I Photograph Dogs As If They Were Home Owners

My name is Maija Astikainen and I’m a photographer from Helsinki, Finland. I’ve been photographing pet dogs for several years for my project ‘One-Dog Policy’.

I’m interested in the way we think of pets as something in between human and animal, and started exploring that in my photography project. Pets are often humanized, treated as family members and “furry babies”. Simultaneously they represent fragments of wild nature in our homes, and humanlike creatures just like us.

I’m shooting portraits of dogs mostly in their homes, without people, as though they were owners of the house. I’m interested in how the posing, face and gaze of the dog could create associations of human qualities and thoughts. Dogs are most often quite lively and sometimes it takes a lot of time to achieve the desired pose or look. Lots of dog candies have been given during the shoots.

More info: maijaastikainen.com

I Photograph Dogs As If They Were Home Owners

What do you think ?

POST

JulieLynn 9 years ago

I am new to boredpanda and your picture is the first I've been brave enough to comment on. I'm not a real estate agent nor do I live in a big house; however, I like your train of thought very much. I used to have a shepard/rottie mix and we lived in an apartment. The apartment manager said no animals over 30 lbs. I told them my dogs happiness and well being was a key part of my life and my husband and I took extreme cautions about where we lived in order to meet her needs. They still frowned but let us slide. To this day, not only was she the star of the complex but they have allowed responsible pet "friends (not owners) to have animals larger. It's the nature of the beast that actually needs to to be satisfied. I totally applaud your line of thought. Big smiles and 2 thumbs up! Brawwlll brawl happy happy, Merlin!!

6points

KarolinaStrunkinaitė 9 years ago

Apart from the last one, all of them look so sad :(

2points

NorwegianTravelers 9 years ago

Aww :)

1point

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I Photograph Dogs As If They Were Home Owners

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