Uncomplicated, color portraits of real people.

About the studio

HuntsmanPhoto is a small photography studio founded by photographer & marketer Justin B. Huntsman. We deliver uncomplicated color portraits of real people in Durham, North Carolina, USA.

Please direct any questions or commission requests to justin[at]huntsmanphoto[dot]com.

Address: 105 W. Main St. Loft #2 · Durham, NC 27701 · Open by appointment only.

About the photographer

Justin B. Huntsman grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and spent ten years in Portland, Oregon before moving to Durham, North Carolina where he now lives and works.

Growing up, Justin walked a fine line between being the ‘smart guy’ and the ‘cool guy.’ But, more often than not, the cool guy persona won out, which meant he got into a lot more trouble than he should have. “I liked to test limits” he says.

Today, he describes himself as well-adjusted, objective and introspective with an affinity for simple, uniform, repetitive design. He's calm, quiet and confident, and strives for quality instead of quantity. “These innate personal aptitudes,” says Justin, “no doubt inform my style and process, and allow me to consistently deliver portraits which accurately capture the phenomenal visual aspects of the photographed.”

Although photography is not his full-time profession, he approaches it as if it were, with sincerity and focus. Ask Justin why he puts so much effort into each person he photographs, and he'll tell you with conviction “people need uncomplicated portraits.” But he believes this need is not being met, because “portraits cannot obtain without a willing subject and an able photographer.”

Justin describes it like this, “In trying to uphold the virtue of modesty, we are to a greater degree, more comfortable erring on the side of self-deprecation than boastfulness. It is as if abstaining from portraits insulates us from charges of self-admiration and self-centeredness. At least this has been my experience.” In other words, we refuse to have portraits made because we're afraid of being deemed immodest. The solution, says Justin, is to realize that “portraits are not made for us; the ultimate beneficiary of our portraits are the coming generations.” In a sense, he's asking us to forget ourselves for a moment, so future generations can remember us forever.

“But,” says Justin, “once we get past our modesty, we face the second challenge: finding someone to make the portrait.” Justin believes that local photography studios often fail to present us in a genuine and timeless way. Clichéd and photoshopped to excess, these images say more about our culture than us as individuals. And this is how Justin is different, because he strives “to deliver portraits free from the artifices of today's environment.” That is what he means when he says uncomplicated. The best portraits, he says, “are simply ‘pictures of a person.’” And who can disagree with that?