Photographer Takes Pictures Of Cats And Humans That Are Doppelgangers (17 Pics)

The idea of gathering 2 identical subjects which are humans and animals was actually started off with dogs, Gethings was so content with his previous project but he wanted to reach a higher level: taking cat photos. 

"I had previously made a series of work based on people who look like dogs. It was received really well and I needed another project that I thought would be equally, if not even more engaging. Cats seemed the most accessible choice, but they are infinitely more difficult to photograph than dogs.” - Gethings said.

Apparently, cats are not easy to be persuaded compared to pooches. It's pretty hard for cats to react properly since they are quite temperamental. With some pets and treats, dogs would completely react differently. On the contrary, cats need a certain time to 'digest' and inspect the surroundings before getting used to it. Gethings stated that he was on the same page.

“I had to use more physical clues in this series. Many of the cats would enjoy playing with toys which led to some great body shapes: the boxing cat and the dancing cat for example. The main difference between cats and dogs seems to be that dogs are very willing to please you. They are also greedy, which helps immensely. Cats on the other hand are quite suspicious of new things. They also have constant access to food, so are not driven by it in the same way dogs are.” - Said the photographer.

After taking successful series of dog photos, Gethings wanted to give away what he had experienced: shoot loaded photos of domestic puppers before getting to know cats. Animals are uncontrollable and it would take a lot of patience to get some pawfect shots. 

“I would say that it is necessary to be extremely patient to photograph animals. It is always tricky and the animals themselves will never show any interest in your work.” - He shared.

Besides the models (or meowdels), lighting is a crucial element that is needed to be well-prepared when you want to take animals photography. Gethings agreed: "You need the right equipment and you need to know where to put it. Animals lose interest very quickly during a shoot so there is no time to keep readjusting. Practice on the family pet. This is the best way to get started."

He also expressed how challenging this project was when he had to take out the best things of both humans and cats. Finding the same features and gathering them together may sound easy but in London, it was more like an obstacle. 

“Even finding cats with enough variation to keep the series interesting was difficult and I covered most of England to shoot them. Unlike the dogs, simply finding the cats wasn't enough, I then had to convince them to take part. On more than one occasion I drove for hours, set up my equipment, and then the cat refused to play ball. I simply had to pack up and go home feeling very deflated.” - Said Gethings.

Photographing animals is actually not what Gerrard Gethings wanted to hit the road from the beginning of his career. He studied fine art and he was a painter and on the way to be an artist. But everything had changed by the time he met celebrity portrait photographer Terry O'Neill.

"I worked for him for 10 years and it was transferring his studio techniques onto animal photography that really led me away from painting and into photography. I also love the immediacy. Painting takes months. Photographs are finished in a day and then there is the next project and the next. It's exciting.” - He said.

What do you think about this impressive project? Really lookalike, isn't it? Don't forget to leave the comments below!