40 Side-By-Side Photos That Show Just How Much Things Can Change

Before and after photos have a strange kind of power. With just two images placed side by side, they can tell a full story of time, effort, healing, loss, growth, or pure coincidence. They make change visible in a way words rarely can, which is probably why the internet never gets tired of them.

So when someone on Reddit asked, “What are some of the most interesting before and after photos?”, people showed up with receipts. The replies ranged from wholesome and inspiring to shocking and oddly emotional. Some showed years of hard work paying off, others captured unexpected transformations, and a few were simply proof that time can completely rewrite reality.

Here are some of the most interesting answers Reddit had to offer, each one reminding us that a single photo can freeze a moment, but two photos can tell an entire journey.

#1 [98 Lbs > 114 Lbs = 16 Lbs Gained] (12 Months) My Marfan Syndrome Keeps Me On The Thin Side, But I Think I Look A Lot Less Sickly Now!

Image source: Slavaa

#2 M/22/5’11” [99lbs > 150lbs = 51lbs] Anorexia My Recovery

Image source: andrewg06

#3 F/22/5’5 [190 > 129 = -61lbs] I Used To Be Afraid Of Having Short Hair Cause Of The Weight In My Face. Today, I Said Goodbye To The Old Me And Embraced My New Life!

Image source: karlbarxalot

#4 Facial Reconstructive Surgery From 1916

Image source: anon

#5 The Ones Seen In /R/Progresspics And /R/Loseit Are Super Inspiring, Especially People Who Have Lost Over 200-300 Lbs

Image source: beanieb

F/26/5’6” [425lbs > 149lbs = 276lbs lost] After two and a half years, I’ve done it. I’ve reached my goal weight! I am over the moon and overcome with pride and joy. So grateful for this new life!

#6 Before And After The Kiev Riots

Image source: TheLordOfTheWalrus

#7 M/44/5’10” [418 > 171 = 246] 04/17 To 12/18

Image source: Gravuerc

#8 I’m Pretty Proud Of It!!

Image source: Madhouse221

#9 Here’s A Before-And-After Of My Cleaned Bedroom

Image source: Tostecles

#10 Joined Slimming World UK In July 2017 – May 2020. 520.5lb – 380.5lb – 215lb

Image source: kayeso1138

#11 R/Progresspics

There’s a lot of interesting body changes there: fat to thin, skinny to muscley, underweight to normal weight. It’s a very positive community there too, very friendly

Image source: OwlBeRightThere

#12 Hiroshima

Image source: medievalmonsta

#13 Paschendaele Before And After Ww1

Image source: anon

#14 M/10/13” [32lbs -> 26 Lbs] 8 Months Later, Puggy Feels So Much Better

Image source: firstname_m_lastname

#15 Before And After The Joplin, Missouri Tornado Of 2011

Image source: anon

#16 MT. St. Helens Before & After 1980 Eruption

Image source: Perpetual_Manchild

#17 This Series / Blog, Which Takes Google And Bing Street View Photos Before And After The Collapse Of Detroit

Image source: ZacharyRD

#18 F/24/5”8 [304>145=159lbs] Hey Look MA, I Made It

Image source: chasinafterhappiness

#19 NYC 1876-2013

Image source: Omariamariaaa

#20 Before And After Of The Buddhas In Afghanistan, Look How Large They Were

Image source: mrshatnertoyou

#21 Christchurch New Zealand, Before And After The 2011 Earthquake

Image source: Salami_sub

#22 Before: Fort Collins, Co On October 25th 2011 After: Fort Collins, Co On October 26th 2011

Image source: gangstabman

#23 Middle School (Age 12) —> Now (Age 21)

Image source: CONVICTGHOST

#24 Tacloban City Before And After Supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda

Image source: qwerpoiu43210

#25 Our Back Patio.. When We Moved In / 3 Months Later

Image source: anon

#26 15 To 22! Still Working On Confidence

Image source: BreakfastSquare4600

#27 M/28/6′ [285 > 180 = 105lbs Lost] (6 Years). Face Progress: I Ran Into An Old College Friend Today Who Literally Refused To Believe It Was Me Because I Am “Unrecognizable”

Image source: hunty_brown

#28 This Photo-Project Always Made Me Smile By Irina Werning. Back To The Future

Image source: MyNameIsJuKa

#29 2005 vs. 2014

There’s a park where I walk the dog every single day. We’ve been going there for over a decade. It used to be a nice quiet park, hardly ever saw anyone else there.

Then they ripped parts of it up, built a little gated community on one side, and built a huge office building right in the #$%^&* park. Now it’s insanely crowded and littered, and people get mad at us for having dogs there.

I took some pictures there in 2005 (years before they started all that)