Alex Cearns is an Australian animal photographer who runs Houndstooth Studio in Perth, Western Australia, which she opened in 2008. Her 2018 book, Perfect Imperfection: Dog Portraits of Resilience and Love, is a collection of studio portraits of dogs living with blindness, missing limbs, scars, hair loss and other differences.
The idea is simple and powerful. Instead of photographing these dogs as rescue cases or medical stories, Cearns gives them the same treatment as any show dog: a clean black or white backdrop, careful light and a moment when the animal looks straight at the camera. The difference is visible, but it is not the first thing you notice. The personality is.
Cearns has long worked with animal welfare groups. According to her Wikipedia biography, she has been the official photographer for the Dogs' Refuge Home of WA, has worked with the RSPCA, and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her charitable service. The eight portraits below come from this series.
Eight dogs, eight personalities
A tan, short-coated dog with one eye closed shut tilts its head and opens its mouth in what looks like a grin. Losing an eye usually matters less to a dog than to a person, because dogs rely so heavily on smell and hearing.
A husky with both eyes closed sits against black with its tongue out, looking completely content. Whatever the dog's sight, the relaxed face and ears tell you it is at ease in the studio.
A tiny puppy with almost no fur, patchy grey skin and enormous ears sits upright on white. Hair loss in dogs can have many causes, from skin disease to parasites, and some coats grow back with treatment; the portrait simply shows the pup as it was that day, alert and curious.
A white terrier with brown ears and a visible scar on the forehead tilts its head the way dogs do when they hear an interesting sound. The scar is there, but the expression steals the frame.
A fluffy grey-and-white dog stands in a blue wheelchair cart that supports its hind end. Dog wheelchairs let many animals with weak or paralysed back legs walk, run and play, and this one looks ready to go.
A small, fluffy Pekingese-type dog with one eye lifts a paw as if waving at the viewer. It is the kind of playful pose that makes the whole series feel joyful rather than sad.
A white bull-terrier-type dog lies on a white backdrop with pink, scarred ears and markings around one eye. The soft lighting keeps the focus on its calm, steady gaze.
A brown puppy with wide-set, bulging eyes lies with its front legs splayed out. The image is both funny and touching, a reminder that a puppy with an unusual body is still very much a puppy.
How the portraits are made
Cearns's studio style is recognisable across her work: plain backgrounds, a single subject and a lot of patience. Studio portraits of animals are rarely quick. Photographers typically use treats, squeaky toys or soft sounds to catch a dog's attention for a fraction of a second, and they shoot many frames to get one where the ears, eyes and mouth all line up.
That approach matters more with dogs that cannot see or hear well, or that move differently. A blind dog, for example, may respond better to voice and scent than to a waved toy. The calm, direct portraits in this series suggest a photographer who lets each animal settle at its own pace.
Disability in dogs: what owners should know
Dogs experience the world very differently from people. Wikipedia's overview of dog senses notes that dogs have roughly 40 times more smell receptors than humans and much sharper hearing, while their eyesight is weaker than ours. That is one reason many blind or one-eyed dogs adapt remarkably well: they were never relying mainly on sight.
Three-legged dogs, dogs with wheelchairs and dogs with skin conditions can also live full lives with the right care. Practical help includes keeping furniture in the same place for a blind dog, using ramps and non-slip rugs for dogs with mobility problems, and keeping a healthy weight to protect remaining joints. For any specific condition, talk to a vet, who can advise on treatment, aids and pain management.
There is also a simple message for anyone thinking about adopting: shelters often find it harder to rehome older dogs and dogs with visible differences, even though many of them are easy-going companions.
About the book
Perfect Imperfection was published in 2018 and is one of several books by Cearns, alongside titles such as Zen Dogs (2016) and Joy: A Celebration of the Animal Kingdom (2014). The collection pairs portraits with short stories about the dogs and their families. You can find the book on Amazon; availability and editions may vary.
What makes the series stand out is its tone. It does not ask for pity. It asks you to look at a dog with one eye or no fur the same way you would look at any other dog, and to notice the cheeky grin, the head tilt or the waving paw first.
Sources: Alex Cearns (Wikipedia), Houndstooth Studio by Alex Cearns, Dog: senses (Wikipedia).
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