Before and After photos are pretty common when it comes to people. Weight loss, fitness gains, makeovers, etc. When it comes to animals, not so much. For photographer Grace Chon, a visit to the groomer’s became an exciting opportunity.

Grace is no stranger to producing cute photos of dogs, she has several of her own with which to practise. In her new series, Hairy, she takes adorable to the next level with these fantastic images before and after a visit to the groomer.

Grace worked with the Healthy Spot groomers in Los Angeles for this project. I bet their owners must have hardly recognised them when they came out.

Grace says that she had the idea of doing a before and after series with dog grooming because it struck her as being particularly funny. There’s also a fascination with the drastic differences in before and after images. She wanted to capture that in a series, but she wanted it to be extreme. So, she chose Japanese style grooming cuts.

Each cut could take over two hours, with the emphasis on making the dog look as adorable as possible. Grace says that they almost look like stuffed animals, and I can’t say I disagree.

My dad has a springer spaniel that goes in for a shave a couple of times a year. Each time it happens, I notice a big change in her attitude and behaviour. I asked Grace if she noticed similar with these dogs before and after their grooming session. This is what she told us.

That is SUCH an interesting question! I wouldn’t say this happened with all the dogs, but definitely happened with a few of them – after grooming they were very, very excited and happy with themselves. I think you can see it in a lot of the after images! The smiles don’t lie :)