Grace Williams Warner and Carl Johnson were both born in Oklahoma, later moving to Hutchinson, Reno County, Kansas and taking over Wiley's photography studio in the early 1930s. The couple married January 3, 1939. Johnson interrupted his work at the studio briefly when enlisting in the Navy during World War II.

Both Warner and Johnson achieved the title of Master of Photography and were involved with the Kansas Professional Photographers' Association (KPPA), with Carl serving as president in 1947 and Grace serving as president in 1960. Through their work with the KPPA they also became involved with other professional organizations in the Midwest, especially those in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. This work led them to forming professional and personal relationships with other photographers in Kansas.

While much of their work through the Warner-Johnson Studio consisted of personal portraits, they also photographed local community organizations and Hutchinson, Kansas itself. The Johnsons developed an interest in historical photography and collected historic photographs of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The studio operated until they both retired in the mid-1980s. Carl W. Johnson died December 27, 1987, and Grace W. Johnson died November 12, 2001.