Editorial Portrait Assignment for Der Spiegel Magazine
An Editorial Portrait Assignment for International Press
I got the call a couple of weeks ago to take portraits on a Saturday afternoon: Der Spiegel, the German magazine, needed a portrait shot in Stockton, California, for a feature marking 25 years since September 11. As a professional photographer based in San Francisco, I take on editorial photographer assignments from international publications fairly often, but there's still something different about working for the foreign press. The brief, the pace, and the visual language European magazines want are distinct from a typical American commercial photographer job.
Hamid Hayat at home with his nephews, Stockton - editorial portrait for Der Spiegel, photo by me copyright @ Marc Olivier Le Blanc
Der Spiegel is one of Germany's most read news magazines, and its foreign correspondents commission portrait photographer work from photographers across the U.S. for feature stories that need a strong, singular image rather than a full documentary set. For this piece, the editorial portrait needed to carry weight on its own: small crew, no elaborate lighting setup, just a fast, precise session built around natural light and a direct, honest composition.
On Location for a German Magazine
I drove out from San Francisco to Stockton on a Saturday afternoon. Working on location for international press means adapting to whatever the space gives you. There's no studio fallback, no do-over next week. This is where being an editorial portrait photographer rather than a commercial photographer with a full production plan really matters. As a professional photographer, you read the light fast, find the right corner of the room, and get the subject comfortable in a handful of frames.
Hamid Hayat, close-up portrait for Der Spiegel - professional photographer San Francisco, Marc Olivier Le Blanc
Assignments like this are part of why I keep editorial photography as a core part of my work alongside commercial and lifestyle projects. A magazine like Der Spiegel isn't looking for a polished corporate photographer look. They want portraits that feel observed, not staged. That's the same instinct I bring to every editorial portrait, whether it's for a Bay Area magazine or international press based in Hamburg. Every professional photographer develops their own read on a room, and mine leans toward stillness over spectacle.
Why Der Spiegel Called a San Francisco Photographer
The piece is part of Der Spiegel's coverage marking the 25th anniversary of September 11, and the portraits ran alongside Hamid Hayat's own account of that day. Asked why he was telling his story again after so many years, he told the magazine simply, "I don't want this to happen to anyone else." Moments like that are why I built my practice around editorial and portrait work rather than one narrow lane — a single frame has to carry its own weight next to writing like that.
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Hamid Hayat in quiet prayer at a mosque - portrait for Der Spiegel, Marc Olivier Le Blanc
Marc Olivier Le Blanc is a San Francisco editorial and portrait photographer working with magazines, newspapers, and publications internationally. His work has appeared in Der Spiegel, Forbes, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, The South China Morning Post and dozens of publications.
