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Editorial Portraits in Edmonton

On the cover.

  • Leap magazine, Spring / Summer 2025: the cover, John Sexsmith in a dark jacket and glasses, seated
  • Canadian Lawyer cover, Métis Powerhouse: Andrea Menard in a white top and a red woven sash, against grey
  • Leap magazine, Spring 2024: the cover, a physician photographed in the imaging suite
  • Edify magazine cover, The Future Is Now: a man in a dark shirt lit in pink and yellow dots
  • Leap magazine, Fall 2019: the cover, two physicians seated together, one in a red jacket

There’s a reason you’re here

You’re shooting the cover with the layout already locked?

You’re shooting the cover with the layout already locked, getting twenty minutes with a surgeon between rounds, running forty profiles that have to read as one class, building the annual report.

shooting the cover with the layout already locked

Whichever it is, you’ll know what you’re getting before anyone’s on set.

A portrait for your own website instead? — see personal branding.

The photograph for the Edify cover before the type: a man in a red tracksuit with a bionic arm, against blue
The same photograph as it ran: Edify magazine, May 2025, Edmonton Is Innovating

Your layout

comes first.

The masthead, the cover lines, the gutter on the spread. The picture is made to fit around them.

The photograph for the Reader’s Digest cover before the type: an eleven-year-old in a blue top, smiling, against yellow
Reader’s Digest cover: an eleven-year-old in a blue top, smiling, against yellow

Your subject

has never done this.

A surgeon, a donor, an eleven-year-old. Comfortable is part of the brief.

Your deadline sets the pace.

Tomorrow’s shoot, tonight’s selects, if that’s what the issue needs.

How it runs

On assignment, on deadline, on the page.

  1. It starts with the story. Send the piece, the layout if it’s set, and the date it’s due.
  2. On set with me or not. Watch the screen and we work it out as we go, or send me on assignment and I’ll bring it back.
  3. Studio or location: a controlled set here, or the subject’s own space.
  4. Shot for the layout: the cover, the opener, room for the type, and options for the designer.
  5. Selects come from a proofing gallery, never on the day, so the call gets made at your desk with the layout open.
  6. The deadline sets the turnaround: selects that evening, or a longer runway when there is one.
  7. A series holds together. Forty profiles or five market reports, one look across all of them.
  8. Every editorial job is on a contract, with the usage written into it.

Every project, in full

Cover to cover.

  1. Reader’s Digest cover: a girl in a blue top, smiling, against yellowReader’s DigestApril 2024: Small But Mighty
  2. Leap magazine, Spring 2024: the cover, a physician in a grey blazer against the imaging suiteLeapSpring 2024: Innovative Imaging
  3. Edify magazine cover, Edmonton Is Innovating: a man in a red jacket with a bionic arm, against blueEdifyMay 2025: Edmonton Is Innovating
  4. Edify magazine cover, The Future Is Now: a man in a dark shirt lit in pink and yellow dotsEdifyMay 2024: The Future Is Now
  5. Leap magazine, Spring / Summer 2025: the cover, John Sexsmith in a dark jacket and glasses, seatedLeapSpring / Summer 2025: The Power of Giving
  6. Leap magazine, Spring 2020: the cover, Julie Rohr seated on a sofa in a red top and cream cardiganLeapSpring 2020: Living with Cancer
  7. Leap magazine, Fall 2019: the cover, Dr. Tony Fields and Dr. Jennifer Spratlin seated together in dark suitsLeapFall 2019: Passing the Torch
  8. Canadian Lawyer cover, Métis Powerhouse: Andrea Menard in a white top and a red woven sash, against greyCanadian LawyerTop 25 Most Influential Lawyers, 2022: Métis Powerhouse
  9. The opening page: 6 Who Inspire, a figure under a sweep of black cloth, the six names listed beneathEdifyJune 2026: 6 Who Inspire
  10. The feature spread, Home Court Hero: Sabry Philip in the air in his Stingers kit, the ball in one hand, the yellow backdrop and the studio around himEdifyJuly / August 2025: Home Court Hero
  11. The opening spread, The Galloping Gourmet: the chef seated behind a television, his initials on the screenEdifyMarch 2025: The Galloping Gourmet
  12. The opening spread, Best & Brightest: Dr. Anthony Fields standing in his garden, the story beside himLeapFall / Winter 2025: Best & Brightest
  13. The opening spread, Dancing Their Way Home: the dancer standing the height of the pageEdifyJanuary / February 2026: Dancing Their Way Home
  14. The opening page, True Calling: Joan Hauber on the steps of a mobile breast screening trailer, a yellow rail in her handLeapFall / Winter 2025: True Calling
  15. The opening page: Kira Chankasingh in a cream dress in her studio, her paintings behind herEdifyOctober 2024: The Art of Design
  16. The opening spread, This Is What Our Future Looks Like, the whole class as a grid of facesEdify2025: Top 40 Under 40
  17. The opening page, When Business and Philanthropy Intersect: Darren Baumgardner in a cowboy hat against a weathered wooden wallLeapFall / Winter 2024: When Business and Philanthropy Intersect
  18. Leap’s Frontline opener: Dr. Emily Walker in a white blouse in a glass corridor, the story beside herLeapFall / Winter 2024: Bright Mind
  19. Talking Retail: the opening page, the portrait full height beside the titleBOMA SQFT2025 / 26: Five market reports
  20. The opening page: Dr. Jana Rieger in a pink dress against pinkLeapSpring 2021: Empowering Patients
  21. The facing page: Dr. Luc Berthiaume laughing in a black leather jacket against a white wallLeapSummer 2020: Research Rockstar
  22. The printed page: a woman in a grey-green jacket and a leopard-print skirt against a blue corrugated wall, the story set beneathEdifyJune 2021: Sees the bright side
  23. The printed page: Kurt McLeod in a theatre seat with a box of popcorn, the rows empty around himEdifyWinter 2021: In the seats
  24. The facing page: Shawn Pinchbeck in headphones and a red jacket at his gear, pink light falling behind himAvenueOctober 2019: Bring the Noise
  25. The opening page, The Taste Makers: chef Davina Moraiko in a black apron against a patterned wallAvenueMarch 2019: The Taste Makers

Editorial portraits in Edmonton: FAQs

Ten questions for Ryan.

