”

09/11/2025

Weddings didn’t start in ballrooms. They started in fields and backyards — places that smelled like grass, places where the whole community fit under the sky.

This year I shot one in a backyard in Toms River and another by a lighthouse in New Haven. Simple. Honest. Unforgettable.

And then there was Monsey, during COVID. The bride wore an Amazon dress. The groom showed up in shorts. They grilled burgers in the backyard. It was raw, funny, and real — and just as married the next morning as the couple who dropped half a million.

Even in winter, when you’re forced inside, you still have choices. Factories. Warehouses. String lights strung high, hot cocoa in hand, people pressed close together. Warmth money can’t buy.

Because here’s the truth: no one remembers how many chandeliers were in the ceiling. They remember the wedding that felt alive. The one that felt different. The one that felt real. 🕊️

So in June, we did our very first wedding in Cleveland. We’ve been asked to come a few times, but this was the first tim...
09/08/2025

So in June, we did our very first wedding in Cleveland. We’ve been asked to come a few times, but this was the first time it actually worked out — and wow, this gallery shows what our team can really do.

This was one of those weddings where we slayed the dragon and came to the castle like a knight in shining armor. Out of this world doesn’t even begin to describe it.

As I started downloading the gallery, I thought, okay, maybe I’ll pick 50 favorites. But no — suddenly I had like 250 favorites. So I said, alright, let me just pull a few from the bride’s side for now, and we’ll come back for the rest another day.

So here’s just a sneak peek… but trust me, the full gallery? Next-level.

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Toms River, NJ
08755

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 2pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 2pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 2pm
Thursday 9:30am - 2pm
Friday 9:30am - 2pm

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