A Photographer Takes Out Four of His Teeth for a Commercial Shoot

Commercial shoots and photography can be quite demanding and even taxing on the body. But when I started out this art, I would have never thought it could go as far as taking out four of teeth out to create an advertising image. Well, that’s what Blair Bunting was willing to do for a campaign he shot for Discovery’s Deadliest Catch.

Bunting is an advertising photographer who’s worked with renowned brands such as Muscle Milk or Chevrolet. People tend to believe that someone at the top of his industry would have an easier life and wouldn’t go the extra mile for his work. While that may be true for some - even though I highly doubt it –, it’s far from being the case with this Hasselblad ambassador.

When Discovery approached him to shoot an ad for the Deadliest Catch, one of the concepts was to have a hook crushing a sailor’s face. To make it believable, there would have to be teeth flying. Because Bunting wanted to have the closest possible prop to the real thing, he decided to have his wisdom teeth removal appointment moved up to match the shooting schedule. Don’t think for a second it was to remove the pain before the shoot though. It was purely to have his teeth to composite them later in post-production.

Unfortunately, the shot was never used as the campaign took place a few days before the passing of Captain Phil and Discovery decided to pull the plug. They didn’t want to release violent images that could hurt their brand.

To see the final image and read the detailed article written by Blair Bunting, be sure to visit his website.