Client: CEO Magazine Subject: Yves Lalumière, President and CEO, Tourisme Montréal Location: Tour du Port de Montréal Scope: Cover portrait and editorial session for CEO Magazine feature story; image subsequently published in Tourisme Montréal's Dévore
The Assignment
CEO Magazine commissioned a cover portrait of Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal — one of the city's most visible institutional leaders and its principal advocate on the international stage. The portrait needed to carry magazine cover weight: strong enough to anchor a feature story, distinctive enough to stand apart from a generic boardroom frame.
It was the second time CEO Magazine had hired Julian Haber Photography for a cover feature. The first was for Marc Parent, CEO of CAE. Both assignments shared the same premise: the portrait of a leader should communicate something about what they lead.
The brief was specific in style: environmental portraiture with an editorial quality, informed by prior work done for CAE's Alex Prevost — a mix of corporate authority and genuine presence. The deliverable was a curated set of 15 to 17 high-resolution images covering both the cover and the interior profile spread. Final cover selection would rest with CEO Magazine's Art Director, with the option to request image changes for the profile after reviewing the draft delivery.
The Location
For a subject whose mandate is to represent Montreal to the world, a studio backdrop would have been a missed opportunity.
The Tour du Port de Montréal was chosen for what it offered on both axes. Looking north, the towers and rooflines of Old Montreal fill the frame — the historic core of the city Lalumière has spent his career promoting. Looking south, the St. Lawrence opens wide with Habitat 67 in the middle distance — one of Montreal's most internationally recognized structures. Few locations in the city give you that range of visual context from a single vantage point.
For one of Montreal's leading ambassadors, the city itself was the most appropriate backdrop.
The Session
The session ran for approximately one hour — enough time to move through the space deliberately without rushing. Several setups took advantage of the north and south-facing views, with the light and Montreal's skyline doing the compositional work that a rented studio backdrop cannot.
Outfit changes were built into the session from the start — a change of tie and shirt extending the visual range of the take. When the Art Director's final cover selection happens separately from the photographer's preference, the session needs to produce genuine options rather than variations on a single note. A cover frame and an interior spread frame often want different things: the cover needs to hold at thumbnail scale, stop a reader at a newsstand; the interior pages have room for something more considered. Working through changes allowed the final set to serve both requirements without repetition.
Direction throughout was calibrated to the subject: an executive comfortable in front of cameras and audiences, but a portrait session is not a press conference. The goal was to move past the default posture — the formal stance most executives arrive with — and find frames that felt considered rather than staged.
Results
One photograph from the session was selected by CEO Magazine's Art Director for the cover story, credited as "Julian Haber." A second image was subsequently placed on the inside front cover of Dévore — Tourisme Montréal's MTL à TABLE restaurant guide, publicly distributed across the city with the tagline "Bite into the city, one neighbourhood at a time." The portrait anchors Lalumière's signed foreword letter: the first page a reader sees after opening the guide.
That second placement is worth noting for a practical reason. CEO Magazine acquired usage rights only — the images remained available to Tourisme Montréal for their own communications. A session structured this way gives the subject's organization something beyond the original commission: a library of editorial-quality portraits they can draw on independently, for any publication or platform, without commissioning a separate shoot.
"The session at the Tour du Port was genuinely enjoyable — organized, calm, and well-paced. Julian directed Yves confidently without overcomplicating the experience. We left with more than enough images for the CEO Magazine feature and for our own use in Dévore. I wouldn't hesitate to work with him again."
« La séance à la Tour du Port s'est vraiment bien passée — organisée, détendue et bien rythmée. Julian a dirigé Yves avec assurance, sans compliquer l'expérience. Nous sommes repartis avec plus qu'assez d'images pour le reportage de CEO Magazine et pour notre propre utilisation dans Dévore. Je n'hésiterais pas à travailler à nouveau avec lui. »
What This Means for Your Organization
A cover portrait is a different brief than a headshot. The subject is the same person, but the intent is editorial: the image has to carry a story, not just confirm a likeness. Location, light, and direction all need to serve that purpose.
If your organization is commissioning an executive portrait for publication — a magazine feature, an annual report, a major communications initiative — I'd be happy to discuss what a session of this kind looks like.
Planning an board meeting or executive portrait session? I'd be happy to have a quick discussion about what coverage looks like.