THE SHALOM IMAGINATIVE DOCUMENTARY MEDIA
OUR STORY & OUR TEAM
What started over 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 (he/him)
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 (she/her)
Founder, Creative Director, Lead Videographer, Lead photo & Video Editor
Editing queen that makes all of your images and films look pretty and cool and real. Marketing + social media. Lead videographer, capturing video with a documentary, natural and modern style, with a dash of home video aesthetic to bring out all those nostalgic feels.
AOC for president, lives for neighborhood walks and reality TV, book nerd, sitting in the sunshine is her happy place, organic bakery and independent bookstore connoisseur, thrifting fanatic, loves to travel to new places and capture it on film.
Igor (he/him)
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 (she/her)
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.
Gretchen (she/her)
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.
"On the day empire comes crashing down, the sun will wake to crumbling border walls, prison doors will swing open, the skies will cheer, lands will be returned to indigenous peoples, colonial institutions will rot and nation states will decay, landlords will be evicted and vacant homes will be filled, genders will be as varied as the flowers, and the oceans will breathe a sigh of relief. Abundant days are on their way." - Vienna Rye, @vrye
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.
There are glimpses of shalom all around, yet life is still full of pain, oppression, systemic inequality & injustices. 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, cultural traditions, gender diversity, crushing the patriarchy, celebrations with family, nonconformity, communities of friends, connection to nature, anti-capitalism, caring for the earth, & 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!"