"Other People’s Happiness Became My Drug of Choice."
Photographer Hunter Hart's creative philosophy is simple and empowering.
My friend, Hunter Hart, inspires me way more than I let him know.
He’s photographed hundreds of weddings, countless portraits, celebrities, and much more. You can find his work in the New York Freaking Times (and other big-deal publications).
You might think you’ve seen every way possible to photograph a person… until you see Hunter’s work.
He’s relentlessly creative, and his photos of people are more dynamic and full of life than any other photographer in his field.
He journals through creative ruts. He shoots for the edit before he ever touches the shutter. He ignored every photographer around him when he was starting out, not out of arrogance, but because he figured the only thing worth developing was his own eye.
More than anything, though, he’s an incredible human being who makes an impact on the people he photographs. In every frame, not only do I see a trained artistic eye, but a buoyant human soul full of complexity and unending amounts of love.
You’re going to be better off getting to know him a bit:
What’s your story?
It was not always easy growing up in a small town with an artistic ability that nobody around really understood. I am thankful that I was blessed with great friends and family to push me in the direction of following my dream. So, here I am today.
I picked up a camera at an early age and it kind of went from there. I went to college just to say I went to college so I did not feel like a complete bum and it gave me a sense of direction. Although I never used the degree I have in Computer Networking, I was able to get myself through school with photography.
I used to be a painter ( a very impatient one ), and I found that photography could give me instant gratification and also make people other than myself happy.
Other people’s happiness became my drug of choice.
You will see me at any given day walking around town photographing random people that look interesting to me.
Was there a single moment that made you take photography seriously?
I shot my first wedding for $300 and I do not feel like digging those images up, they are not worth looking at to be honest. But 200+ weddings later, I look back at that first one and really appreciate how welcoming that couple was and how much trust they placed in me. I was cheap as hell, but those images were going to hang on their walls forever and be shown to their kids someday. That kind of permanence hit me early. I love shooting weddings, but I am not passionate about them. Yet that moment still sticks with me more than almost anything else. I think it is because it was never about the work, it was about the weight of responsibility and rising to meet it.
Do you struggle with creative ruts? How do you get out?
Boy do I ever. I feel like I have a split personality and half of it is in a creative rut about 30% of the time. I have found various ways of getting out, and as cliche as it sounds, grounding yourself is the best thing. Personally I need to unplug from the screens, take a walk, and journal. Write about how you are feeling. Since I have journaled for so long I can look back on past entries and find my way through it. A lot of people go out and look for inspiration in other photographers but I find my inspiration internally, after all we are what makes us, us. Looking for it externally through social media or YouTube can actually make you feel worse. Stick to the basics. We aren’t wired for technology, it’s wired for us.
What photo are you most proud of, and what makes it stand out to you?
I had the opportunity to photograph Post Malone and it stands out for obvious reasons, but the story behind it is what makes it special. He is as down to earth as everyone says he is. He looked at me and said “hey man, do you want a really good picture? Let me see your camera” and then pulled me next to him and took a selfie himself. He missed focus, but he is a rockstar not a photographer, so I will give him that. Honestly the story makes the photo a little less cool on paper, but I had a plan going in and I executed it. I am proud of the craft behind it, not just the name attached to it.
Who’s a photographer, famous or not, that changed how you see?
I have gotten this question a lot and the honest answer is going to sound egotistical, so be it. When I started, Instagram and YouTube were just getting off the ground so there was not really anyone to look up to, so I just looked up to myself and kept pushing to be better. I looked at the photographers around me, saw what they were doing, and thought I will just do the exact opposite and bring something different to my hometown. That mentality led to being voted photographer of the year in Starkville three years in a row before I moved. The best way I can put it is that I look internally for inspiration because it is in there, and it is in all of us. Looking at others is a losing game because you will fall into comparison, and the one thing none of us can replicate in each other is ourselves.
What’s the worst photography advice you ever followed?
“You should niche down and specialize.” Fuck that. I am too inspired by too many things in life to niche down. My portfolio has everything in it and I would not be where I am today if I had taken that advice. I can understand and appreciate the reasoning behind it but that is just not for me. I like experimenting too much to be tied down. I want to do it all and I will do it all.
What do you wish someone had told you in your first year?
Stick with one prime lens. Do not try to buy everything at once. Understanding one focal length at a time is one of the most important things you can do early on. Around my third year I shot exclusively on a 35mm Sigma 1.4 and that single year is probably the reason my work looks the way it does today. If you spend real time with a 24, a 35, a 50, and an 85 before you ever touch a zoom, you will develop a genuine understanding of how to use focal length intentionally instead of just making photos that do not make sense. The compositional decisions you are forced to make with a 35 versus an 85 are completely different and that education shapes your eye permanently. Primes first, then graduate to a zoom.
Has photography ever felt like a burden? How did you handle it?
It does during busy season because the edits are daunting. I have a family and photographers never sleep. This is a night owl profession, and I say that writing this at 12:47AM with my editing software open on my other screen. I handle it by reminding myself this is what I have to do to keep the wheels spinning. When you are a freelance photographer there is no fallback. Your slow days are usually filled with figuring out how to get more clients, reaching out, networking, all things I am honestly not great at. It feels like it never ends and to be honest, I hope it doesn’t.
I love this shit.
What’s a photo you didn’t take that still haunts you?
I had just finished hiking to the top of a mountain in Cape Town, South Africa with my camera on me, when I heard a crowd getting louder and louder. I could not believe my eyes. Gerard Butler was up there taking selfies with a ton of people. I did manage to get a photo of him from a distance in a very street photography creepy kind of way, but I really wish I had the guts to walk up and ask him for a proper portrait. Or at the very minimum get kicked off the mountain while he yelled THIS IS SPARTA.
How do you know when a photo is “done”?
It depends on whether I am looking for a great composition and framing or if I am looking for emotion. In the moment, it is more of a feeling than anything. When I get the photo, my face lights up naturally and the person or people I am photographing just knows it is about to be a banger. When I am at my computer it is pretty simple. I already know how the edit will look before it even lands in my software, I already know what images are going to be keepers. There is not much thought on the backend, just a lot of time spent there.
Do you think about the edit while you’re shooting, or keep them separate?
I shoot for my edits. I know exactly what the image will look like before it hits the software and I think getting it right in camera pushes me to become better at my craft. There is no hoping something works out in post. The intention is there before I ever press the shutter.
If you could only shoot one subject for the rest of your life, what is it?
My family. Simple.
Check out Hunter’s work (and be prepared to be blown away even MORE):
Thanks for this, Jerred. Every time I try to explain why photography is worth anything right now I fumble the answer--and it's this. Being reminded that people can still be this generous and this creative is the whole argument. Thank you for the introduction.
Fantastic photography! He got it right from the beginning and you can see it in the work. I jumped over to Hunter's YT channel and subscribed. Thanks for the intro!