MPB Meets: Wedding Photography Duo Cedar & Pines

From stunning sandy landscapes to awe-inspiring mountains, wedding photography duo Cedar & Pines recreate palpable love and graceful movement within their imagery. And the fact that they have a love story of their own makes it all the better. We speak with Megan Kantor and Nate Kantor about working as spouses, wedding day techniques and photography equipment. Read on to learn more.

MPB: Can you tell us about you and your journey as a wedding photography duo?

MK: We met in our college years, back when we were studying art in Texas. We both learned photography through a black-and-white film photography class in college, but our real love for photography didn’t grow until we hiked the Pacific Crest Trail.

The year after we got married, we took off on a three-month, thousand-mile hike through California. Nate lugged a DSLR on the trail, we took photos of each other, photographed sunrises every morning, and took portraits of the people we hiked with. When we returned to Texas after our hike, we knew we couldn’t go back to the jobs or lifestyle we had before, so we started brainstorming up ways to get back out West. 

We had a small, outdoor wedding of our own on the coast of Big Sur, and being inspired by that and our recent trek, we decided to try out starting a business of our own—photographing weddings with like-minded couples. We built a camper in the back of our SUV and went to the mountains. Naturally, through sharing our own adventures and values, we started to attract couples who wanted to do something a little different with their weddings. 

It’s evolved from there—we no longer live in the back of our car—and we’ve been able to travel to some incredible places all over the world. We primarily photograph destination weddings and outdoor elopements, helping our couples dream up the possibilities that happen when you leave behind some of the stuffy traditional parts of a wedding. Right now, we’re based just north of Joshua Tree National Park, in a house surrounded by desert plants and yucca trees. We love this desert and this work.

MPB: You two have been in love since art school. How has your work evolved with your relationship? What’s the best part about going to work with your best friend?

MK: Working together with Nate has been one of the biggest privileges of my life. We’ve built something so beautiful through this business, it’s something neither of us could have done without the other. Nate is very detail-oriented and analytical. I’m more of a ‘feeler’, so to speak, I tend to be the one dreaming about the possibilities. It’s a beautiful pairing, really. With photography, something I consider to be kind of a science-art, our skills go hand-in-hand. Nate is always the one doing research on new technology and solving problems, photographing details and group photos, while I tend to be giving direction and composing the feel of the photos and editing. 

The best part of working together is just how dialed our system is. On wedding days, we know we can rely on each other, trust each other to thrive at what we’re individually good at. Also, since we photograph a lot of elopements, where it’s just the two of us and our couple, us being married brings a relatable dynamic. 

Our shoots sometimes feel more like a double date than a formal photo session, which helps put nervous couples at ease. We love building this kind of relationship on a foundation of trust—this is how we’ve been able to push into creative ideas and take photos that feel a bit more natural and not staged.

MPB: What about your love for nature inspires your portrait and wedding work? Is it why you have decided to work with more muted, desaturated and earthy tones in editing?

MK: Our love for nature comes out in every aspect of our lives, but especially photography. When we were on the Pacific Crest Trail, we fell in love with photos that combined landscapes and portraiture. There’s something about having both of these elements that gives a natural context and scale to a photo. That’s where the story lies for us, when people exist within a place much bigger than themselves. 

For weddings, it’s hard to imagine something more powerful than saying vows to your best friend in a landscape that makes you really feel the importance of the words you’re committing. It’s romantic sure, but also very spiritual—to connect to something so much more expansive than the man-made world. It’s hard not to feel humbled, inspired and fully present in a moment like that.

Naturally, our post-process editing follows this inspiration. We tend towards more earthy, muted tones, and natural light. We do our best not to over-stylize or be swayed by trends in editing, but instead we prefer to bring out the natural colors already present in the landscape we’re photographing.

MPB: In building out your brand, what was most important? What advice would you give wedding photographers in creating and sticking with unique branding?

MK: Our branding was created with our immediate surroundings in mind. We’re very lucky to live in such a beautiful place in the Mojave Desert. When we were working with our designer, we sent loads of inspiration photos of landscapes we’d taken around the desert, as well as photos from some of the local dives here, work from local artists and architects, photos of plants and things around our house. We wanted to capture the ‘vibe’ of the Mojave within our branding—the warm colors, folk-inspired art, and minimalism of the desert landscapes. It was important that the branding spoke to what inspires us, while still being approachable, clean, and refined.

I would encourage photographers to really lean into what makes them ‘them’. Branding isn’t just a marketing tool, it’s a way of visually communicating and speaking to your values. Work with a designer who understands you, and is really excited to work on your project. Consider hiring a designer who doesn’t normally work with photographers. Someone who normally works outside your industry may have a more fresh and unique way of capturing your brand through design.

MPB: Was there any fear surrounding sticking with booking only outdoor weddings or intimate settings? If so how did you overcome? How has it helped to niche down?

MK: For us, there was never really a point where we stopped photographing traditional weddings and started photographing outdoor/intimate weddings. When we started our business, fresh off the Pacific Crest Trail and stoked on the outdoors, we tended to attract likeminded people. It helped that we were living in the mountains in locations people travel to for destination weddings. We photographed a small handful of indoor/traditional weddings when we started, but these naturally tapered off the more we traveled and shared our adventures.

