It happened after he photographed a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina. He woke in the middle of the night and scribbled a thousand thoughts on a yellow legal pad. Justin had to do something. Idea after idea morphed into one common goal: Photographers working together to raise money for Habitat for Humanity and build a home with their charitable donations.

This is how The Portrait House started. Over time, however, the project has grown and displayed the power of bringing so many people together with one common purpose. In lieu of this, Portrait House(PH) is on a world-wide fundraising mission for…HOPE.

PH has an ongoing project list and as they accomplish each goal, they'll move on to the next one. In this way PH becomes a charity in its own right. Once the house is built for Habitat, they’re moving on to grant a wish for a Make a Wish child, then amassing purifying filters for Thirst Relief, then working with children in Africa…then…then…

The possibilities for HOPE are endless.

If you’re a PHotographer and you’re wondering how YOU can help, it’s super easy! All you have to do is shoot a portrait session and donate the proceeds to PH. You can start the session fees at a discounted rate or charge the full amount, but letting your clients know what the funds will be used for is awesome! Clients WANT to help you, help others. Life is beautiful in that way! To get more information and details of how to get started, just shoot Justin an email: justin@theportraithouse.org .

Lastly, PH started a grassroots marketing campaign by asking a few photographers to wear a custom shirt. The goal was to incorporate the use of PH in place of a traditional letter F. A few ideas were tossed around ( PHrench Kisser, PHabulous, PHierce), but none of them felt quite right for me. That is, until the uber talented JD came up with an idea I really liked! He was the artistic director and photographer for the entire shoot, so I want to thank him for being for being so PHAT…com’on people…you know I couldn’t resist that one! 😉