Meet Montse Santos | Wedding Photographer & Owner of Lovebird Visuals

We had the good fortune of connecting with Montse Santos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Montse, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve had a camera in my hand since my dad handed me his trusty and infamous rebel t5i when I turned 15. Since that moment, I carried that camera with me to every family reunion and vacation and turned any friend that would let me into my muse. However, in spite of how much I have always loved photography, at that point I had for some reason never once thought to consider it as a career. It wasn’t until I joined my college’s newspaper and started covering political rallies and sporting events and getting featured on the front page of practically every issue that I started to realize that I was actually quite talented. It was around this time that I met my current husband, and as soon as he saw me with a camera he immediately convinced me to drop out of college to pursue photography, so just like that, terrified but excited, I did haha. And the rest is history! From my first paid shoot, a $90 graduation shoot for a friend, to now with more than 100 weddings under my belt including destination weddings across the world, this whole journey is a dream come true. Not to mention, getting to attend weddings for a living is a dream. I have always been a romantic at heart and to this day I tear up at every single wedding I attend and relish in getting to experience every one of my couple’s unique love stories.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My specialty is wedding, engagement and elopement photography, but I regularly capture a variety of other life moments such as grad, maternity, boudoir sessions and more. I am best known for my moody filmic editing and a shooting style that can be described as a balance between a candid “fly on the wall” type approach and an editorial approach. I love making my couples feel like works of art while also capturing all those little moments when they aren’t aware of the camera. However even though this style is my specialty, I offer an extremely versatile experience for each of my clients. I am a big believer in matching my photography style to my couples’ personalities and styles rather than vice versa. I have shot everything from a light & airy wedding where the bride requested every single photo was perfectly posed and curated, to a true to color wedding without a single posing queue. Some may find this to be a unique approach to wedding photography, as it is currently very popular to only offer one distinct style. However, it is my opinion that any good photographer and editor should be capable of performing in a variety of styles. Not to mention, it is absolutely a blast getting to capture something completely different for every one of my couples.

I am currently starting to delve into the world of film and am super excited to continue to expand my skillset in this area. It is a whole new world an absolute blast. I also recently acquired a Super 8 and am really looking forward to being able to add it to my packages one day.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Now I am not going to lie, Houston and the surrounding area is not packed with the most exciting or unique experiences I can think of haha. However, there is one place that you can absolutely not miss out on if you are in town, a magical secluded lagoon with clear vibrant blue water that just does not feel like it should exist in Texas, The Blue Lagoon. And if I were planning on making a trip to Blue Lagoon with a friend I would probably stop by my favorite neighborhood attraction Dragon Bowl C before making the drive, for the most delicious and adorably themed ramen you will ever try in Texas. That’s it, I would then illegally camp at the Blue Lagoon for a week and totally disconnect from the world for a while with my theoretical friend from out of town.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband truly deserves nearly all of the credit for where I am today in my career. He was the one that convinced me I was good enough at photography to drop out of college and pursue it full time and who decided to join me on the journey even though photography had never been something he had considered pursuing. Shout out to him for taking my headshots for this article by the way, he’s so incredibly talented and currently works as my second shooter as well alongside his full time job. When I met him, I was a terrified girl who did not think she had what it takes to make it in the photography industry, and now more than 100 weddings later I am still in disbelief that I get to do what I love every day and get paid for it. Even to this day, my husband’s support is crucial. He pushes me to constantly improve my skills and he is always my number one fan! Even when I drag him along with me to drive hundreds of miles for weddings multiple weekends in a row haha.

Website: lovebirdvisuals.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovebird.visuals/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovebird.visuals

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@montse.jpeg

Image Credits
Lovebird Visuals