This Photographer Uses Real Animals for Her Surreal Portraits

Katerina Plotnikova is a photographer based in Moscow, Russia, who creates beautiful dreamlike portraits of models getting up close and personal with all kinds of animals, from snakes to wolves to giant bears.

And here’s what’s amazing: Plotnikova uses real animals for her photo shoots rather than creating digital composites with Photoshop.

The animals are trained animals that are found from different places and sources. Some of them are perfectly safe, while others have handlers standing by and ensuring that things go smoothly (one of the bears has appeared in movies for nearly 2 decades).

Everything is shot using a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 50mm f/1.2L lens. Here’s a selection of Plotnikova’s surreal portraits featuring animals:

You can find more of Plotnikova’s work on 500px, which also published an interview with the photographer about her life and work.

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Image credits: Photographs by Katerina Plotnikova and used with permission