On occasion, I have the wonderful opportunity to travel to work. After several missed attempts at working on projects for Safeway/Vons, I booked and a print shoot in the Fall of 2012 for a secret project. None of the other models nor the crew were fully aware of what exactly we were gonig to be advertising! Nevertheless, I made the journey from Santa Monica to Livermore in Northern California, not too far from the Safeway headquarters.
For this shoot, I was reunited with makeup artist Nicole Sofios, who I met on my very first professional job in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have worked with on numerous jobs since. I knew immediately that this was gonig to be a fun shoot! After beeing greeted by a breakfast spread of bagels, pastries, fresh fruit and morning beverages and a quick seat on the makeup zooga kit, I was on set with my child of the day!
In the late-summer heat for our outdoor shoot, we dreamt of ice cream cones, ocean waves and a breeze to cool our warm, weary bodies. In preparation for a winter project launch, we were dressed in long sleeved clothing. This is only one example of the not-so-glamorous life of a model. After it was all said and done, the project was put on hold and no one knows when it may see a resurrection!
Yet fortune was still in my favor. Since the odds of the Livermore project making it past the concept stage any time soon were poor, I was called in by the marketing creatives to be part of their next project! In late-January 2013 I hightailed it back to the Bay Area, this time shooting at a studio/loft in Oakland. I had a new crew, new family members and the same wonderful client.
Over the course of two days, we shot ads for a new Safeway store that will be catering to the Blackhawk community of Northern California.
We shot this series green screen style with minimal set and the food products were the focal point. There was a full team of food stylists in place with excellent attention to detail! The food was all real, but had was treated with extra special care. Yet another reminder that this is a product based commercial business.
This project is nearing completion and will hopefully hit newsstands soon! I have seen some preliminary proofs and they look great. As soon as I can share them with you, I will! Check back for updates or keep a weather eye on the horizon…you never know where my face may appear!
