The nose knows — especially when it comes to dogs.

Canines communicate and explore the world with their snouts, so if you want to really want to understand your furry buddy, you have to dive in nose-first.

German photographer Elke Vogelsang makes a living shooting portraits of people and pets, but she took her love of dogs down to nose level for a playful series, titled "Nice Nosing You". By using dark lighting and a wide angle lens, Vogelsang captures an intimate perspective of man's best friend.

"My dogs are my joy and recreation, I love spending time with them," Vogelsang told Mashable. "These pictures are just the result of my photography addiction, the wish to try to capture unusual pictures and the try to show my dog’s beauty and character."

Her three well-trained models — Noodles, Scout and Loli — are rescue dogs that not only take a beautiful photograph, but also enrich Vogelsang's life.

"When my first own dog, Noodles, joined us a few years ago, I felt the need to improve my photography ... I fell more and more in love with photography and call myself addicted to it now. We now have three dogs and all three of them are well trained ‘photography companion dogs’ as I call them, " Vogelsang said.

More of Vogelsang's photography can be viewed on her website or Flickr page. She continues to work and add new photographs to her "Nice Nosing You" series.

Nice Nosing You Photography

1. 1. "Aeroplanes"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

2. 2. "Nice Nosing You"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

3. 3. "The Pleasures of Liverwurst"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

4. 4. "Before You Speak"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

5. 5. "Yummy"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

6. 6. "Baritone"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

7. 7. "High Noon"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

8. 8. "Insert Treat Here"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang

9. 9. "This Is To Authority"

   Image: Nice Nosing You Elke Vogelsang