100 Wholesome And Funny Recreations Of Old Photos

Some photo trends fade fast, but a good then-and-now recreation never really gets old. The subreddit r/PastAndPresentPics is packed with people recreating childhood snapshots, family portraits, and random moments from years ago, and the results are often equal parts sweet and funny.

In this collection, you will see everything from sibling throwbacks and wedding-day recreations to pets, parents, and old-school school photos brought back to life. The appeal is simple, nostalgia plus effort usually makes for a great picture.

Scroll through the best recreations and see which one feels the most unforgettable.

1. "Tony Hawk Around 1983 And Earlier This Year At Sanoland In Cardiff, Ca"

notbob1959

2. "My Sister And I Graduating Headstart vs. Us Graduating College"

void590

3. "For My Mom’s 60th Birthday, My Brothers, My Cousin And I Recreated A Photo From My First Day Of Kindergarten."

tyree731

4. "The Most Poignant Pastandpresent Pic I've Seen To Date"

1916

5. "Minor Threat's 1985 Salad Days Album Cover Recreated In 2021"

zereldalee

6. "From A Ten Your Old Cub Scout To A 27 Year Old Eagle Scout (Even The Hat Is The Same. Go Braves!!!)"

ithacancypher2k

7. "Me In 1995 And 2010, British Columbia"

leamusse

8. "Timeless."

livingroomipad

9. "My Parents Took Pictures Of Us Asleep In Weird Positions When We Were Kids. We Recreated The Photos As Adults, But Just Look Like A Bunch Of Drunks!"

Bsnargleplexis

10. "Rush"

markshure

11. "1999 & 2019"

urbansombrero7011

12. "18 Years And Counting Of Being Best Friends With U/Profemory. Ages 5 And 23."

TrekkieTay

13. "Cousins 2004-2012-2016-2021"

aSoggyFrootLoop

14. "My Wife And I During A Dance In Sixth Grade And Then On Our Wedding Day"

reddit.com

15. "My Grandma And Dad 1966 And 2020"

Jamescovey

16. "Me And My Bros - Part 2."

guilhasbranc0

17. "When The Student Pulls A Reverse Uno On The Teacher.."

AratrikD

18. "Same Photo Nearly 30 Years Apart.. I Am The Baby In The First Photo And Holding My Son In The Second Mlcphotography"

brooke7001

19. "Pop Wanted To Recreate His Childhood Santa Photo"

Shadrack_Meshax

20. "3 Sisters, 37 Years Apart. I Don't Know Why It Took Us So Long To Make One Of These."

emilyalamode

21. "Only A Few Months Apart."

St3zus

22. "Perfect Past And Present Strangers"

professor_doom

23. "In 1989 I Loved A Perm And A Scrunchie Or Three, And I Recently Recreated The Style For An 80's Night In Edinburgh."

Stormjunior

24. "15 Years Later And We Still Have That Mall Photo Shoot Swagger!"

malencross

25. "Me And My Kids! (2005 @ Recife-Pe-Brazil - 2018 @ Tucson-Az-USA)"

lvcabral

26. "Bomb Pops 1997 & 2020"

Shhhteppe

27. "20+ Years Of Friendship And Counting"

birrdieface

28. "My Sis And I Did A Series Of Throwbacks - This Is Definitely The Best One. Circa 1994 vs. 2015"

anneontherox

29. "Another Recreation That We Did For Our Nana’s Photo Album! This One Was Particularly Important To Do Because She Carries The Original In A Little Compact Mirror/Photo In Her Handbag."

hanwestwood

30. "I was directed to this sub 1968 to 2018."

botoxedbunnyboiler

31. "Me As A Baby Wearing A Ridiculous Wig vs. Me At 21 With The Hair I Ended Up Growing"

smilingsun

32. "My Mom Holding Me 1979, My Mom Holding My Daughter In The Same Dress 2019."

MichaellaJane

33. "This Famous Photo Of A 12yr Old Afghan Girl And Her 18 Years Later (Photo By Steve Mccurry)"

earthmoonsun

34. "3 Brothers From Italy, Early 1960s/2011 (My Nonno Is On The Left)"

Gero4603

35. "Christmas Present For My Mom. ~27 Years Apart."

carltbowden

36. "It's All I Wanted For My 60th Birthday"

madbear

37. "15 Years Later..."

imgur

38. "I Found An Old Pic Of Me Playing Computer Games. As It Turns Out I Haven't Changed Very Much"

Bleep-bloop3000

39. "They Were Neighbours Since The Birth, The Photo Was Taken On The Bride's 3th Birthday By Her Parents"

nguoiphanxu

40. "23 Years"

cjs81268

And if you love recreated energy, check out the “Old Masters” portraits that basically made the original influencer playbook.

41. "Cousins 😆"

Ursailormoon

42. "He's Come Such A Long Way. Much Love For Steveo"

DeadLiftForSpaghetti

43. "Follow Up To The One We Posted Last Night...."

ToyBoxStudiosDC

44. "My Boyfriend And I Discovered We Had Matching Photos As Ninja Turtles-Obsessed Preschoolers. We Knew What Had To Happen Next."

