Man's best friend gets the designer treatment in an amazing series of portraits that feature dogs dressed identically to their owners. Depicted with hair, caps and jewelry, the beautifully bizarre portraits of dogs and humans share uncanny resemblances to one another.
Created by Swiss photographer and graphic designer Sebastian Magnani, "Underdogs" began as a pet project in 2009. On his website, he describes the meaning behind the series:
So where does this striking resemblance between dog and owner come from? Does the "underdog" really rank himself lower, even visually? It is undisputed that the canines not only stir emotions and interest, but also our inner most needs. Dogs are considered loyal, selfless, trustworthy, life saving, fun and proud companions in a world where these values are gradually disappearing.
In an interview with photography blog Imaging Resourse, Magnani said the idea for the portraits -- spread out into parts, the third of which has yet to be released -- came to him in a creative flash, "like the beginning of the universe."
Each photo in the series features an image of the human owner and an image of the canine. Magnani shoots his portraits using several Canon cameras, including a 5D Mark II, Mark III and Canon 24-70mm, f/2.8 lens. He then combines both the human and animal images via Photoshop.
The idea to dress animals up as people is nothing new. In fact, recently discovered British Newspaper Archive clippings, dating back to the early 1900s, show images of animals dressed in human garb. However, Magnani's series highlights how similar humans and dogs can appear with just a few aesthetic tweaks.
Perhaps for his next photo shoot, Magnani should feature Tonik, the famous Indiana poodle-Shih Tzu mix heralded across the Internet as the dog with the human face.