Ames entrepreneurs Kyle Horn and Larry Lund recently launched a business that they hope will capture the attention of people around the world.

The two men are the founders of Sculptura LLC, a company that produces PhotoSculptures, portrait-bust replicas of individuals created using three-dimensional scanning technology. They believe their product is the only one of its kind, and they plan to sell it in cities across the country.

“Frequently, when people first hear about the PhotoSculptures, they don’t get it immediately,” said Horn, the company’s president. “They’re wondering if we’re talking about something two-dimensional, or wonder if it’s an artist-commissioned piece. There’s really no frame of reference for them since it’s a new product.”

Sculptura evolved from a concept Lund has had for several years. During his childhood, photography was a big part of his family’s life. Several years ago, he started thinking that it would be interesting to have 3-D family portraits. He researched the idea and learned that the technology that could produce something like that was expensive and “there were gaps in some of the processes.”

Lund and Horn met through a non-profit organization both represented as board members. Lund told Horn about his interest in 3-D photography, and the two came up with PhotoSculptures as a starting point.

“The portrait bust is our initial entry into the market, and once we’ve established a business in that, we hope to eventually expand,” said Lund, Sculptura’s CEO.

Sculptura is currently using a mobile studio approach, taking its equipment into homes or businesses to capture the images used to create its works. A digital scanning apparatus using natural white light collects 3-D scans of a person and processes those digital files to produce a portrait bust. Technicians and artists then spend two to four weeks creating the busts, which range in size from 4 to 10 inches, from plaster-like materials.

The PhotoSculptures are priced from about $1,950 to $3,900, and can be customized with any of 20 finishes such as bronze, marble and copper. Add another 50 percent to the price for a full-color finish. Horn said the relatively small pieces carry such a large price tag because the technology and production processes are “very expensive,” and the finishes require “a great deal of artists’ expertise” to apply.

Horn said the PhotoSculptures are suited for “very special occasions,” such as weddings, anniversaries, graduations and corporate recognition. Soon, Sculptura plans to introduce personalized wedding cake toppers.

Both Lund and Horn are promoting Sculptura in addition to working their “day jobs.” Lund is a packaging engineer for 3M and Horn owns his own Web-based training company, Provision. In addition to the mobile studio approach, they are exploring the idea of a “store within a store” through partnerships with high-end retailers.

“Given the fact that these retailers already cater to the affluent clientele that we’re trying to target, we think it’d a very good match,” Horn said.

They also haven’t ruled out opening a traditional stand-alone studio, but first they want to see where the greatest interest for their products comes from.

“We’re unsure where the primary market will be for the PhotoSculptures,” Lund said. “We don’t want to create a studio and then find out later on that we should have started with a studio in Chicago or L.A. instead. We want to let the market pull us into a certain geographic area.”