People sometimes say that dogs and their owners look alike. British photographer Gerrard Gethings took that idea a step further, finding human lookalikes for 25 dogs and photographing them in strikingly similar poses.
The results are hilarious. From matching hairstyles to nearly identical expressions, some portraits look so convincing you’d swear the humans and dogs are related.
Take Monica and Reggie, the pair featured in this article’s lead photograph. Reggie is a Chow Chow with a plush coat and a distinctive blue tongue. Monica has a similar hair color, but her bright blue tongue completes the illusion.
Finding the perfect human match wasn’t easy
The portraits were created for Do You Look Like Your Dog?, a memory card game published by Laurence King in 2018. The game features 25 pairs of human and canine lookalikes, with players challenged to find the matching faces.
To put the collection together, Gethings first turned to social media to find dogs with distinctive features. Then came the harder part: finding humans who looked like them.
Only two of the 25 humans actually owned their canine counterparts. The others were recruited specifically because they resembled a particular dog.
Telling someone they look like a dog
Sometimes, that meant approaching strangers.
In an interview with The Guardian, Gethings shared that he kept an eye out for potential matches wherever he went, including parks and buses.
He had to find tactful ways to approach people, explain that they reminded him of a particular dog breed, and ask whether they’d be willing to pose for the portrait.
“I’ve been taking photographs for a long time, so [I] am well versed in administering dubious compliments,” Gethings told The Guardian. “Without exception, people reacted positively,” he added.
One of those chance encounters was Jessica, a woman Gethings spotted walking through a London park. Her short, fluffy white hair reminded him of Buddy, a Bichon Frise he had already photographed.
As Gethings told Artsy, finding 25 convincing pairs was challenging. He wasn’t just looking for people who vaguely resembled dogs. Each pair needed to look different from the others, and the similarities had to be obvious enough for children playing the matching game to recognize them.
Getting the perfect photograph took some extra work
Once he found the right people, a little styling helped bring out the resemblance.
For Henry and Hope, Gethings used fans to make their long hair blow in similar directions. Monica was given blue slushies and lollipops to help her tongue match Reggie’s naturally blue one.
Other comparisons relied on smaller details. Emma’s dreadlocks resembled the corded fur of Ralph, a Hungarian Puli. A makeup artist also gave her bright pink lips to match the dog’s tongue.
In a 2021 interview with Adopt a Pet, Gethings explained that different breeds respond to different things, including food, movement, and even sound. Rather than trying to make a dog produce a particular expression, he works with the animal until the right moment comes along.
Gethings isn’t immune to the comparisons himself. People have said he resembles his own Border Terrier, Baxter. Apparently, even the photographer behind these portraits has a canine lookalike of his own.
You can find more of Gethings’ work on his website: gerrardgethings.com
