14 Photos That Will Make You Rethink Your Mother-Daughter Relationship

By Ava Feuer
Photo Credit: Carra Sykes

Think back to when you were 24. Would you ever leave the house exactly matching your mother? And even if your daughter once agreed to it, chances are that ended sometime before she turned five.

But when Carra Sykes was applying for jobs after college, she had the idea for Mother + Daughter, a series of 16 photographs that explores the similarities between her and her mother by showing the two in identical outfits and poses.

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“Usually, I didn’t plan when we would take a photo,” Carra says. “I like for things to happen spur of the moment with certain projects, because I believe I am my most creative self when I have to think and do in the moment. It would begin with a location or outfit idea popping into my head. Then, I would ask my mom if she would be ready to shoot a photo in about 10 or 15 minutes, and I would go set up the shot. I would put my camera on interval timed shooting and take my portrait in a few different poses until I found one that felt right. After I got the pose the way I wanted to, I would give my mom the clothes to change into and we would set up the shot and try to reenact it as closely as possible. There are a few differences, but I liked that, because it’s a comparison, not a perfect mirrored image.”

As for the reaction to her photos, Carra says, “A lot of people have laughed while looking at the photos, and I love that. I want it to be open for people. I want it to feel whimsical, but also it can be a study of a mother and daughter relationship. We’ve always been close, but this was a new kind of creative close.”

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