Doctor Strange: Magic, Mystery & the Multiverse | Utah Cosplay Photography
There are some characters you Photograph. And then there are characters who seem to bring an entire world with them. Doctor Strange is definitely the second kind.
When Eric stepped in front of my camera as Doctor Strange, the goal wasn't simply to photograph an impressive costume. I wanted the images to feel like they belonged to the Marvel universe-to capture the confidence, mystery, power, and just a little bit of danger that comes with being the Sorcerer Supreme.
This session was part of my Beyond the Ordinary creative portrait series, where I take characters, costumes, and ideas and turn them into Photographic stories. Because your character deserves more than a convention snapshot.
From Surgeon to Sorcerer
One of the things that makes Doctor Strange such an interesting character is the transformation. Stephen Strange begins his story as a brilliant but arrogant surgeon who believes he has control over nearly every aspect of his life. After losing the thing he values most-his ability to practice medicine-he is forced into a completely different world.
Magic.
Mysticism.
Ancient powers.
Other dimensions.
And eventually, the responsibility of protecting a world that he once would have never imagined existed. That transformation was part of what drew Eric to the character.
Rather than simply portraying Doctor Strange as "the guy with the red cape," we wanted the session to explore the different sides of him-the confident doctor, the powerful sorcerer, and the person who has learned that sometimes protecting others requires sacrifice.
Bringing the Sorcerer into Salt Lake City
For this session, we headed into downtown Salt Lake City. The urban setting gave us something I really love about character photography: contrast. A character who belongs in a fantastical world suddenly standing among real city streets and architecture creates a strange little collision between fiction and reality.
And honestly?
That's where the fun starts.
Instead of trying to completely recreate a movie set, we used the city around us as part of the story. Buildings became the backdrop. The streets became the setting. And Doctor Strange became someone who had stepped out of the Marvel universe and into ours.
The Doctor
Before the magic started, we focused on Strange himself. The costume, the posture, the expression, and the attitude all helped establish the character. These quieter portraits are important because a character doesn't have to be casting a spell in every photograph. Sometimes the strongest image is simply the character standing there and looking like they know something you don't.
Doctor Strange has plenty of that energy.
Confident.
Focused.
A little intimidating.
And completely aware that he's probably the smartest person in the room.
The Sorcerer
Then came the magic.
Hand gestures, the eye of Agamotto, the cloak, and those unmistakable sorcerer poses immediately changed the feeling of the session. This is where character photography becomes more than photographing a costume.
The pose has to communicate something.
The expression has to belong to the character
The composition has to leave room for the imagination.
And sometimes, you have to be willing to stand in the middle of downtown Salt Lake City pretending you're about to open a portal to another dimension. Thankfully, that's exactly the kind of thing I love doing.
A Little Cinematic Magic
One of the things I wanted most from this session was movement. Doctor Strange isn't a character who simply stands around looking heroic. His world is constantly moving.
Capes move.
Hands move.
Magic moves.
Portals open.
The story changes around him. So we played with movement and perspective to create images that felt more cinematic. Low angles helped give Strange that larger-than-life presence.
Movement in the cloak added energy.
And leaving open space within the composition creates opportunities for the magic to become part of the final image. The goal wasn't to recreate a specific movie scene. It was to create the feeling that something was happening just outside the frame.
Beyond the Ordinary
This is exactly why I created Beyond the Ordinary. I love photographing families, couples, seniors, baptisms, weddings, and all of those real-life moments that deserve to be remembered. But there is another side of photography that I can't ignore. The side that lets us create something completely different.
A character.
A world.
A story.
A version of ourselves that we don't normally get to step into. That's what these creative sessions are about. They aren't about having a perfect costume or being a professional model. They're about taking an idea and asking:
What if we photographed this like it was a story?
Doctor strange gave us the opportunity to explore magic, power, transformation, and mystery-and to bring a little bit of the multiverse to downtown Salt Lake City. And that is exactly what Beyond the Ordinary is supposed to do.
Your Character Deserves a Story
If you have a cosplay, original character, fantasy concept, superhero, villain, anime character, video game character, or completely strange idea you've been waiting to bring to life, I want to photograph it.
You don't have to know how to pose.
You don't have to be a professional model.
And you definitely don't have to have everything figured out.
Bring the Character. I'll help with the story, location, posing, and photographic direction. Because your costume already tells part of the story.
Let's Photograph the rest.
Nichols and Dimes Photography
Utah Cosplay. Character Portraits. Fantasy. Creative Photography
Beyond the Ordinary-where characters become stories.
