Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
A wise soapie once stated that, like sands through the hourglass, so too are the days of our lives... Time waits for no one, and change is inevitable. Sometimes, we don't even notice how much a person, place or thing has transformed until we come face-to-face with photographs documenting the then and now.
Someone asked people to share the most interesting "Before and After" photos they seen or taken, and the replies covered everything from fashion and beauty, to history and reconstructive surgery. The thread reads like a fascinating timelapse series... full stories told in split seconds.
Bored Panda has put together the ones we found most incredible as a reminder that nothing stays frozen in time, even if we don't always notice it. We also delve into some of the psychology behind "Before and After" photographs, and explore why people are drawn to them. You'll find that info between the images.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
M/22/5'11" [99lbs > 150lbs = 51lbs] Anorexia My Recovery
A series of before and after pics can often tell a far better story than words ever could. And that's because of something known as the picture-superiority effect...
A psychologist called Allan Paivio came up with the idea that people remember photos better than they remember words because of two main factors. According to the expert, any visual is stored in two ways in memory — (1) as an image, and (2) as a word or phrase that describes the image.
But words are stored in only one way — the word itself. "While the mind can generate images for words, this process is not automatic and requires significant cognitive effort, making it less common," explains UX training consulting and research platform, the Nielsen Norman Group.
RELATED:
#2
[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!
#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!
Because humans tend to remember pictures better than words, images have become a powerful marketing tool, especially when it comes to before and after photos.
If used effectively, photographs showing transformation can help to build trust, showcase an individual or company's expertise, foster emotional connections, and set realistic expectations. Before and after pics provide tangible evidence of just what you're capable of.
#4
Facial Reconstructive Surgery From 1916
#5
The Ones Seen In /R/Progresspics And /R/Loseit Are Super Inspiring, Especially People Who Have Lost Over 200-300 Lbs
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!
While before and after photographs can be an effective way to market products or services, they can also be damaging to those who view them... Especially when it comes to things like weight-loss journeys, beauty, health and fitness.
"The before-and-after photo relies on a stark visual contrast—typically portraying the 'before' image as undesirable and the 'after' image as healthier, happier, and more attractive," explains Sophie S. Whynacht, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Dominican University of California, and head of the Body Image and Stigma (BIAS) research lab. "This reinforces the cultural ideal that weight loss is not only positive but necessary for self-worth."
#6
Before And After The Kiev Riots
#7
M/44/5'10'' [418 > 171 = 246] 04/17 To 12/18
The expert believes before-and-after photos have become somewhat of a cultural obsession, and a potentially dangerous one at that. She warns that they simplify complex human experiences into a two-frame narrative: struggle and success, failure and redemption, “then” and “now.”
She also says that these photos fail to portray some very important aspects when it comes to weight-loss in particular. Bodies change for many reasons, she notes, and not all of them are within our control.
#8
I’m Pretty Proud Of It!!
Some Random Person 2 weeks ago
I've been wearing my dental braces for over 1,5 years now, just to have my teeth slightly moved so they are properly aligned. It's painful. Real respect for the guy in the pictures, he must have suffered and ensured much pain to get such an excellent result
#9
Here's A Before-And-After Of My Cleaned Bedroom
The expert argues that a photo doesn’t actually depict a person's health status. "It doesn’t reveal their lab results, presence or absence of diseases, relationships with food, physical activity, mental health conditions, or emotional well-being," she explains. "Someone could be deeply struggling in their 'after' image, just as they may have been thriving in their 'before.'"
#10
Joined Slimming World UK In July 2017 - May 2020. 520.5lb - 380.5lb - 215lb
#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
Whynacht cautions that before-and-after photos tend to reinforce the belief that weight loss is always the healthiest choice, when that's not actually the case. What's good for one person might be dangerous for the next.
"It also places blame on those who do not—or cannot—achieve the same visual results, fueling shame and reinforcing the false idea that health and self-worth are tied exclusively to weight," she adds.
#13
Paschendaele Before And After Ww1
Brandi VanSteenwyk 2 weeks ago
Those of us living in relatively (definitely a subjective opinion right now) stable places cannot even begin to fathom how it must be to live through the absolute destruction of war and inhumanity. I can truly imagine nothing more frightening than that instability.
#14
M/10/13” [32lbs -> 26 Lbs] 8 Months Later, Puggy Feels So Much Better
#15
Before And After The Joplin, Missouri Tornado Of 2011
#16
MT. St. Helens Before & After 1980 Eruption
Inigo Montoya 2 weeks ago
May 18 1980. I lived in Washington east of the mountain. A billowing wall of ash that appeared to be a storm of biblical proportions approached while I was outside. I quickly went home, and it proceeded to get darker than the darkest night. I couldn't see a lit street lamp 30 feet away. Ash rained down for hours, burying everything. Cars couldn't run far because air filters quickly clogged with ash. The sky was heavy gray overcast for a long time after. Cleaning up took months. Everything shut down. I saved a couple mason jars of the ash, very peculiar stuff. Very light and powdery.
