Javon Longieliere

By: Linda L. May

This Georgia imagemaker believes in taking the road-less-traveled approach to life and his career, as well. He’s unconventional, witty, enthusiastic and energetic, and says he’ll do whatever it takes to capture the best images for his clients—even dance, lay on the ground, or act like a fool.

Javon tells of one bride who was having a particularly stressful day and wasn’t much interested in smiling for the camera. She was reclining on a sofa, resting, while Javon was attempting to photograph her. When she refused to cooperate, he jumped atop a nearby banister and began dancing a jig. She cracked up laughing! He captured some really great, natural expressions as a result of his being willing to act silly. Javon attributes his fast-rising success to his unique personality and approach to his craft—plus his wife, Dawn, of course!

In the small Southern Georgia community of Valdosta, Javon and Dawn Longieliere operate their thriving photography studio. Ninety-five percent of the studio’s revenues are generated by weddings, while the other five percent are portraits. However, most of their wedding business comes from other areas, not locally. After only three years of specializing in weddings, Javon Longieliere Photography is already a household name in Atlanta, Georgia, three-and-a-half hours by car from Valdosta. They also shoot several out-of-state weddings annually, and even some in other countries, like France and the Bahamas, for example. Javon and Dawn make the perfect team. Besides assisting at every event, Dawn also handles all the business aspects of the operation, while Javon sticks to the creative photographic realm.

Background/History: Javon did not set out to be a professional photographer, although he’s been exposed to this medium for as long as he can remember. His mother, Chris, and his sister, Terri, were both avid amateur photographers during his youth, so he’s been taking pictures for most of his life for his own entertainment and pleasure. However, Javon did not realize his professional photography ambitions right away. In fact, it wasn’t until Dawn’s dad, David, saw the images that Javon had taken of Dawn, that he encouraged Javon to start his own business. Javon took a roundabout way of getting there, but he’s never been happier.

During high school, he wanted to be a trombone player, but that goal fizzled out by college. He earned a BA in French from Valdosta State University, and then went back and earned another degree in education so he could teach high school French, which he did for two tears after college graduation. Soon he learned that teaching was not for him either, and that was when he decided to open his own photography studio and do what he loved.

Although Javon was familiar with photography in general, he didn’t have much experience working with people. Growing up, he mostly shot landscapes, nature, scenic and fine art photos. He honed his portrait skills for two years before opening his own business by traveling around Georgia photographing high school students for a company called Lifetouch. Although the shooting conditions were very controlled at Lifetouch and there was not much room for creativity, Javon still gained enough experience in people photography to try it on his own. To learn the technical aspects of photography, Javon studied through the New York Institute of Photography, a correspondence photography school.

When he and Dawn first opened the studio in 2000, weddings had not even crossed his mind as a source of income. He was concentrating fully on portraiture, and his studio operation was not exactly booming. Then, he took a class with Jeff and Kathleen Hawkins on wedding photography, which completely changed his business and artistic approach, as well as adding valuable friends. “I owe them quite a lot,” Javon says.

“Jeff and Kathleen told me to be myself and carve my own niche: Do what I love, and people will come to me for my style. We have taken their advice and are doing our own thing, within limits of course, and it’s working. Before their class, I didn’t realize there were so many different kinds of wedding photography. I thought the traditional way was it, which didn’t suit me at all. Jeff really opened my eyes! My style lends itself towards photojournalism. I do shoot family groups, but I don’t specialize in them. I specialize in the photojournalistic approach. With groups, I get them interacting—I ask them to do a group hug or to tickle someone—anything that brings out their emotions and makes them laugh. I get honest reactions! Of course, I will do whatever it takes to get these honest reactions,” Javon says, smiling.

Studio: Javon Longieliere Photography is located in their home. Two floors are devoted to the business. The bottom floor is the office area, with all the computers. The main reception area is located off to the left as clients enter the residence on the first floor. An impressive 52-inch flat-screen television is the first thing clients see, besides the large, lighted images on the light brown walls. Deep red couches are placed next to glass-topped tables displaying Javon’s work. Their goal is a very moody atmosphere, so the room is dimly lit. Spotlights in the middle of the ceiling shine on the wall photographs, and two larger spotlights shine down from either side of the main couch onto the albums on the tables. “The emphasis is on the photographs,” Javon says. On the grounds, there is also a separate photography studio that Dawn’s parents built for them, but it is rarely used for portrait work.

