Love letter to Montreal: Couple says goodbye with a photoshoot

LGBT Engagement photos in Little Italy

After many years here, Alice and Sandra were moving away from their home in Montreal to France. Before their departure, we planned this relaxed couple’s photoshoot to memorialize their favourite local hangout spots and capture the feeling of their life in Montreal.

Sandra and Alice are the sweetest couple! They had a lot of fun during the shoot and made my job easy by laughing at each other, enjoying themselves and just being two cuties in love! 🙂

couple photos in your neighbourhood

Whenever I can, I suggest shooting engagement sessions in people’s home turf.

I want to capture the vibe of your first apartment together, of your local coffee shop or your favourite bar.

I want to document your life, your pets, and the places you pass by on your regular walks.

These pieces of everyday routine end up being part of the pattern of your life as a couple. And I think they deserve to be documented in photos just as much as beautiful vacations and special events.

For Alice and Sandra, their home turf was Villeray and Little Italy: a cozy, residential area north of the Plateau Mont-Royal, full of families and cafes, street art, chatty old couples, and hipsters on bikes.

It’s also right by the Marché Jean-Talon, which is an open air farmer’s market with stands selling everything from fresh fruits and veggies to flowers, to roasted nuts and tasty gelato.

Local community gardens and street art

We started out the couple session with stroll around the Villeray neighbourhood.

The girls wanted to pick up some herbs from a local community garden to use for their dinner later. After exploring the curbside plants, they found some fresh parsley.

We hit up their local bakery, then continued wandering the area, checking out some of their favourite street art.

Many of the Villeray alleyways are covered in murals and graffiti art.

Ruelles vertes – greening the back lanes

Many of the back lanes in Montreal are being converted by local residents to green alleys as part of the Ruelles vertes initiative.

It’s a community project to make alleyways more environmentally friendly and safer for children and families to enjoy.

The alleyway behind Alice and Sandra’s apartment was no exception. The neighbours had worked together to plant tiny gardens and put up painted birdhouses. There were art murals and repurposed bicycle wheels that had been decorated.

The girls had helped paint a little free library box for residents to share books they wanted to pass on.

Café Ferlucci

Sandra and Alice ended the photoshoot with a trip to their favourite next-door coffeeshop, Café Ferlucci.

This inviting Italian cafe used to be a hat shop and the owners have retained a lot of the retro decor, adding to the vintage charm with eclectic artwork.

The friendly team of baristas makes this a neighbourhood favourite for regulars to hang out and chat.

And they serve a mean affogato (an espresso shot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream)!

LGBT engagement photos

As a queer wedding photographer, it’s always a pleasure to work with LGBT couples. I love photographing love stories in all shapes and forms. But queer love stories just hold a special place.

My relaxed documentary approach is flexible and allows room for you to be yourselves in your photos. It’s an inclusive photography approach because I adapt to each couple. No need to quash your gender identity or rein in how you typically express your affection. Instead, you can have an informal, candid photo session and get couple portraits that truly represent you.

If you’re looking for a LGBT engagement photographer, send me a quick hello! I’d love to photograph your story.