ABOUT

Michael William-Paul

Producer, Director, Photographer

New York City

BIO

Michael William‑Paul is a producer, director, and director of photography working across motion picture, editorial print, and fine art. Over more than twenty years he has directed, shot, and produced work for broadcast, commercial campaigns, international events, and studio‑driven projects that build a cinematic portrait of culture, politics, and entertainment.

With experience acting in television and film and producing live broadcasts, he understands performance and pressure on both sides of the camera. Crediting the art departments, editors, producers, and crews who push the line of vision, he creates environments where actors, public figures, and non‑actors can move, breathe, and seek truth. The space between camera and subject—where choices of talent, time, light, and lens give the story room to form—is where his attention lives.

Michael has been commissioned by presidents and heads of state, royal families, film & media executives, global brands, cultural institutions, and independent creators, giving him a long view of how image shapes influence in public life. Today he focuses on high‑end editorial and portrait commissions, fine‑art projects, and narrative film and television work developed through MWP Studios and his partner platforms.

EARLY LIFE & EXPOSURE

Michael’s sense of the world formed early in transit—between countries, systems, and rooms he was technically too young to be in. As a foreign exchange student in Eastern Europe and Russia in the late 1990s, he studied transitional economics at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, interviewed members of the Duma and professors, and walked the streets with his camera's capturing the contradiction in the former USSR capitol. The images and interviews he made there of the people—crowded metros, apartments, improvised markets and informal economies—became the Moscow Calling documentary and exhibition, and set the tone for everything that followed: document how people actually live inside politics, not just how it is described.
In 2001 he was invited to the World Summit of Young Entrepreneurs, held in parallel with the Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries at the European Parliament in Brussels. That experience brought him directly into UN and UNCTAD circles; soon after, he was recruited to New York to work around the United Nations in communications and photography—a path that would become years of work with missions, governments, and international agencies.
He completed an honours BA in Mass Communications and Political Science (political economics) at York University and a diploma in Audio‑Visual Multimedia Production at Seneca College in Toronto, splitting his time between lectures, studios, and early assignments.

The STAGE, FASHION, & WOMEN'S LECTURE CIRCUiT

At age twenty, Moscow Calling and that first wave of work put Michael on the radar of producers looking for someone who understood both politics and live performance. This led to him becoming the official photographer for Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, building a portrait archive of performers, activists, and guests tied to the production. The project opened up a new world of theatre, backstage life, new relationships and opportunity.

From there he moved into Unique Lives & Experiences, then the largest women’s lecture series in North America, where he became the official portrait photographer—documenting a long list of speakers across multiple cities over many seasons. In front of his lens were writers, actors, political figures, and cultural icons, often photographed on the edge of the stage, in hotel corridors, or in small green rooms minutes before or after they spoke.

At the same time, he began shooting fashion and beauty stories in North America and Europe, including early editorial work for Elle. By his early twenties he was already working in the overlap of performance, fashion, and public life.

TELEVISON, POP CUlTURE, & EARLY STUDIOS

In the same 2000–2005 window, Michael also stepped in front of the camera. He co‑starred as himself—the “handy man”—on MuchMusic/Tricon’s series In Your Space, which followed home, style, and culture makeovers and was syndicated internationally at the height of early‑2000s music television. He also appeared as a guest spot on television and acting in some independent films, moving through sets where young artists and pop‑culture figures were being introduced to the world in real time.

That period—switching both in-front and behind the lens, between red carpets, concerts, and studios—gave him a physical sense of what it feels like to perform on cue and what it takes to protect people in front of a lens. It fed back into his theatre and lecture work, creating a loop between live performance, broadcast culture, and still photography.

During these years he was also building his own spaces: opening his first studios and then a Manhattan studio near 56th Street and Park Avenue, producing editorial work, fashion campaigns, and portrait commissions while traveling regularly on assignments to places like Cuba, China, the Middle East, and across Europe.

PORTRAITS, EDITORIAL, & COMMISSIONS

Michael’s photography sits at the point where portraiture, fashion, and reportage cross. Over the years his work has appeared in publications such as Sports Illustrated, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Allure, Flare, Arise, Playboy, and The New York Times, among others. Assignments have ranged from Paris collections and Middle Eastern fashion projects to editorial portraits linked to theatre, politics, sport, and culture.

