Meet Juan DeLeon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan DeLeon.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always had a passion for art and photography. I worked full time as a subsea designer and decided to attend our local Lee College and study photography. I contacted the local community newspaper in our area which led to my first assignments of covering high school football. Throughout the years, I’ve garnished a lot more experience and sent portfolios to agencies. I lost my subsea designer job due to the industry downturn and made the decision to go full speed with photography. Since making photography my full-time career, I’m now the small business owner of Juan DeLeon Studio, athletic photographer for Houston Baptist University, the women’s basketball photographer for Rice University, and freelance for Associate Press, Houston Chronicle, and various other media outlets. I have recently taken on some architectural photography and my business continues to grow.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In the beginning, I did hit a few bumps. Local freelance photography jobs were getting harder to obtain as many community newspapers were going out of business, During this time, I decided to venture into the school portrait business and began offering photography services to high schools. I’ve been successful doing high school team portraits despite the fact that many school districts utilize corporate photography companies for their larger sport teams and are hesitant to make a change. I have been able to expand my school team portrait business by focusing on building partnerships with individual coaches.

Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
Juan DeLeon Studio is a Houston based photography company that is able to create amazing mixtures of unique, daring, cutting edge, and traditional photographs. Photography and sports are my passion and I love capturing in the moment action as well as images in a more traditional setting in order to share these special moments with my clients.

I specialize in high school senior portraits and sports photography. I believe what sets me apart from others is my ability to capture the heart and soul of high school seniors and their athleticism.

My photographs have been published in Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, Auto Week magazine, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Houston Chronicle, and various other print and web based media outlets.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I’m always looking for new, adventurous, and remote areas to photograph my clients. I enjoy taking photography to the next level to capture the perfect shot. I include the client’s interests in the decision making process such as having the high school seniors complete a questionnaire that gives me an idea of what the students want out of their photoshoots and allows me to create works of art for this special time in their lives. I feel one of the most important aspects of my success is remaining open minded to my client’s ideas and working together to create memories that capture their individual true spirit.

Contact Info:

• Address: 202 Wickhamford Way
  Houston, TX 77015
• Website: www.juandeleonstudio.com
• Phone: 713-376-6065
• Email: info@juandeleonstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Bikevato
• Facebook: Facebook.com/juandeleonstudio
• Twitter: Twitter.com/Bikevato

Image Credit:
Juan DeLeon/Juan DeLeon Studio

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