Conversations with Hunter Hart

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hunter Hart.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I found art to be my place in this world at a young age, I found painting to be my first love within art. When I was in middle school, I picked up my mom’s floppy disk digital camera and fell in love immediately. The instant gratification of taking a photo blew my mind, my week-long paintings turned into digital images that only took a fraction of a second. In high school, I bought a point-and-shoot to take to parties before phone cameras took off, so I would upload them to Facebook and kind of made friends this way.

Fast forward to college, I bought my first DSLR and kept pushing to be better with composition and lighting. My grandfather purchased my first 5D Mk iii when I was in my early 20s and I started shooting people regularly. This was now my obsession in life and I never put it down. Since then, I have photographed people all over the world as a documentary and portrait photographer, including weddings that I photograph with my wife scattered. I have now been published in several magazines and plan on continuing to lean into my dark, moody portraiture with unique compositions that have given me a slight edge over others.

Alright, 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?
People always ask if they should quit their jobs and become a photographer and I always say it’s not for the faint of heart. I have had years where I thought I would never make it through to the other side, months of anxiety and depression and not knowing where my next paycheck would come from. To this day, I still think about the moments of uncertainty. Unfortunately, photography has seasons, you have to be prepared to make little to no money during the winter and some of the summer.

Budgeting has been a struggle over the years because it feels good to get paid and you feel like you are doing good and then the rug is ripped out from under you. Taxes are always hard because you have to save for them, my wife is smarter than I am and that is no longer a concern (but for around 10 years it was). In conclusion, you have to want this more than life itself to strive in the world of photography. You can never give up, be super self-motivated accept the failures, and move on.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a documentary and portrait photographer, which makes for a decent wedding photographer. I am all over the place, and although I am broad with the types of photography that I produce, my niche would be my use of light, composition, and framing. I would also say I am known for my “evocative” style of shooting, thought-provoking and a bit darker in color than most.

I am most proud of myself, this has not been easy and is still difficult a lot of days. Freedom can show who you are as a person, so I found out that I am a hard worker and self-motivated but also like to take a few days to myself, and coming back can be tough at times.

I would say what sets me apart from others is my innate sense of direction within the photoshoots. I am good at bringing a thought to life directing my subjects with ease and making them feel comfortable.

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
To me, success is being financially stable, having truly happy clients with the work I deliver, work/life balance, and the ability to never give up. If all of these things exist at once, I would say you are on the right track.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hunterhartphoto.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hunterhartphoto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HunterHart1