Ellie, 2017
Ellie, 2017
Photograph by Vincent J. Musi

Meet This Cast of Canine Characters

Vincent J. Musi's studio portraits of dogs let their inner charisma shine.

Vincent J. Musi has photographed prairie dogs, lemurs, orangutans, parrots, a hedgehog, and skunks to name a few. His newest portrait subjects may be less exotic, but no less expressive. They are the canine companions of mostly friends and neighbors whom Musi invites to his studio for a portrait shoot. Just the dogs, though. The owners are welcome to wait outside. Musi wants the dogs’ full attention.

With the help of his wife, photographer Callie Shell, and Ed Diaz, whom he calls the “Cesar Millan of Charleston,” Musi has been trying to figure out how to read the dogs’ behavior so that he can capture those blink-of-an-eye moments where their unique essence shines through. “There is a moment when I sense this energy I am trying to convey. There is this nobility. If people can see [in these dogs] what their owners do, that’s good,” he says, slobber and all.

Each dog has a backstory but Musi isn’t as interested in that. He instead chooses to title the images simply with the dogs’ names and date. “ I get a very human kind of feeling when I come away them. I don’t want to talk about them as breeds. I want to talk about them as personalities.”

You can see more of Vincent J. Musi's work on his website and follow him on Instagram.

Read This Next

This dog can find rare sea turtle nests—shockingly successfully
Did ancient Romans love French bulldogs as much as we do?
Radioactive dogs? What we can learn from Chernobyl's strays

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet