Technique · Compare

Before and after

One picture wipes across another of the same place or thing, so the viewer sees exactly what changed.

A before and after shows change as a single motion. Because both pictures share the same framing, the only thing that moves is what the story is about: the building that went up, the coastline that moved, the product that got smaller. The wipe itself becomes the payoff.

On still pictures the two images are lined up so the same features sit in the same place, then a line moves across the frame and reveals the second picture behind the first. A slow wipe lets the viewer compare as it passes; a pause halfway shows both states at once.

The common mistake is two pictures that do not line up. If the angle, the scale or the crop differs, the viewer sees the mismatch, not the change. Find or make pictures from the same viewpoint, and check that both are what they claim to be, with the right place and the right dates.

When to use it

When one place or object changed over time and the change is the point: a skyline, a coastline, a factory floor, a first product and its latest.

Motion instruction (example)

Last reviewed 15 October 2026.