Fast Company Middle East

Magazine cover photography and editorial portrait session for the January issue of Fast Company Middle East.

This magazine cover photography project was created for the January issue of Fast Company Middle East, featuring Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut and Dubizzle. The objective of the shoot was to produce a confident portrait for the cover while also creating a second visual style for the editorial feature inside the magazine.

The main cover portrait was photographed using a soft key light combined with a rim light to separate the subject from the bold green background. This lighting created a clean and minimal look while maintaining strong definition of the subject. The relaxed seated pose and slight body angle helped create a natural and confident expression often required in portrait photography used for international business publications.

For the image used inside the article, a different lighting approach was introduced to create more depth and contrast. The portrait was captured using a soft fill light, a harsher directional key light, and a rim light. This combination created stronger shadows and sculpted facial definition, giving the image a more dramatic feel that works well in editorial photography across full page magazine layouts.

The overall setup was designed as a controlled studio environment while maintaining flexibility often required in studio photography and studio on location productions. This approach allowed the team to quickly adapt the lighting between the cover shot and the editorial images while maintaining a consistent visual style.

The final portraits combine elements of magazine photography, corporate photography, and modern editorial portraiture, creating visuals that communicate leadership while remaining approachable and contemporary.

To explore more editorial and commercial work, you can browse the full project catalog here.  You can also see additional corporate photography and executive portrait work here. If you are planning a magazine feature, executive portrait session, or editorial assignment, please contact us here.