Lydia Johnson Grandy
Johnson Studio & Camera
How did you get your start in photography and videography?
What’s unique about my business is that I’m the third-generation owner of Johnson Camera. My grandfather and his brother started our business in the late 50s. It was a studio only at the time – just portraits. In 1963, my father took over the business and he realized he needed to expand the business into a portrait studio with a retail shop. That’s when Johnson’s Studio turned into Johnson’s Studio and Camera.
Some of my earliest memories are of riding my tricycle right here at the shop. People ask me how long I’ve been doing this, and I think, well, my entire life.
Do you have a favorite thing to shoot?
I do love weddings, but my favorite thing to do is to help people reproduce their artwork. I’ll photograph their paintings so we can reproduce them on canvas or on watercolor paper. I just love engaging with customers anytime I’m using a camera.
Last year, we did a tremendous amount of work for the Saint Agatha Foundation. It was started by my best friend Laurie Mezzalingua, who lost her twelve-year battle with breast cancer. They pick up the tab on expenses for those people fighting breast cancer, things like transportation costs and daycare – things that aren’t covered by insurance. The grants change those people’s lives. We filmed a documentary interviewing patients as well as doctors and surgeons who knew Laurie in her living years. Those kinds of projects are beyond rewarding.
What’s your approach to making clients feel comfortable in front of the camera?
Conversation, humor and humility. And being willing to accept whomever we encounter and just love them the way they are. No judgement. My grandfather gave my dad some advice, and he said, “If you help every person that comes through that door, you’re going to have a successful business.” And that was 70 years ago.
What services do you offer your community besides photography?
There is such an abundance of information online. The one thing that Johnson Camera can do is make things logical and easy to learn – we’re constantly teaching. When customers come through our door, within 30 seconds, we’re solving problems and we’re teaching and giving lessons. Technology is changing so rapidly that it seems like we’re always learning something new, too.
If someone comes in with their family films, we can convert them – digitize them to a video. We can restore old photographs. We print everything, of course. We can print from film. We’re probably the only business within 100 miles that can develop film. And we repair essentially any piece of equipment that’s been manufactured in the last 100 years.
What inspires you to teach lessons and share your gift with your community?
I think the secret to any small business is the human connection. It’s so rewarding to make people happy. When they come in and they’re frustrated because they’re not getting what they paid for out of a camera or piece of equipment. We can teach them how to get the most of their investment, whether it’s equipment or software. We can take someone’s frustration and turn it into success.
What do you think your customers would say about you? After being in your studio or on a shoot with you.
I have a reputation of making people laugh. I am silly and people enjoy that when they have their portrait taken. I’ve always felt a sense of satisfaction when someone looks at their photo and they see the beauty they may not have appreciated in themselves. They see it revealed in a photograph, and it’s so rewarding when you make people feel happy and think good about themselves.
What equipment do you prefer and why?
We sell Canon, Nikon and Fuji. Those camera manufacturers really appreciate photography, and they appreciate small business. They’re excellent products, and I know that my customer, the end user, is going to get good service, and I can be a conduit or a liaison for that service between my customer and the manufacturer.
What advice would you give someone interested in starting photography or videography on a more advanced level?
The advice I would give any person in any creative field, including photography, is to not look over the fence too much and compare themselves to others. We each bring something unique to the table. It’s easy in the era we’re living in to open up social media and look at other people’s websites and say, “Why am I not that good?” And before you know it, you’ve homogenized yourself into a generic flavor. I think it’s important to be your own person. Do things well, but most of all be fair in business, never let somebody down, try to manage your deadlines, give them good service, and bring your own flavor to the table.
Retail is not for the faint of heart. How do you bring a positive attitude to your work day in and day out?
The term “work-life balance” is something that’s tossed around all the time, but there’s a lot of truth to it. You have to replenish your own well. And if you don’t have love for people, it’s the wrong industry for you. You have to make sure you’re well rested, and you’ve got to have your own house in order before you can give to somebody else.
In my household, we talk about having the heart of a servant, how it’s an honorable thing. It’s about wanting to serve others and having the attitude that it is your delight to help others; then I think you’ve got it made.
August 2025
