Graduation photographs tend to happen two ways: rushed phone photos in a crowd right after the ceremony, or a proper session that actually gets the picture that goes on the wall. I do the second one. That can mean covering the ceremony itself — the walk, the handshake, the diploma, your family finding you afterwards — or a separate cap-and-gown portrait session in good light, away from the crowd, or both.
Ceremony coverage
I get there early, work out where I can actually see the stage from, and cover the walk, the moment your name is called, and the reunion with your family afterwards. Ceremony light and sightlines are rarely good, so I bring a long lens and know how to work a crowd without becoming part of it.
Cap-and-gown portraits, done properly
The best graduation portraits are almost never taken at the ceremony — they are taken before or after it, on campus or somewhere that means something to you, in light that actually works. Twenty to thirty minutes gets a full set: solo portraits, the family group, and a few candid ones that do not look posed at all.
Booking it
Tell me the ceremony date and venue, and whether you also want a separate portrait session and where. Campus locations, your family’s yard, or the studio all work.
What to tell me
The date, the school, whether I need any campus permissions arranged in advance, and how many family members will want to be in the group portrait.