The 'Time Lapse Photography' meme format captures the humorous or dramatic progression of a situation over time. While time-lapse photography is a real-world cinematic technique, in the meme world, it is used to juxtapose a starting state with a radically different, and often chaotic, end result. It became particularly popular on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where creators would sync images of aging or changing characters to specific music. The meme is a staple for depicting 'glow-ups,' the physical toll of stressful jobs, or the rapid evolution of internet subcultures, providing a visual shorthand for the phrase 'how it started vs. how it's going.'