A photographer's inventive dog portraits show just how human-like our pets can be

"The Queen's Corgi."Belinda Richards

• Belinda Richards is a professional pet photographer from Melbourne, Australia.
• In 2018, she was inspired by a dog's human-like appearance after one of her photo shoots, and she decided to Photoshop the portrait to add a narrative.
• "The look on the dog's face had such a human-like expression, it was so emotive, and had such a good connection with the camera," Richards said.

Australian pet photographer Belinda Richards created her award-winning series "Be More Dog" after a particularly inspiring photo shoot in 2018.

After shooting a typical dog portrait one day, Richards was struck by the "human-like" expression on the dog's face. She told Insider she decided that "the image needed more narrative," and after months of Photoshopping, she had created "It's A Catastrophe!"

The image won her the Emerging Photographer of the Year Award at the Australian Institute of Professional Photography Awards for its strong narrative and cultural commentary on gender roles and the #MeToo movement.

The photo launched the rest of her "Be More Dog" series, which "is intended as a humorous exploration and commentary of current events, social constructs, and ideology using animals as the stand in for people," she said.

Take a look at photos from the adorable, thought-provoking, and award-winning series, Be More Dog.