It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)

A follower of the Afro-Brazilian religion Umbanda pays tribute for Iemanja, goddess of the sea, in Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 29, 2017. Hundreds of practitioners of Brazil's Afro-Brazilian Candomble and Umbanda faiths have gathered at Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach to honor Yemanja. Worshippers were mostly dressed in white as they launched their offerings to Iemanja: small boats with flowers and bowls with candles and fruits. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

The crowd is reflected in the glasses of a bearded competitor at the third annual National Beard and Moustache Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 11, 2012. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP Photo)

A woman holds her dogs during a snow flurry as temperatures dropped below freezing during the third coronavirus lockdown in London, Tuesday, February 9, 2021. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo)

Yalena Leuliette, 7, of Greenbelt, Md., throws seeds from a cattail plant up in the air as she plays while visiting the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in northeast Washington, on Sunday, August 9, 2015. Leuliette visits the public garden with her parents a few times a year. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

Jil Belen Teichmann of Switzerland in action against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in her third round match on Day 6 at Roland Garros on May 27, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

A model waits backstage during a show of the third bi-annual Budapest Central European Fashion Week in Budapest, Hungary, 30 March 2019. (Photo by Zoltan Balogh/EPA/EFE)

A devotee throws a clay idol of Hindu elephant-headed deity Ganesh into the sea on the third day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, in Chennai on August 24, 2020. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)