Premier Floyd Roland of the Northwest Territories sits down for a portrait at the Westin hotel in Edmonton, Alberta on May 25, 2010. Photo by Jimmy Jeong For the Globe and Mail

I have to admit that sometimes, rarely, a subject for a portrait can be intimidating. But this is the first time I've met a sitting political leader who had actually dropped the gloves and got in a hockey fight (in his B-div beer drinking hockey league in Yellowknife) during their tenure. I wonder if other Canadian premiers or Prime Minister Harper now thinks twice before opposing Premier Roland in the political arena.

The Technical Stuff: I really wanted to isolate the premier from the environment so that he would be the only focus of attention. The shoot took place in the hallway of the second floor of the Westin Hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. So, I gridded all the lights. I started by setting my camera settings (Nikon D700, iso 100, f5.6, 1/250th of a second) so that basically if I took the photo without lights the frame would come out black. From there I built up the lights. There are two strip lights (long and narrow) behind the premier on either side. These are both gridded, which controls any spill from the lights and makes a much more narrow beam. I then made use of the reporter (thanks Josh) and had him hold a Nikon SB900 with a Honl 1/8 grid pointed at the face of the Premier. The strip lights add a rim of light around the subject and chair (you will also notice the angle of light on the floor because the lights were up high pointed down) which separates the subject from the black background. And then the punch of light on his upper torso brings back the detail in his face.