Spliced Portraits Reveal the Striking Similarities Between Family

Son/Father: Ulric, 45 & Denis, 77

Do people ever tell you that you look just like one of your parents? Or maybe you look almost identical to your sibling. Through his ongoing Genetic Portraits series (which began in 2008), Quebec-based designer and photographer Ulric Collette explores how members of the same family resemble each other, how they’re different, and the role genetics plays in a person’s physical appearance.

Collette’s images aren’t your ordinary family portraits. He takes photographs of two people from the same family, digitally splits each face in half, and then combines them into a single composite image. The striking results reveal just how similar people can be when they share DNA, whether siblings, parent and child, or even cousins, who share up to 25% of their genetic makeup.

Many of the blended faces are so symmetrical they look like one person, just with different hair on each side, or as if one side has aged a bit more. Others highlight the subtle contrasts between family members, showing how each face is uniquely shaped while still clearly connected.

Some of Collette’s most striking images are of his own family. Back in 2013, we shared the image he made of his mother, Ginette—who was 61 years old at the time—and his daughter, Ismaëlle, who was 12. “My daughter grew to look a lot like my mom, and this portrait really shows it,” Ulric said. “On a personal level, this photograph represents the two most important women in my life. On a more technical level, they look so much alike that it’s incredible. It’s because of results like that I continue to do this series.”

Collette’s daughter appeared again in 2024 at age 23, when he paired half of her face with that of her brother, Nathan, 22. Despite being a year apart, they look just like twins, sharing similar eyes and freckles. More recently, Collette even added himself to the series, pairing one half of his face with that of his father, Denis, 77. The stunning image reveals how similar the two are, and highlights the beautiful continuity of family and what it means to be human across generations.

Check out some images from the Genetic Portraits series below follow the Ulric Collette on Instagram for more.