01

What publications do you shoot for?

Magazine covers and features, the magazines foundations and associations publish, and annual reports. The work on this page has run in Leap, Reader’s Digest, Canadian Lawyer, Edify, Avenue and BOMA Edmonton’s SQFT.

02

Can I book an editorial portrait for myself?

Yes. It’s the same work as the covers on this page, made for your own use. Authors, professors, researchers and speakers book it when their work starts going public: a book jacket, a column, a talk, a podcast page, their own website. The look takes its cue from you and your field, in the studio, wherever your work happens, or both. There’s more of it on the personal branding page.

03

Can the editor or art director be on set?

Often they are, watching the screen and directing with me as we go. Other times I’m sent on assignment, or host the shoot at the studio on my own. Both work.

04

How do we choose the final images?

From a proofing gallery after the shoot. Nothing is picked on the day, so you choose with the layout in front of you.

05

How fast can you deliver selects?

As fast as the issue needs. A shoot tomorrow can have selects that evening; a feature months out gets the time it has. Send the date and I’ll confirm.

06

Studio or location?

Either, depending on the story: a controlled set, or the subject’s own room.

07

Can you shoot a series to one look?

Yes. Edify’s Top 40 Under 40 was a class of portraits, each on its own colour; BOMA Edmonton’s five market reports in SQFT were one portrait apiece, black and white and full length.

08

Can you bring hair and makeup?

Yes. I work with a hair and makeup artist and can bring them in when the piece calls for it.

09

How are usage and rights handled?

Every editorial job is on a contract, and the usage for that project is set out in it.

10

What if the subject has never been photographed like this?

Most editorial subjects haven’t. Making them comfortable in front of the camera is what the rest of my work is built on.

Get in touch with the piece and the deadline, and we’ll plan the shoot.

Book Now

The person in charge, for the annual report? See executive portraits →

Let them see

You.

Book Now
Business portrait against a white wall, Edmonton studio
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Group photo of a five-person team, seated and standing, Edmonton studio
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Kids headshot: a boy in a red shirt against a red backdrop, fist at the lens and mouth wide open, Edmonton studio
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Real estate team photo: two partners in black suits standing side by side on a dark backdrop, Edmonton studio
Real Estate Headshots
Business portrait against a white wall, Edmonton studio
Business Headshots
CBC Edmonton staff headshots: ninety-eight people, one matched set
Team Headshots
Ashley John against a white wall, actor headshot, Edmonton
Actor Headshots
Office portrait on a sofa in a wealth management office, Edmonton
Office Portraits
Group photo of a five-person team, seated and standing, Edmonton studio
Group Photos
An open-plan architecture office on a working day, Edmonton
Office Culture
Colin Mochrie in a palm-print shirt, eyes wide, against grey — commercial portrait by Ryan Parker
Commercial Photography
Executive portrait: seated in a camel blazer against a deep brown backdrop, Edmonton studio
Leadership Headshots
Personal branding portrait in a kitchen, brown suit, Edmonton
Personal Branding
Major Love — band portrait, Edmonton
Musician Portraits
Dance headshot: a dancer in a red off-the-shoulder top against a red backdrop, Edmonton studio
Dance Headshots
Content creator portrait in black and white: laughing, hands clasped, in a pool of light on grey, Edmonton studio
Influencer & Content
Kids headshot: a boy in a red shirt against a red backdrop, fist at the lens and mouth wide open, Edmonton studio
Kids & Teens Headshots
Real estate team photo: two partners in black suits standing side by side on a dark backdrop, Edmonton studio
Real Estate Headshots
Business portrait against a white wall, Edmonton studio
Business Headshots
CBC Edmonton staff headshots: ninety-eight people, one matched set
Team Headshots
Ashley John against a white wall, actor headshot, Edmonton
Actor Headshots
Office portrait on a sofa in a wealth management office, Edmonton
Office Portraits
Group photo of a five-person team, seated and standing, Edmonton studio
Group Photos
An open-plan architecture office on a working day, Edmonton
Office Culture
Colin Mochrie in a palm-print shirt, eyes wide, against grey — commercial portrait by Ryan Parker
Commercial Photography
Executive portrait: seated in a camel blazer against a deep brown backdrop, Edmonton studio
Leadership Headshots
Personal branding portrait in a kitchen, brown suit, Edmonton
Personal Branding
Major Love — band portrait, Edmonton
Musician Portraits
Dance headshot: a dancer in a red off-the-shoulder top against a red backdrop, Edmonton studio
Dance Headshots
Content creator portrait in black and white: laughing, hands clasped, in a pool of light on grey, Edmonton studio
Influencer & Content
Kids headshot: a boy in a red shirt against a red backdrop, fist at the lens and mouth wide open, Edmonton studio
Kids & Teens Headshots
Real estate team photo: two partners in black suits standing side by side on a dark backdrop, Edmonton studio
Real Estate Headshots