So what do you do when you find out your groom works as Spider-Man in a theme park? If you’re DWF Pro member Phillip Blume you shoot it… duh!

The idea for a comic book layout sprung into my head during our consultation with this couple — the moment the groom-to-be mentioned his occupation. I mean, how many people are a superhero for a living? You just can’t pass that up. If you’re going to portray a superhero on the printed page, it has to look like a comic book; at least that was my reasoning. Plus, I know Eileen (my wife and partner in crime) can handle anything I throw at her. So I didn’t hesitate. I generally do the brainstorming, and she always executes beautifully!

So we asked Phillip, “How much work went into the project?”…

I left my other full-time job as a store manager literally the week before this shoot. And we had six shoots including the spidey shoot and a wedding all in the same week. So I sketched out a storyboard in five minutes the night before. Next morning, Eileen stood in as my subject for some experimenting in our studio (the kitchen). We quickly tried some new things with multiple flashes and panning. They worked, so we showed up to location an hour early (as always) and set up.

The time-consuming part was post-processing. We didn’t know what we were doing. We just knew it could be done. Personally, I like to put myself in tight spots like that; it forces me to get learned — and quick! We spent hours pouring over Photoshop tutorials, etc. But I guess that’s time invested. Now we can take that knowledge into future work.

And I’m sure you’re wondering what the clients, Lindsay and Gavin thought?

Well, they’re glad we talked them into doing the e-session! Nothing is more rewarding than receiving heartfelt thanks from a client (or an “art patron,” as I like to think of them). And, from these clients, we’ve received personal e-mails, Facebook messages and posts, and blog comments. (I keep expecting a phone call from them next.) That kind of enthusiasm is the best kind of free advertising, too. Put in a little extra work on a shoot, and it will earn you more publicity than you could ever pay for!

See more photos from the shoot and Gavin’s blog post (complete with fantasy storyline) for the shoot here.

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