He has photographed heads of state, ministers, ambassadors, and senior officials; actors, authors, musicians, and cultural figures; CEOs and founders; and emerging talent who are only now becoming widely known. He is less interested in listing every name than in the moment when the title falls away and the person has to share a room with the camera.

Governments, WORLD FORUMS, & The UNITED NATIONS

In New York, Michael’s work around the United Nations and international institutions became a long chapter of its own. He has served as a communications and photography lead for diplomatic missions and intergovernmental coalitions at UN Headquarters, documenting missions, committee rooms, and high‑level assemblies. Alongside this, governments and agencies—including UNDP, UNESCO, and individual states—have commissioned him to create media, portraits, and event coverage that support development, diplomacy, and public communication.

He has covered major summits and presidential gatherings, including South‑South cooperation meetings in Doha, General Assembly‑related events, and regional forums on development, decolonization, and culture. He has addressed the UN on decolonization, sustainable tourism, and culture‑driven development, including International Women’s Day programs.

An anchor moment in this public work was chairing the inaugural World Fashion Forum at UN Headquarters on International Women’s Day, bringing together fashion executives, diplomats, and advocates to ask how the fashion industry shapes women’s lives, economies, and policy worldwide. Through Models for Peace, he has developed humanitarian and sustainability‑focused projects that use fashion, media, and live events to support global goals across Europe, West Africa, China, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He holds board and advisory roles—including with Rattle the Cage Productions, focused on film and advocacy around Western Sahara and related human‑rights issues—and his work in this area has been recognized with the Zambrano Foundation “Defender of Democracy” award, received in Miami at the Cumbre Latino Americana Presidential High‑Level Reception on behalf of Models For Peace.

MWP STUDIOS, ONSCREEN, & Building His Own Platforms

As commissions, relationships, and travel intensified, Michael began building his own structures around the work rather than fitting into other people’s.

With MWP Studios, he created a base between New York and Miami to develop films, photography, and content for brands, institutions, and artists—a studio network that can stretch from intimate portrait sessions to larger film, campaign, and high‑level event productions.

Through OnScreen.Tech and OnScreenPromo, he formalized the back end of his practice: how ideas move from a conversation to a camera, into an edit, and then into campaigns, archives, and future reuse. AI and automation sit inside that framework as tools—for exploration, pre‑visualization, edit support, and distribution planning—used where they help and set aside where they don’t. These platforms are less about chasing trends and more about giving clients a solid, evolving framework for their own work.

MOVING FORWARD

Michael is developing a slate of narrative and character‑driven projects that move from still images into motion picture series, limited episodic drama, and hybrid documentary work. The aim is to follow people, ideas, and conflicts over time, giving them room to unfold across chapters instead of single frames.

A core focus is a major portrait book that brings years of portrait practice into a single, substantial work, alongside new writing—scripts, essays, and longer reflections on culture, power, theology, and worldviews—to give future films, books, and exhibitions a clear intellectual and emotional spine.

Within MWP Studios, he is expanding an artists and talent division, working with actors, models, and thinkers who want sustained, meaningful careers rather than one‑off appearances. His role leans into executive producer and producer territory: connecting people, shaping collaborations, and helping projects find their best form and best partners.

For brands, institutions, and independent creators, MWP Studios is a place to submit and grow projects—from early ideas through production and into distribution and campaign partnerships. New tools, including AI, are there to extend reach and refine process, but the center of gravity stays with people, real lives, and the relationships that make lasting images and stories possible.

TIMEOGRAPHY

Late 1990s – Moscow / Eastern Europe
Foreign‑exchange studies in transitional economics at the Russian Academy of Sciences; interviews with members of the Duma and professors; begins street and documentary photography at age twenty, leading to the Moscow Calling documentary and exhibition.

1996–2001 – Toronto / Paris / NYC – Education
Completes an Honours BA in Mass Communications and Political Science (political economics) at York University and an Honours Audio‑Visual Multi‑Media Film/TV Production diploma at Seneca College while starting early theatre, fashion, and documentary projects.

2000–2001 – Theatre & first exhibitions
Serves as official photographer for The Vagina Monologues; mounts early exhibitions including A Night in Paris and Alternative Perceptions; begins building a portrait archive of actors, activists, and cultural figures around the show.

