Montreal Wedding Videographer

The wedding videography / wedding photography hybrid thing ☺

Lately I've been speaking with a lot of my Montreal clients that are super excited to finally begin planning weddings after waiting years due to covid restrictions, delays, etc.. Engaged couples are ready to look ahead to their wedding days and go! Many of my couples have mentioned they love this cinematic look and feel my images have - which got me thinking about capturing a few sessions on video and seeing what happens :) All around us we see life happening in motion, we walk, we jump, we move, we bring someone close to us, and I want to capture all these little moments on video, framed in my own way, with my own music, and create these stories the way I always have, just in motion, with grain, and music, and aaaalllllll that good stuff. That’s how I got here.

In this new space, images are much wider, spacious, in gorgeous slow motion, much more 'cinematic' if you will, couples have told me they feel like I'm now even more the perfect photographer for them because I can create these beautiful videos for them during their adventure session, and still create gorgeous still images too. Creating full-on, all day wedding videos is serious and demanding, and I'm not trying to get into that or compete with expert teams and other wedding vendors that already do that - what I'm doing here is creating my own take on wedding films that is really special and unique. There are no other videography teams in Montreal doing this in this way, and that is huge for couples that want a little more than static images but don’t want to spend 3K+ on a video team. These sessions and wedding videos are going to be wild. We’ll plan out beautiful locations, and filming it like a Terrence Malik movie, long, wide shots, grainy close-ups, sun flare, movement in slow-motion, ~ it's beautiful thing. These are like foggy memories, ideas, scribbles on love letter, and moving photographs all wrapped up in one. 

One thing that totally sold me on shooting these sessions on video is that the rig I built can shoot such gorgeous, wide images, that I can export stills from my video. This means even if I don’t use my traditional cameras, I can be shooting video and create still images from the video I shoot, giving my couples the best of both worlds here. My Adventure Sessions include film, and still images. Win-win. Below are just a few stills I created from video.

Authentic wedding films.

I don’t except to get booked to create many wedding videos because I’m a photographer first. But, like all things I do with my couples is keep it real and fun. Most wedding videos I see feel very staged, and not in-the-moment. I want to avoid that at all costs, because if you’re here reading this I know that’s not you, and it won’t be fun to watch later if you remember me asking you to do the same move or walk over and over. Montreal wedding videography to me - seems generally that way, trying to not give direction but giving lots of direction at the same time. Talking about how candid it should be, but imposing a ton of guidance and control over what people do. A wedding day can be a long one, but it goes by so fast when everyone is there to see you make things official. I don’t myself in the world of wedding videography, but more in the world of wedding cinematography. You want me there to create a unique story, your story, it’s a big day, it’s a super special day, and wedding cinematography allows room for things not to be linear, and super matter of fact. I hope you look forward to all kinds of little surprises, and more the feel of an old family video rather than a glossy, perfect “highlight reel ” as they call it.

Also, to check out more adventure sessions view these here:

These films are the perfect mix for couples who love that dreamy vibe. (like me)

Do you like movies that look and feel super close, intimate, emotional, wide, windy, celebrate everything human? Me too, that’s why I’m doing this. I should have started creating these types of short films for my couples for years ago. Montreal and Quebec have so many amazing locations to discover and shoot, it keeps my passion for image making at 100, and also keeps the passion at 100. Speaking about passion excellent ways to connect with and work with couples, check out a few interviews I’ve posted with amazing photographers like Joel and Justyna, and Danijela Pruginic.

There are so many ways to capture these warm summer evenings, lazy Sunday afternoons, strolls through the tall grass, walks along riverbeds, feet in the sand, fires on the beach… I mean.. the list in my head goes on like that for days, and I want to do it all. The important thing to remember that these videos aren’t goign to be glossy, and always sharp, always in focus, it’s great when there are little imperfections, and a little shaky at times, because that’s what make them unique and gorgeous to watch. Check out the fantastic little trailer for Artitzia over here, it’s one lady, one beach, one afternoon, one camera, bravo team.

So now to the video and what I believe makes them special. Cinematography. First of all with videography I can combine all the visual elements of how I see and frame things, in motion. Mixed later with very interesting music, motion, clips of the sky, water, grass moving in the wind, etc and everything I've captured comes together in these gorgeous short films. There is a sort of amateur vibe to them that make them feel like un-edited, home movies. I love that. I want to create something that looks and feels super personal, close, and is all about taking the time to notice all these little details, the look of his or her smile, how she turns away into the sunlight, etc.. it's all there, like a celebration of everything human. I've watched my professional montreal wedding videographer friends document weddings on video and they have tons and tons of gear, stands, cases, and usually a team of people working with them. I'm a still photographer first and foremost, so I’m not switching anytime soon to become a montreal wedding videographer. But I always want to create, and offering these films to my clients feels so right and so good, I don't know why this idea didn't come to me years ago. I've built a very small but professional camera rig, a somewhat retro camera and a small monitor, that's it. No teams of people, no take after take of someone doing something, no bulk-load of equipment, and to me it’s a perfect next step for my image making. That’s why I’m so excited to offer this to my couples.

A client really made my day a while ago and got in touch with me to share a super sweet message about session images I created for them (read more info about that on my journal). Here’s what Denis shared with me after he downloaded his collection:

“Dear Micheal, We just took a moment to sit down and open the session collection you've offered us. And we are completely, entirely - mind-blown.

The amount of variety, artsy-ness, and incredible execution is beyond anything we could imagine. Both the photos and the video are just SO unique and fantastic, that we are now actually sad to have hired someone else to shoot our wedding in Germany (even though we had to do it 2 years ago!). Honestly, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for having shared your undeniable, incredible talent with us. We feel so blessed and beyond happy to have these gorgeous, eternalized memories in our home now.

Thank you thank you thank you, and we are looking forward to work & have fun with you again in the future !!”

These films are also perfect for parents.

I can see these films also working perfectly for young families on the move. Maybe you’re on the way to the cottage, or just chilling in the park on a hot Sunday afternoon flying kites or running in the hot summer air. I’ve photographed so many families over the years and I know how to get the best out of the young ones. I’m practically a kid myself when it comes to jokes and goofing around so believe me when I say kids like me :) As a father myself I know how quickly our little ones grow up. From one summer to the next our little guys can change so much and I truly believe any family that would invest an afternoon with me to film them together is going to be something special forvever, because there is nothing I wouldn't do or try to do to make my projects the best for each client.

Imagine these scenes turned into short parts of a family film ~ they would be golden. Click here to learn more about my family sessions. They are A++++++ :)

Adventure Session films can now be pre-ordered for 2022.

To test the waters more so to speak I’m opening up a period starting now for couples to book a session in early 2022. I’m only accepted 5-7 sessions, and each one of these are going to be amazing. We’ll be spending a full afternoon/evening together, and be sure to pack your bags because location is the name of the game. I want couples to really imagine themselves doing something that love to do in a place they love. To create the perfect vibe for you we’ll go somewhere great, perhaps you have a family cottage, own a cabin in the country, like to paddle a canoe, sit around a campfire at night, walk through tall grass on a hot afternoon, we’re going to be doing things like this, and it’s going to be extra special.

Just in case you needed more convincing,

Here is where my vision is for my clients and adventure session films: super moody, rich deep colour (but not overly saturated), daytime, nighttime, rain, shine, you get it right?