Editorial Portrait Photographer Montreal – Dr. Sarah Lippe for Impact Magazine

Earlier this year, I was commissioned by Allcaps Content (thank you Shlomi!) to photograph Dr. Sarah Lippe at CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal for Impact Magazine, published by the Azrieli Foundation.

Editorial portrait photography is about more than producing a flattering photograph. The image needs to communicate something about its subject, work within the visual identity of the publication, and give editors options that fit the story they want to tell. When a portrait is made in a busy professional environment, all of this has to happen within the time available.

An editorial portrait shoot on a tight schedule

One of the main challenges of this assignment was the limited window available for the shoot. I needed to produce several distinct portrait options for the magazine’s editors, so that they would have a meaningful choice when deciding which image would best accompany the article.

With a short session, preparation and adaptability are essential. There is little time to experiment endlessly with different locations or lighting arrangements, so it’s important to assess the environment quickly, make decisions about the available light and work efficiently.

My aim was to create a range of portraits that felt considered and visually distinct, while keeping the process straightforward for Dr. Lippe. Editorial assignments often require this balance: working quickly without allowing the time constraints to dictate the quality or variety of the final images.

Solving a challenging lighting setup

One of the portrait options presented a particularly interesting technical challenge. We wanted a portrait that showed Dr Lippe working in her lab, but the space available was extremely small, and the lighting setup needed to be adapted to suit the environment.

To make the photograph work and to ensure it had some atmosphere, we needed to switch off all the existing lights. This ruled out relying on the room’s ambient lighting and also meant not using the strobe setup I’d used for the other portraits, as in a small area the shadows it would throw, even when dialled down, would be too harsh. Not to mention the fact that, using a strobe setup in the almost-dark creates a whole load of focusing issues.

Fortunately, I’d come prepared with a second lighting setup, my Neewer LED lights. Having an alternative available proved invaluable. The LEDs allowed me to build a lighting arrangement that worked within the confined space while also giving me the control I needed to make the photograph.

It was a good reminder that editorial portrait photography is as much about problem-solving as it is about composition and aesthetics. A location that initially seems impractical can sometimes produce the strongest image, provided you have the right equipment and are willing to adapt your approach.

As it turned out, this was the portrait the magazine’s editors ultimately selected for publication.