For his humor-tinged series "We Can Be Heroes," Dubai-based photographer Martin Beck focused not on the costumed do-gooders who get all the glory, but instead the ones who are simply going about their lives, some working just to get by.

"The subject matter are the folks who feel they didn't quite make it at superhero school and are, like most of us, living their lives, doing their day-to-day chores, trying to make a happy life while providing for their loved ones," Beck explains. "Along with this gritty and humorous-laden style of photography, there is a very important message too. When we think of superheroes, we think of perfect bodies and beautiful faces achieving unbelievable feats. These are the people we idealise as characters that can do no wrong and only seem to exist in our daydreams. This project tries to humanise superheroes. Despite our flaws and failures, each of us, in our own way, can be heroes to our family, our friends and our colleagues, and we all have to the potential to help others."

"We Can Be Heroes" was exhibited over the weekend at the Middle East Film & Comic Con in Dubai, where a year earlier Beck began shooting the portraits.