You Get the Best of Both Coasts with This Wedding Photographer

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Sometimes I look at the caliber of a wedding photographer’s work, read about their background, look at their prices, look back at their work, shake my head, and want to give them a stern talking to for not charging more. But at the same time, I’m always really excited about the out-of-this-world-deal y’all are about to get. California, this one’s for you.

Longtime APW sponsor Natalja Kent of Two Moon Photography just moved to Los Angeles from New England, but she already has a distinct East-meets-West Coast style that combines her NYC documentary and fine art training with an obsession with beautiful golden light. And since Natalja wants to connect with as many couples as possible in her new city, she is offering eight hours of wedding coverage for just $3,400 with an additional $400 discount for APW readers who book by March 22nd. (East Coasters are eligible too! Read on for her travel policy.) And a portion of her proceeds go to nonprofits whose work supports women and girls, which makes this a double win.Natalja is the kind of photographer who was practically born holding a camera—she’s been shooting since she was four years old, and she photographed her first wedding at seventeen. She has a rich portfolio of work outside of weddings, which has informed and cemented her passion for capturing your love stories first and foremost:

I began my wedding photography journey at the age of seventeen! A family friend gifted me an old, medium format film camera. The trade was that I was to photograph their wedding. I researched, learned the camera end to end, photographed everything I could for months, and when the wedding day came I shot some pretty beautiful photographs. I processed all the black and white film by hand and printed an incredible portfolio in the color and black and white darkrooms. I didn’t begin Two Moon Photography then; instead I went to art school in New York City, where I continued using the camera they gave me for documentary and fine art photography. I looped my way through protests, portraits, studio photography, and night sky photography—I had to learn it all. I worked with world-renowned photojournalists and showed my work in Chelsea gallery group shows. Several years out of school I started Two Moon Photography. Weddings seemed to me the perfect balance of working my speedy documentary skills to capture those fleeting and unbelievable moments, mixed with a deep sensitivity to light, color, and form.

For the last three years I’ve also been working on a side project photographing the art collection at the Harvard Art Museums. I’ve photographed round after round of unfathomable art objects ranging from a wooden, sculpted hand from 16000 BCE Egypt; to a delicately carved, red, jade dragon-feline from 8000 BCE China; to contemporary conceptual works such as Joseph Beuys’s Felt Suit, but I’ve realized the art I am more deeply drawn to is the ephemeral flickering of life happening now—weddings. The craft, love, imagination, personality, community, landscape, family, and friends are an alchemical mix only brought together for one short day. That is something that is beyond art. It’s a happening, a creative bloom that is so rich with life most artworks in a museum’s collection could not compare to its vivacity. It is multi-sensory, social, emotional, conceptual, and ritual practice. It is rooted in the deep genes of the human experience. It speaks to our psyches and sings to our souls. This is where I seek to document, capture, and honor the artwork of the human spirit with my photography.

When APW couples bring me into their wedding crew they can be assured that my vast knowledge of the medium and deep desire to connect the fleeting moments of a spectacular day with rich storytelling will lead to a stunning portfolio. With years of experience I know how to listen closely to the needs and interests of each couple before their wedding day so that I can be totally on point on their wedding day.

Natalja lives up to her word according to the heaps of glowing reviews from former clients:

My father is a photographer, so when we decided to get married I knew finding someone who met his standards would be a challenge! Luckily we found Natalja from Two Moon and knew right away that we had to get her to document our day. Natalja was an absolute joy to work with. She took the time to get know us in the months before the wedding and really developed an understanding of what we were looking for in terms of telling the story of our wedding. She listened carefully, took lots of notes and explored the property we were getting married on so that we could talk about where to do certain shots. A wedding is an intimate thing, and I felt so comfortable having Natalja around for all those special moments—getting ready, the first look, the ceremony, and of course the party. We had a blast walking around doing portraits and she got tons of great candid shots. When I saw the photographs I felt that Natalja had truly captured the essence of our wedding—I get to relive all the beauty of that day just by looking through the album.

Natalja’s price range begins at $1,600 for elopements, and her most popular package is $3,400, which includes:

8 hours of wedding day coverage
Dedicated dialogue leading up to and after the wedding day
About 600 to 700 hand edited and color corrected images delivered on a personal engraved thumb drive
Online gallery and print options to share with friends and family

Plus all weddings that book from now until March 22, 2017 will get $400 off any wedding package—use code #APWjoy in the contact form when you reach out. Natalja is now based in Los Angeles and happy to travel throughout California to “see what awesome twists the fine folks of this region will put into the wedding knot” and how she can tailor her work to your needs. She’s also regularly returning to the East Coast to shoot, so if you’re back East, don’t hesitate to reach out! Weddings in California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and within 100 miles of New York City and Washington, DC, have no travel fee.

There is a special place in our hearts for wedding vendors who pay it forward with their work, and right now that seems more important than ever. Here’s how Natalja gives back through your bookings:

All of the fantastic APW couples I’ve worked with over the years move through the world with a strong sense of community and inclusiveness that I find inspiring. They are the kind of folks who get excited to know I donate a portion of my proceeds from each wedding I book to a nonprofit organization. The first organization I donate to is Girls Rock Camp—a nonprofit that empowers girls and women to play a new instrument, start a band, and build confidence and new relationships. I love this camp and have taught guitar there for over eight years; one of my early students is in college for music now! They pay special attention to the community and offer partial and full scholarships to low-income girls and minorities. In addition to Girls Rock, I also donate to Planned Parenthood. In 2016 I chose to donate to a few rural Texas chapters that are particularly in need. I’m greatly looking forward to pairing with local organizations in my new home of Los Angeles.

Not surprisingly, lately Natalja’s also had a commitment to diversity on her mind:

Lately I’ve been thinking a great deal about all of the privileges my U.S. citizenship has afforded me and how lucky I was to have been born in the U.S. just after my immigrant mother returned from a long stay in her homeland. I take deep pride in my cultural heritage, and I greatly revere all of the inspiring immigrant and first-generation Americans I’ve had the privilege to work with, many of whom found me through APW. Now is a time when I feel a deep need to band together with my fellow female, first-generation, people-of-color, and queer business owners. Daily I am looking for ways to support those who do not have the voice or privileges I do. I am using my camera, social media, my presence, and my voice to the best I know how. A wedding is an incredibly personal and vulnerable time. It is filled with tradition, ritual, honor, ancestry, deep held values, and the creative now. It is a space where I can gather my best talents and creative abilities to support my couples and build a photographic document of a monumental time in a family’s journey. I look forward to providing my best work to all of my couples—for everyone deserves support, beauty, ease, and well-being. I look forward to continually experiencing the wealth of diversity this great earth holds, and I know that no political moment can change how strong we are together.

When you hire Natalja Kent of Two Moon Photography, you get a seasoned pro who approaches photography as an art form and your wedding as a canvas she is honored to collaborate on, who teaches rock guitar to girls and funds rural Texan chapters of Planned Parenthood, and who will just be an absolute joy to work with before, during, and after your wedding day. For just $3,400. You’re welcome, Los Angeles.