This Woman Re-Created Old Photos Of Her Family Members To Show Their Resemblance

"The more we know about our family history, the more we know about ourselves."

Last year, 33-year-old Rachael Rifkin was looking through old family photos when she was inspired to try and re-create them herself.

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin

"I went to the mirror with the picture [of my great-grandmother Fannie] to see if I was able to copy it," Rifkin told BuzzFeed. "That's when I noticed that we shared more than just facial expressions — I could see her features in my face."

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin

"My grandparents saved everything," she said. "So we have a pretty good collection of old family pictures."

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin

Rifkin was curious if she could find her other relatives' features in her own face, so she collaborated with friends to test it out.

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin

"We set up a green screen in my living room and my filmmaker friend brought lights. She took the pictures, trying to match the lighting in each picture," Rifkin explained. "My costume designer/makeup artist friend provided the majority of the clothes. She also did my makeup. A hairdresser was there for the more difficult hairstyles. My filmmaker friend brought a friend to help with lighting. After the shoot, she added in the original photos' backgrounds and tidied up the pictures via Photoshop."

And as it turns out, she looked more like her other family members than she thought she would.

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin

Rifkin's favorite picture to replicate was her cousin Tiffany's. She explained, "The look was really fun and dramatic, so different from the way I normally look, and yet you can still see the family resemblance."

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin

"I hope this project gets people thinking about the resemblance in their own families, and encourages them to take a more active interest in their family history," Rifkin told BuzzFeed.

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin

"Because the more we know about our families, the more we know about ourselves and our possible life trajectories."

Photo courtesy of Rachael Rifkin