The voice on the phone said that I would be photographing
Blake Shelton, Country music star and judge on the TV show “The Voice” in an
clothing commercial. During
the shoot Mr. Shelton was fully clothed and was holding underwear in his
hands, both packaged and dry cleaned underwear on a hanger. Who dry cleans
their underwear anyway?
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| See more images of Blake Shelton at www.DennisDavisPhotography.com |
I was asked to photograph Blake Shelton during the
production of a television commercial for Gildan underwear and socks. The set
was a real dry cleaner shop in the downtown area of a suburb in Los Angeles.
You can see the commercial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxILq2MxLZQ.
I have shot production stills on the set of a number of television commercials,
including a two day shoot for Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee makers with Mario
Lopez, see http://www.ispot.tv/ad/72ak/nescafe-dolce-gusto-featuring-mario-lopez.
I find being on a commercial production set exciting, with lots of people
working hard together to make the commercial top notch. The teamwork is
awesome!
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| See more images of Blake Shelton at www.DennisDavisPhotography.com |
I photographed Blake Shelton in the dry cleaner shop full of
video lights, crew and actors. Then on the sidewalk outside getting his makeup
touched up, and in an empty shop next door in front of a white background. The
shots done on the white background were the only ones where Mr. Shelton was
being directed by me, the rest of the images were done with a number of
broadcast quality video cameras pointed at him, directors and assistants. I
asked Blake to hold his guitar as if he were playing it and to his side, then
to sit in a chair and put his feet up on a table so that we could see the
Gildan label on the bottom of his socks. He also did poses holding a package of
Gildan underwear and with “his” underwear on a hanger in a dry cleaner’s clear
plastic bag.
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| See more images of Blake Shelton at www.DennisDavisPhotography.com |
I used a four head Profoto D4 lighting system, and put two
lights pointed towards the white background, and two lights in medium softboxes
pointed at Blake. The light bounced off the white background and reflected on
his hair and shoulders, creating a “rim light” effect. Imagine my surprise when
I walked into a Wal-Mart two months later, and saw my life size image of Blake
Shelton holding a package of Gildan underwear on a point of purchase underwear
display. I was proud as could be! The 60 megabyte file from my Canon 5 D Mark
II held up very well at life size enlargement, I could not see any grain or pixels
upon close inspection.
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| See more photography by Dennis Davis at www.DennisDavisPhotography.com |
Mr. Shelton was a complete professional; he had his smile
down pat. He was personable, friendly, and yet stayed focused on his work. What
a great subject to be able to shoot! The production company provided a stand
in, wearing the same colors and about the same size as Blake, so I had the
lighting well adjusted when he said down. There were clients and art directors
watching on a monitor in the next room, so I had to get it right quickly. The
country singer looked so natural in front of the camera, laid back in the
chair, with his guitar in hand and his socks displaying the Gildan brand. I
think he is a good choice for the spokesperson for the company; he portrays a
very confidant and masculine figure in front of the camera. For more images of
Blake Shelton by Dennis Davis, see the website http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com
