Artist Sayna Soleimanpour performs a photoshoot in protest against the mistreatment and alienation of Turkish women based on their clothing, during a two-day curfew amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on a deserted street in Istanbul, Turkey, early December 6, 2020. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Singer Halsey attends a basketball game between The Los Angeles Lakers Vs the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Ca. on January 13, 2020. (Photo by London Entertainment/Splash News and Pictures)

Jordan Chiles was spotted at the Los Angeles Rams vs. Philadelphia Eagles game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on November 29, 2024 where the Olympic gymnast served as Rampede Captain. (Photo by Ryan Hadji/LA Rams)

A woman dressed in an alien space suit carries an American flag and a sign that reads “Women's Revolution 1971” as she marches in a Women's Liberation demonstration on Fifth Avenue in New York, August 26, 1971. (Photo by Marty Lederhandler/AP Photo)

Artist Sayna Soleimanpour shaves her legs in a bathtub as she performs a photoshoot in protest against the mistreatment and alienation of Turkish women based on their clothing, during a two-day curfew amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on a street leading to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, late December 25, 2020. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

A balloon depicting the face of alien movie character E.T. is seen in the sky at the 15th Solar Balloon Festival in Envigado, Colombia December 31, 2015. (Photo by Fredy Builes/Reuters)

This latest photo series by Anelia Loubser, a photographer in Cape Town, reminds us that even the simplest change in perspective can change how things look drastically. By selectively cropping and flipping the dark portraits in her “Alienation” series, Loubser makes basic human portraits look like creepy alien close-ups.

An alien-shaped hot air balloon flies during a mass launch at the annual Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, near Bristol, Britain, on August 8, 2025. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)