20+ Photos From Family Albums That Make Time a Tangible Thing

We can’t physically catch or stop time. But thanks to photographs, we can catch some wonderful moments, keep them alive for decades, and come back to them when we feel the need for sweet nostalgia. It’s an even greater pleasure to try and recreate a gem from your family album in the present, and see how life has changed while the years were flying by.

Here at Bright Side, we love flipping through our family albums, and if you enjoy doing this too, have a look at these 20 “then and now” family photos that Reddit users shared with the world. We’d be happy if this collection inspires you to create similar collages that connect the present with the past.

1. “My mom going to prom in 1991 and me going to prom in 2017”

2. “My mother forced my brothers and I into 2 pretty neat pics!”

3. “Recreating my freshman photo, 20 years later”

4. “My mother lost touch with her then boyfriend 30 years ago. 2 years ago, he reconnected with her, and after numerous FaceTime calls and flying back and forth, they finally got married.”

5. “My mother and I, both age 25”

6. “My mother (1957), me (1986), and my son, with 3 generations of technology”

7. “My dad and I, photos taken nearly 50 years apart”

8. “Me and my dog, exactly 10 years apart. We both grew up together.”

9. “1940s: My great-grandfather holding my grandmother. They are now 74 and 103.”

10. “Me and my grandpa in medical school 70 years apart (equally sleep deprived)”

11. “My son and I, 32 years apart”

12. “My first day of kindergarten, 30 years apart”

13. “My daughter and I attended each other’s HS graduation, 16 years apart.”

14. “My grandma’s handmade rainbow sweater in action, 35 years apart (1984 vs 2019)”

15. “I recreated my favorite picture of my dad. Him after graduating high school in 1980 and me after graduating today.”

16. “My dad and my son, 70 years apart”

17. “My sister recreated me as my mom!”

18. “My mother and father. Photos taken 51 years apart.”

19. “My mom at 26 and me at 23: Stonehenge, 34 years apart”

20. “I fused an old picture of my mom (left) with a picture of myself (right).”

21. “Me with my niece in 2012. My sister with my daughter in 2020!”

22. “From a 10-year-old Cub Scout to a 27-year-old Eagle Scout. Even the hat is the same.”

Do you have family photos that you cherish? Can you show them to us in the comments?