Photoshop, Do Your Magic

And... we're back. Another successful, short, and intense project in the rearview, and I took a couple days to decompress from it. Actually, in the last week, my cup has runneth over-- an invitation to bid on a project for a Major German Company looms large, more of these smaller jobs are on the horizon, and what has got to be the oddest request happens later today: photo stand-in/ body double.

My neighbor J works as a hired gun for a local ad agency in town, and they are doing some projects with a large local sportswear company. One of the premier athletes in the world right now is that fella in the photo, Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi. For those not versed in soccer, this guy is one of the most recognized people on the planet, and is generally considered the greatest soccer player of all time. He's beyond huge. So big time that he can't make it on down to lil' ol' Nuremberg Germany. This is where I come in. Long story short, they need some guy to be his body-double for a photo shoot, and it was initially explained to me that they would, through the wonders of modern photo composition, place Messi's head on my body. Now, I'm no slouch in the gym, but I certainly do not have the body of an elite athlete-- not even close, let alone a complete mismatch in the skin tone/ hair department (on that front, I am a bit closer to a Swede than an Argentinian). But... these concerns were brushed away. And what of the kids? Legions of fans will be looking at the image thinking it's a soccer titan when in reality it'll actually be... um, a doughy blogger?! Scandalous!

All of these concerns were finally put to rest earlier today when J clarified that I wasn't so much a stand-in as I was a place holder-- in other words, they were mocking up the shot to show the client what they could do and had in mind and this was not destined to be some poster to be distributed worldwide-- they just needed a warm body. Whew, that's a relief, though my dreams of subversive coattail greatness did take a blow. Oh well, at least the photo shoot is catered.