EricaH121

45. "17 Years Apart - 2004 Cicada Brood —> 2021 Cicada Brood"

tarobubbletea2

46. "My Sister Got Married Over The Weekend, So We Recreated This Gem From Our Childhood"

DominicOH

47. "New Year's Eve In Kosovo - 1998 And 2020"

imgur

48. "Well, We Tried... Cousins. All Born About Three Months Apart. 24 Years Difference Here."

brenthonydantano

49. "My Daughter, Age 2 In 1998 On The Left, My Granddaughter, Age Two In 2019 On The Right"

peachcobblerincident

50. "My Little Brother Cleaning The Toilet, Seven Years And A Bathroom Remodel Later"

PetrichorEnigma

51. "My Dog, In The Same Spot, At 1 Year Old And 11 Years Old."

qdotbones

52. "My Wife And I Recreating Our Picture Atop The Seattle Space Needle 25 Years Apart (1994-2019)"

PowerWindows85

53. "My Brother And I, 1990-2017"

PatFnDuffy

54. "We recreated a childhood photo… from Blue’s Clues birthday party to 20 years later at Thanksgiving!"

madiissuun

55. "2007/2019 - Guess I Should Have Brought The Hat To The Wedding"

Lonelyland

56. "My Parents By Their Tree In 1975 And Now In 2016"

imgur

57. "Biff Got What He Deserved After Almost 35 Years."

305FUN

58. "Mom And Dad 1983 > 2019"

mymomismybff

59. "Playing With A Cricket, 1980s And 2020"

Long-Afternoon

60. "Brothers In A Bathtub. 20 Years Apart."

stenchi

61. "My Father And I At The Same Spot On Table Mountain... 30 Years Apart"

picardi

62. "15 Years Of Anniversaries. Can You Tell When It Stopped Being Taken With A Digital Camera And Began Being Taken With A Phone?"

thezombiesaurus

63. "24 Years In Between"

Ramenazi

64. "Me on the left, my son on the right, 39 years apart"

EternallyXIII

65. "Thanksgiving 2011-2021"

2manyhotdogs

66. "Gatorland Zoo In Florida."

Brewskiman

67. "Couple At Woodstock 48 Hrs After They Met And 50 Years Later"

downwarddawg

68. "On The Left Was Mother In 1980. Now In 2014, Her Daughter."

DroidsRugly

69. "Faithful Little Desk Buddy"

commonvanilla

70. "I Convinced My Parents To Reenact Their Wedding Photo 45 Years Later, Including The Same Dress"

mattkruse

71. "Reading the newspaper with dad"

thenjdk

72. "34 Years Apart."

St3zus

73. "Steve And Robert Irwin Feeding The Same Crocodile 15 Years Apart"

Long-Afternoon

74. "Ellen Degeneres And Her Prom Date Richard In 1976 And In 2005"

notbob1959

75. "40+ Years Later"

markobeardo

76. "Bride And Maid Of Honour, Then And Now"

snapdragon90

77. "Same Beach, 25 Years Apart."

AlexRudi

78. "Cindy Crawford at 55 recreating her 1992 Pepsi ad."

skizmcniz

79. "My Son And I Planted Our Faces On A Copier, Then And Now"

dittidot

80. "My Mother Made Me The 2 Year Old Outfit And The 39 Year Old Outfit"

Sluggerknuckles

81. "Every Five Years From 1982-2012, Five Men Take The Same Photo At Their Cabin At Copco Lake In California. They Plan On Adding A 2017 Photo This Summer."

imgur.com

82. "1991 - 2019"

8Smile

83. "My Grandpa In The Middle With His Sister Annetta On His Left With Their Best Friends 1927 vs. 1992"

deraudawg

84. "My Son's First Days Of School, K-12"

dittidot

85. "Picture On The Right Went Viral Recently. 33 Years Later The Same Protagonists Recreated It"

TheCapChronicles

86. "Passing Down The Baby Express To My Own Son"

squirrelslife

87. "The same person, Han Junjia, 26 years apart, China"

DailyBugleEditor

88. "20th Wedding Anniversary"

wishusluck

89. "Every Year, My Siblings And I Take Our "Christmas Juicebox Photo". This Is Year 11, But I Didn't See Them Because Of Covid. So My Sister Photoshopped Me In!"

Buttered_CopPorn

90. "My Dad Returned To London 37 Years Later (1979 vs. 2016)

greenman787

91. "A Few Of My Friends Who Gave Me Permission To Post This Here, 6 Years Apart"

hauntedimage

92. "A Picture Of Jesse Jackson And Beto O’rourke 37 Years Apart"

hotdogcolors

93. "I Came To This Courtroom With My Class In Kindergarten. Today, 14 Years Later, I Finished My Internship With The Judge In The Same Courtroom."

DJDANDERBILT

94. "I've Never Been Particularly Photogenic..."

Zaptagious

95. "My Grandma’s Lebanese Passport Picture From 1955 (Left) And Me In The Present (Right). Christmas Gift To My Dad Last Year"

afterlife121

96. "My Sister And I, 1992 And 2014"

stillakilla

97. "Same Pride, Same Couple 25 Years Later (2017)"

Unicornglitteryblood

98. "Father & Son, The Very First & Last Space Shuttle Launch, 30 Years Apart"

NateTrib

99. "40 Years Later..."

bitbot2000

100. "My Four Brothers And I In 1997 vs. 2017"

Scared_By_A_Smile

Currently, the subreddit has 71.8K members. u/enfrozt thinks the subreddit’s popularity comes from people’s fascination and entertainment by how other people recreate their past photos because we all have a soft spot for nostalgia.  

That mix of memory and humor is exactly why these recreations keep landing so well.

Let us know your favorite r/PastAndPresentPics and share this with your friends and family!

Want more visual history than textbooks, like those wild historical moments, see 100 Historical Moments That Prove The Past Was Anything But Boring.