THE SHALOM IMAGINATIVE DOCUMENTARY MEDIA
OUR STORY & OUR TEAM
What started almost a decade ago with just two of us has grown into a beautiful collective of artist who share a vision of telling stories of hope and love in our world. We are a photo and video team capturing real life celebrations and love in a candid, documentary style.
Hello. We are the Howards
We are Nate and Amanda, the founders and creative directors. Living between our desert home in Joshua Tree, the bustle of LA, and our 1972 Chevy camper with our daughter. Capturing real stories of love and adventure in the heart of California.
Meet our Team
A collective of artists
Nate
Founder, Creative director, Lead photographer & Videographer
Super chill and happy-go-lucky, your wedding day mindful guru, video editor, tech guy, extrovert and the one you’ll be talking with over email, on the phone, and sliding into your DM’s.
Sci-fi nerd, drinks cold brew unless there’s snow, energized by people, loves finding his way in a new city, most at peace hiking and being silent in nature.
Amanda
Founder, Creative Director, Lead photo & Video Editor
Editing queen that makes all of your images and films look pretty and cool and real. Introvert who feels all the feels. Marketing + social media.
Obsessed with reality tv, OAC for president, small dog person, sitting in the sunshine is her happy place, organic bakeries and independent bookstores, thrifting fanatic. Not going to stop fighting until everyone is free.
Sloane
Lead Videographer
Documentary, natural, with a dash of home video vibe. With over a decade of having a camera on her shoulder, she believes that the key to capturing real life on video is to be a good listener. She takes pride in her craft as a camera operator and her ability to translate each event through the eyes of the guest rather than the videographer.
Loves to cook and feed the people she loves. LA native, avid pet adopter, and mother, has a strong passion for family and community and is excited to blend right in with yours!
Igor
Lead Photographer
Ready to laugh with you all day, laid back and happy. King of capturing details and catching all of the fun, candid moments between your favorite humans.
Coffee and street food enthusiast. Loves to travel and get familiar with new cultures. Views human kindness as a gift and tries to follow this path and bring happiness to every single moment and person he meets. Wants to be friends with his couples, helping them feel comfortable and enjoy all the moments full of happiness and silliness together.
Vanessa
Lead photographer - Weddings, Families, Maternity
Photojournalist, documentary style with an editorial twist. Analog legend. Down to earth, intentional and observant of all the little and big moments with a number one goal of capturing all the details, the environment and to making you feel seen for the beautiful, incredible humans you truly are. Might get misty eyed during your ceremony, will get down with you on the dance floor at your reception.
Would love to know your entire astrology chart. Lover of all things film / analog photography. Happiest when outdoors, camping in her VW Westfalia. Coffee first, music always. Cat person that loves to practice hobbies like gardening, sewing and cooking. Always making an effort to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Feminist with a deep passion for equality for all people.
Ashley
Lead photographer & Videographer
*** CURRENTLY NOT BOOKING NEW WEDDINGS ***
Photojournalist with a dash of cinematic vibes, intentional, calming and will feel like part of the family by the end of the day, queen of rockin' the wild dance floor images of all of your loved ones getting wild together.
Loves being in LA for the amazing vegan food, being in a city of creatives, and how easily she can escape to incredible nature nearby. Loves to capture people at their happiest on a day filled with so much love and emotion. You’ll likely catch her wiping away tears at some point on your wedding day.
Gretchen
Studio Assistant
Conspiracy theory expert, moody weather enthusiast, and watercolor artist. Studio assistant and video editing assistant. She keeps the morale high and helps us keep our shit in order.
"We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride." - About Time
OUR NAME
Shalom is an ancient Hebrew word meaning peace. Nothing missing. Nothing broken. Wholeness. Beauty. Fullness. Life. Laughter. Rest. Love. Everything as it was intended to be. Everything & everyone in perfect relationship with each other. The stars. The trees. The rich. The poor. Friends. Enemies. You. Me.
There are glimpses of shalom all around, yet life is still full of pain, brokenness, injustice, & death. In our photography, we hope to capture the signs of shalom that are springing up all around us & showing themselves to the world.
We believe it is found in wedding vows, the life of a newborn baby, celebrations with family, exploring new lands, communities of friends, & in the messy, ordinary lives of you & me.
& we plan to fight for it, search for it, & imagine it when it cannot as easily be found.
WORK WITH US
Client Review
Amanda & Jon
"Nate and Amanda were an absolute dream team to work with for our wedding. They went above and beyond with helping to plan logistics for the photography, and last second changes, and they were incredibly flexible with us considering we had a few location changes. [They] were super responsive, and so easy to work with. They were fun, easy going, and made my husband and I feel super relaxed on our big day. All of our guests remarked that they felt at ease with Nate and Amanda around, and to this day still rave about how great our photographers were.
I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed working with Nate and Amanda, but let's get to the photos. I know that I may be biased, but without a doubt my wedding photos and video are above and beyond anything I have ever seen before. Nate and Amanda are so so talented and captured my special day better that I could have ever dreamed. They have a beautiful and unique style that has set our photos apart from all of the other wedding photos I have seen. All of my friends still talk about how jealous they are of how beautifully our wedding photos turned out. I cannot recommend The Shalom Imaginative enough. They are the absolute best!"