Adorable four-color candid doggie mug shots

Photographer and animal trainer Barbara O’Brien has spent years photographing aspiring canine actors, from prancing puppies to stately hounds and tenacious terriers. At first, she discarded the photos if her subject was barking, sniffing, or otherwise looking less than perfect—until she realized that those outtakes best revealed the true personality of the pup.

O’Brien is a skilled and seasoned photographer, and this winsome collection shows the care she took to reveal each dog’s essential character. The goofiness of the boisterous Border Collie, the decorum of the genteel Great Dane, and the curiosity of the regal Corgi—all of them are captured here in gorgeous four-color photography.