2001 – Brussels / European Parliament
Invited as a distinguished young entrepreneur to the 8th World Summit of Young Entrepreneurs, held alongside the Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries at the European Parliament, leading to recruitment into communications and photography work around the United Nations in New York.

Early 2000s – Women’s lecture circuit & early fashion
Becomes official portrait photographer for Unique Lives & Experiences, then the largest women’s lecture series in North America, photographing a long roster of authors, actors, political figures, and cultural icons over a ten‑year period. Shoots early fashion and beauty editorials for Elle and other titles, including Paris collections, and begins regular work for magazines such as Flare and other fashion and beauty outlets.

2000–2005 – Television & early studios
Co‑stars as himself—the “handy man”—in MuchMusic/Tricon’s Canadian TV series In Your Space (23 episodes), syndicated internationally during early‑2000s music television, and appears on E! Network and VH1. Opens his first studios in Toronto and then a Manhattan studio near 56th Street and Park Avenue, producing editorial work, fashion campaigns, and portrait commissions while traveling regularly to Cuba, China, the Middle East, Belgium, Paris, and other locations for assignments.

Early–Mid 2000s – Publications, campaigns & gallery work
Fashion and portrait work appears in Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Allure, Flare, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and other outlets; editorial work for Arise Magazine is later featured in the book New African Fashion. Produces projects such as Waiting for Fidel (Havana), Beauty of the Middle East, and Around the World in 8 Frames per Second, linking travel, politics, and fashion imagery.

Mid‑2000s – UN, summits & heads of state
Serves as a communications and photography lead for diplomatic coalitions at UN Headquarters in New York; acts as media liaison and official or commissioned photographer for various governments, commonwealths, and heads of state; covers South‑South summits in Doha and other presidential and ministerial gatherings. Begins a body of presidential and leadership portraiture, including figures such as Barack Obama and the Amir of Qatar and his wife, among other senior officials.

Late 2000s–2010s – Humanitarian projects & advisory roles
Founds Universal Models for Peace (UMP) and the Model Ambassador Program (MAP), building fashion‑ and media‑driven campaigns around peace, sustainability, and global development goals across West Africa, China, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Serves in goodwill, advisory, and chair roles for UN‑headquartered initiatives through NGO and public‑private partnership work, and holds board and advisory positions with organizations such as the Global Millennium Development Foundation, WAFUNIF, UNCTC communications clubs, and Elements Planet Preservation Foundation.

2010s – World Fashion Forum & recognition
Chairs the inaugural World Fashion Forum at United Nations Headquarters on International Women’s Day, with participants including Pauline Brown (then President of LVMH North America) and Carolyn Hardy (then Director of UN Women), exploring how fashion intersects with politics, economics, and diplomacy. Receives the Zambrano Foundation Defender of Democracy award in Miami (2016) at the Cumbre Latino Americana Presidential High‑Level Reception, honoring his work with UMP and related peace and democracy initiatives.

2015–2023 – MWP Studios, campaigns & digital expansion
Owns and operates MWP LTD / MWP Studios, leading media marketing, photo/film/TV and advertising production, talent casting and development, and international TV, film, and ad campaigns; directs photography, video, post‑production, and creative development for a wide roster of clients. Launches AMA Talent as “America’s Mother Agency,” supporting talent development and representation.

2017–2023 – OnScreen.Tech & OnScreenPromo
Leads a full‑stack tech and marketing team under OnScreen.Tech, specializing in automation, funnels, PPC, social media growth, omni‑channel strategies, CRM, and lead‑generation architectures. Builds OnScreenPromo as an applied marketing and content system for brands and businesses, integrating photography, film, and AI‑assisted tools into scalable campaigns.

2020–Now – Studio, systems & ongoing film work
Continues directing and producing film, television, and branded content projects through MWP Studios, balancing production with strategic advisory and systems design for clients, NGOs, and institutions. Deepens work on camera‑lens platforms, digital marketing architectures, and AI‑informed workflows while maintaining ongoing portrait commissions and developing long‑form projects and potential books and films from his archive.

Contact

Commissions, Projects, & Partnerships

For pictures, stories, production campaigns, advisory work with studios or brands, and state‑level or institutional projects, please include a brief outline, timelines, key decision‑makers, and location details.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (Studios) 646-760-6059
Location: New York City

Select projects may be handled directly with Michael; others will run through the appropriate studio, company agent, or representative.

Terms | Privacy