Niching down can be helpful, but more beneficial is being able to communicate your values and passions. Naturally, this appeals to people who believe similarly. For us, it’s never really been about having a certain guest count or being in a particular type of location – it’s always been about creating connections and capturing meaningful memories. It just so happens the people who connect with our work tend to be those who love travel and want to do something a bit more unique for their wedding.

MPB: Let’s talk about kit, as there seems to be a sea of options at every turn. What’s your go-to wedding photography kit bag look like? What do you primarily use, and what is one piece of kit that you’d recommend to beginning wedding photographers?

MK: There are so many amazing options for cameras right now and it’s sometimes overwhelming to choose! The good thing is that the gear is so advanced these days that regardless of which brand you choose, you know a modern camera will perform. For us, we’ve always been Canon photographers. We love their colors, especially for portraiture. Our kit includes four full-frame mirrorless Canon R series cameras (Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS R6) and a slew of fixed lenses and one variable lens (24mm f/1.4 L USM, 35mm f/1.4 L USM, 50mm f/1.2 L, 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM, and 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM). We occasionally bring along a film camera or two and a polaroid for fun.

If I had to choose just one piece of kit for a newer wedding photographer, I’d recommend getting full-frame camera and a 50mm prime. You’ll be able to create a lot of depth having a full frame, and even a cheap nifty fifty is going to create beautiful portraits. I’d actually recommend not over-doing it on gear right away, sometimes having a little bit of a limitation can push you to get more creative images. And on wedding days when there are so many things happening at once, it’s good to have a kit you know backwards and forwards so you don’t miss important moments by messing around with a bunch of different gear.

MPB: What lens do you both always use in every portrait session? Why is it the best for you?

MK: For portrait sessions, we always have a 35mm and a 50mm. The 35mm is great for capturing the landscape and getting those epic wide shots. It also has just the slightest bit of distortion around the edges, which I love. I know people say not to shoot portraits with anything wider than a 50mm, but I really enjoy getting close to the subject with a 35mm or 24mm and shooting horizontally. The little bit of stretching around the corners adds a stylistic element that feels dynamic, especially when the session is taking place outdoors in a big landscape or when there’s weather like snow or rain. The 35mm is probably our main workhorse lens. The 50mm is just an absolutely beautiful lens, and it’s so versatile. We never shoot without it.

MPB: What lens is your go-to for your stunning landscapes? Why is it key?

MK: We love wide lenses for landscapes, usually a 24mm and 35mm. When you’re in a place like Joshua Tree, where there are lots of boulders  and funky trees, or in a place like Utah, where you might be in a tight canyon, a wide lens allows you to capture the place a bit more freely. A big wide lens like a 24mm can capture a sense of scale so beautifully.

MPB: Could you speak on staying energized during long days on your feet, and keeping up with demands of the day?

MK: Snacks are key! We photograph a lot of wedding days where we’re starting before sunrise and ending well after sunset. This can make for some really tiring days! We try to sneak in at least an hour break in the middle when possible, and always stock our camera bags with plenty of snacks. Generally speaking, I get energized just by being outdoors and connecting with our couples over these beautiful places. Most of our couples are travel and outdoor enthusiasts so we love hearing their stories, and this kind of connection keeps us going. But yes, our weddings tend to be pretty demanding in terms of energy since we’re usually shooting long days, and sometimes multi-day weddings. We do our best to not book two couples back to back. We want to make sure we have at least a day or two of rest in between.

MPB: How do you all split up wedding day priorities?

MK: The nice thing about working together for weddings is that we’ve come up with a system that works really well for each of us and our skills. On the wedding day, we’ll usually split up and capture each partner getting ready separately, then for things like the ceremony and portraits I’ll be up close getting the more intimate moments and portraits, while Nate is off getting the wide shots and photos of landscapes and details. Leading up to the wedding, I do our client communication and Nate does any necessary gear maintenance and prep. This works really well to ensure both of us are doing what we enjoy doing and neither partner is overloaded with tasks.

MPB: What’s one shot day-of that you absolutely must nail?

MK: I always love a really good candid photo. I want to capture at lease one photo where you can tell the couple is totally swept up in the moment, something they’ll look back at years down the road and be able to feel the same feelings they felt right then. These are the photos that speak to me the most, the ones that combine composition and luck, being in the right place at the right time. I feel most fulfilled when capturing these moments because I know I just paid witness to something quite special—something I couldn’t direct or pose even if I tried. 

Nate would say that he loves capturing at least one big wide shot with the couple in the landscape. These beautiful, epic images feel like art. These are the ones our couples print large and hang on their walls, a stunning image that encapsulates the whole feel of their day in just one photo.

MPB: How best can wedding photographers market themselves online to find ideal clients? 

MK: We’ll admittedly say that we aren’t the most adept with online marketing techniques or social media tips, but I know one thing that has always worked for us—being ourselves and not being afraid of sharing it. I think it can be helpful for a photographer to define what an ‘ideal client’ is for them, but I feel like for most people it’s probably just something of an extension of oneself, at least in terms of personal values. Photography is such an intimate art form, you’re sometimes capturing moments that no one else witnesses, and it’s important that your subjects feel like they can be 100% themselves around you. This starts with being open about your values, sharing your personality and talking about the kinds of weddings you love.

This doesn’t mean being constantly online posting on social media everyday. For us, it usually just means laying our heart out there in our blog posts. A lot of our couples find us through google searches, and when they stumble upon our website through a blog, we find this to be a much more meaningful way of capturing someone’s attention than an Instagram post.

Read more interviews on the MPB content hub.