A 22-year-old art student met her biological mom for the first time, and captured the whole experience in pictures

Ashley Comer

Photographer Ashley Comer was born, and raised by adoptive parents in Milton, Massachusetts.

She grew up in a tight-knit family of adopted children, but became more and more curious about her birth mother as she grew up.

While finishing her final semester at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, she discovered that Sheila, her biological mother, had moved down to Florida, not far away.

After reconnecting, the two were finally able to meet again after 22 years.

"I discovered that the law in regards to my adoption does not permit any information [about my biological parents] until the age of twenty-one, so I was only a year ahead of what was legal anyhow," Comer told Business Insider.

She decided to turn the experience into a photo series, called "Meeting Sheila." It started out as a series of candids during their first weekend together, but as they grew closer, the subsequent photographs were born of collaboration, and the project served as an icebreaker as they reconnected.

Comer spoke to Business Insider about the project and shared images with us.