We’ve all seen the human-seeming expressions on dogs’ faces, but how many times have we seen people trying to mimic dogs?

German photographer Ines Opifanti adopted her first dog three years ago, and she quickly became fascinated with her pet’s expressive face. After attempting to mimic the dog’s expressions (with varied results), Opifanti got the idea to do a photo series comparing pets’ expressions with their owners’ attempts to replicate them. The shoots sounded like lots of fun, especially for the dogs. Opifanti put out a call for volunteers in her area of Germany on a dog-centered Facebook page, and that’s when the fun really began:

“I photographed the dogs first, letting them sit on a small podium. Owners had to interact with them, telling them phrases they know the dogs will react to. Of course they got lots and lots of praise and treats so they quickly stopped caring about the lights or the camera. After the dogs were photographed, the owners have to interpret and mimic.” -Ines Opifanti on BoredPanda.com

I’m a bit disappointed that there’s no making-of video, but I guess I will have to be content with using my imagination.