Javon and Dawn do the majority of the studio duties, but they do have two part-time employees to help carry the load. Kristen Mathis, Dawn’s sister, is their second shooter at weddings. Amanda Hill works in the studio two days per week to help shoulder the administrative work for Dawn.

For extra light on the job, he uses Nikon SB-800 flash units. However, until the reception, he rarely turns on the flash unit. He says, “I don’t like the look of flash,” so he uses available light whenever possible. In the studio, he has Speedotrons, which he rarely uses because most of his work is done on location.

“Sometimes, for special effects in the studio, I turn off the Speedotrons and shoot by ceiling light or a video light. I am not conventional about my lighting techniques. I like doing things a bit differently,” Javon says. Marketing & Promoting: Javon uses the “shotgun” approach when it comes to marketing to reach as many different people as possible. The Internet has been a great resource for acquiring new clients, especially those from other countries. They run an ad on the back cover of the Georgia edition of The Knot magazine, but Javon is not sold on paid advertising. “We don’t count on paid advertising to generate a lot of extra business. Magazine ads don’t work that way! We use them to keep our name out there in the public’s face,” Javon explains.

Javon and Dawn have been blessed with some unexpected marketing resources, which have also boosted their revenues and increased their exposure. Last year, out of the blue, Grace Ormonde invited Javon Longieliere Photography to be one of their preferred vendors, so the studio’s work can be seen regularly in that prestigious publication as well. A while back, Javon was approached by the WB Network to be a part of a feature presentation the TV station was running on weddings. The television crew followed them around the studio for a day, filming everything they did. They also traveled to Tallahassee, Florida with Javon and Dawn to follow them around as they photographed an actual wedding. Besides all the public exposure the TV show gave him, Javon also uses it in his studio as a tool to help close the sale with potential brides.

Referrals from other wedding vendors, like florists, caterers, hotels and wedding coordinators, are another beneficial way the word gets out about his studio. When he shoots a wedding with a vendor, he gives them whatever type of images they want: framed pictures, a CD or DVD presentation or an album.

Of course, satisfied previous clients are also a lucrative means of referrals. Javon calls them his “loudmouth brides,” but he says this with a smile, because their “loud mouths” bring in numerous new clients. Brides also receive thank-you cards that they can give out to guests that read: “Thanks for being part of our day! Please come look at our images online.” Javon Longieliere Photography’s website is listed as well, so prints can be ordered over the Internet. This little promotion has increased reprint and enlargement sales and helped generate new referrals because so many people can view the images online.

WPPI Membership: “WPPI fits our personality better than some of the other photo organizations because WPPI is not as rigid and traditional. The immense knowledge available through membership with organizations like WPPI and Digital Wedding Forum has been invaluable for our success, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them,” Javon says.

“I also would not have gotten this far without great companies behind us, such as Reedy Photo in St. Petersburg, Florida, who prints all our images, or our album companies, Art Leather, GraphiStudio and La-Vie Albums,” he adds.

Javon and Dawn joined WPPI in 2002 but have yet to attend a WPPI Convention, but that is part of their future plans. In two years of entering both 8x10 and 16x20 competitions with WPPI, Javon is pleased with the results. A beautiful portrait of Dawn, taken by Javon in Paris, won second place in the second half 8x10 competition in 2005 in the individual portraits category. “This award blew me away! I’ve always wanted to win a top award for one of my pictures of Dawn, and I won my highest award to date with it,” Javon says, proudly.

Future Plans: Javon is constantly striving for improvement, he says, and will always continue doing so because he can’t sit still. In the future, he hopes to shoot more destination weddings, especially in Paris. As the studio continues to experience growing pains, additional employees will be hired, and Amanda’s hours will be increased. Javon is a former schoolteacher and quite comfortable speaking in public already, which fits in with his plans to teach seminars and workshops to give back to the industry, hopefully starting next year. So taking the road less traveled has definitely paid off big for this Georgia imagemaker.

Parting Shot: “ I recall this quote that a read somewhere, although I can’t remember who said it, but it stuck with me: ‘As a society, we’ve gotten so far because people who succeed pull everyone else up with them.’ I’m still in the process of succeeding, but I do feel I have something of value to offer to the industry. Sharing my knowledge adds to everyone in this business. I believe this will be the key to my continued success, and WPPI is a great way to do it,” Javon concludes. Readers may contact Javon at Longieliere Photography at javon@longieliere.com or view his website at: www.longieliere.com.

Linda L. May is a freelance writer/photographer based in the Midwest.

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