#17
This Series / Blog, Which Takes Google And Bing Street View Photos Before And After The Collapse Of Detroit
#18
F/24/5”8 [304>145=159lbs] Hey Look MA, I Made It
#19
Before: Fort Collins, Co On October 25th 2011 After: Fort Collins, Co On October 26th 2011
#20
Middle School (Age 12) —> Now (Age 21)
#22
Before And After Of The Buddhas In Afghanistan, Look How Large They Were
nazligelincik@hotmail.com 3 weeks ago
religion (esp. islam) is a very dangerous and horrifiying thing
#23
Christchurch New Zealand, Before And After The 2011 Earthquake
Remi (He/Him) 2 weeks ago
Whenever you get liquefaction in an earthquake like in this one, the damage will get so much worse
#24
Tacloban City Before And After Supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda
Chich the witch 2 weeks ago
My only excuse is having just woke up but I read that as "Superty phoon"
#25
Our Back Patio.. When We Moved In / 3 Months Later
#26
15 To 22! Still Working On Confidence
#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"
#28
This Photo-Project Always Made Me Smile By Irina Werning. Back To The Future
#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)
#30
21-31
#31
Shanghai 1990-2010
Remi (He/Him) 2 weeks ago
Almost unrecognizable! Took me a while to find the clocktower on the right in the top picture hiding in the middle of the bottom one, those two big buildings in the left on the top are also just visible on the left in the bottom one
#32
This Actor From Disney Who Was..quite Fat When He Was A Teen
#33
A Small Look At The Evolution Of War Planes
Forrest Hobbs 2 weeks ago (edited)
It'd be good to have seen something older than the top aircraft in that formation, but I doubt that the bottom two could fly slowly enough for a WW1 biplane to join in... The top two aircraft look to be WW2 era. The bottom two: F4 Phantom II (first flight 1958) and F-22 Raptor (first flight 1997). The top two might be a P-51 Mustang (first flight 1940) and below it perhaps a P-47 Thunderbolt (first flight 1941).
#34
Before And After UV Damage
#35
The Wonders Of Plastic Surgery
Brandi VanSteenwyk 2 weeks ago
Is that the same person, undergoing feminization? I think so but the transformation is SO amazing that I am questioning my own thoughts.
#36
Sattelite Photos Of Japan Before And After The Tsunami
#38
Both Pictures Taken From My Balcony At 9.30pm. First Picture Taken On June 6th, Second On January 10th
#39
Tomorrowland, When It Started In 2005 Compared To 2014
#40
Me At 11 vs. Me At 22
#41
This Guy Transformed From Akward Dude Into Handsomeman
#42
Me Before And After A Haircut
#43
Musicians Before And After They Perform
#44
Lisa Robin Kelly (Laurie Foreman From "That 70's Show")
#45
This, For Sure
#46
Korean Plastic Surgeons Are Amazing
Michael Danhauer 2 weeks ago
It would be more amazing if people accepted themselves for who they are. Nothing wrong with her to be gin with. She probably looked amazing when she smiled. Now she looks like every other Korean lady that went under the knife. This kinda c**p happens in America all the time too. Everyone trying to look like a Kardashian over here. Beauty is a subjective thing. So learn to love the way you look instead of aspiring to a social ideal.
#47
My Kitchen After A Party!
#48
Here's Mine Over 3 Years
110 lbs to 180 lbs
Add New Image
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
Lee Gilliland 2 weeks ago
Anyone who thinks humans pay too much attention to our looks needs to take a gander at the befores.
Roxy222uk 2 weeks ago
I’m so sad that so many of these are ‘look at how this person is now more conventionally attractive, haven’t they done well?'
Load More Replies...
Arthur05 2 weeks ago
> is the mathematical symbol for greater than, please stop using it like it's an arrow. Technically it's accurate when the ones that lost weight used it (although it wasn't what they meant), the ones that gained weight litterally wrote that a lower number is greater than a higher number. The correct thing to use is an "en dash" – which is a slightly longer hyphen -. Although a hyphen is often used in its place these days.
Lee Gilliland 2 weeks ago
Anyone who thinks humans pay too much attention to our looks needs to take a gander at the befores.
Roxy222uk 2 weeks ago
I’m so sad that so many of these are ‘look at how this person is now more conventionally attractive, haven’t they done well?'
Load More Replies... Arthur05 2 weeks ago
> is the mathematical symbol for greater than, please stop using it like it's an arrow. Technically it's accurate when the ones that lost weight used it (although it wasn't what they meant), the ones that gained weight litterally wrote that a lower number is greater than a higher number. The correct thing to use is an "en dash" – which is a slightly longer hyphen -. Although a hyphen is often used in its place these days.
You May Like 100 Historical And Modern Photos That Reveal How New York Has Changed 156 Famous Quotes About Change To Give Yourself A Boost Of Motivation 50 Times People Posted Incredibly Wholesome Before & After Pictures Online
Justinas Keturka
Eligijus Sinkunas
Saimonas Lukošius
Related on Bored Panda
