These Celebrity Portraits Are Actually of Wax Figures

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Photographer Peter Andrew Lusztyk recently shot a series of portraits of some of the biggest celebrities on Earth. But look a little closer and you’ll notice that there’s something “off” about each one, and that’s due to the fact that each headshot actually shows a realistic wax figure.

Lusztyk was given special access to the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Las Vegas, where he went around to the different exhibits. He aimed to make the figures look as lifelike as possible on camera with careful setup and lighting.

Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
Madonna
Madonna

“The lighting was a very simple medium-sized soft box with self-contained Profoto heads,” Lusztyk tells PetaPixel. “I wanted to keep it front lit, soft, and neutral. In the museum, the exhibits are lit with very hard little spot lights. I think by softening up the light it actually makes them appear much more life-like.

Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Halle Berry
Halle Berry

Lusztyk’s goal with the project was to explore the “uncanny valley,” the idea that figures with near-identical likenesses to humans causes uneasiness or revulsion in people who look at them.

Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Britney Spears
Britney Spears
George Clooney
George Clooney
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Tupac
Tupac
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Don King
Don King
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Nicholas Cage
Nicholas Cage
Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Celine Dion
Celine Dion
The Rock
The Rock
Will Smith
Will Smith
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey

“My hope is to extend the project to other Wax museums around the world,” Lusztyk says. You can find more of his work on his website.


Image credits: Photographs by Peter Andrew Lusztyk and used with permission

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