Graduation photos require a variety of skills from different photographic genres, such as portrait photography, documentary, and event photography. To take graduation photos, one has to know how to work with natural light, create flattering individual and group portraits, include the landscape, capture the atmosphere of the event, and build a narrative. Furthermore, you don’t have a second chance. The event unfolds quickly and, once it’s over, all you have are the photos in your camera.
For the graduate, graduation is a milestone, a moment of celebration shared with family and friends. But the graduation also has a specific context that includes a location, a culture (e.g., logo, mascot, school’s history, etc.), and a dress code. All these should be part of your composition if you want to take good graduation photos. And here is how to do it.
Choosing a Location
Graduations take place in designated locations, such as the school’s outdoor stage or ceremony hall. You can’t change that. Furthermore, you can’t change how the place is decorated and illuminated, or the ceremony’s time. But you can change your photo setup, spot the best places for a portrait photo session, and find the most appealing viewpoint.
Take some time to visit the location before the event and observe the direction and quality of light, the seating arrangement, the decorations’ colors and texture, and how close to the stage you can stand. If the event is outdoors, look for places with optimal natural light (full sunlight or shadow), a beautiful and meaningful background landscape (e.g., the school’s façade or logo, a statue, tree, or object that acts like a mascot, a representative piece or architecture, etc.), and a quiet place for a post-graduation photo session.
When choosing a location, it’s a good idea to take a few shots of the venue and all its interesting corners and perspectives. It helps you understand lighting and find the best camera settings, choose adequate gear, and prepare your compositions. In the heat of the event, you won’t have much time for preparations. If you can count on having the same lighting as during the graduation, you can even set the white balance before the event.
Camera Gear for Graduation Photos
The gear for graduation photos should include one or two professional cameras, several lenses with different focal lengths, lighting equipment, a tripod, filters, and plenty of batteries and memory cards. It’s a lot, but you need to cover a broad range of compositions (e.g., environmental shots, close-ups, portraits, action shots, etc.) and be able to switch from one photo setup to another quickly.
One possible workflow is to have two photo setups in place, such as a camera with a 100–400mm telephoto lens mounted on a tripod for close-ups and another camera, handheld, with a 50mm wide-angle lens set on continuous shooting for environmental and action shots (e.g., walking on stage, tossing the cap moment). The tripod setup may focus on a particular person, while the handheld setup may move from one scene to another, follow students while walking on and off the stage, and even turn to capture the audience.
Another possible workflow is to opt for a zoom lens that allows you to switch between multiple focal lengths, reaching at least a 200-300mm telephoto focal length. It’s better to use a tripod for this setup because, at telephoto focal lengths, you’ll need to stabilize the camera. Using a zoom lens is faster than using two lenses on the same camera but slower and more restrictive than using two complete photo setups.
Lighting Gear for Graduation Photos
You will also need lighting gear. And if the graduation ceremony is indoors and the post-graduation photo session is outdoors, you will need lighting equipment for each situation.
An on-camera flash helps you indoors and outdoors, but only when the subject is relatively close to the camera (e.g., portraits, close-ups of establishing objects). If the camera-subject distance is longer than the flash’s fall-off distance, an off-camera flash will serve you better.
But, for example, the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on III R2 TTL Speedlight works both on and off camera, has 1.5 second full power recycle time, and can be triggered remotely from up to 100m. You may want to invest in gear with more than one usage because graduation photos require a lot of flexibility and fast resets.
For graduation portraits, you can rely on continuous lights to ensure the light quality you need. Regardless of where you place the photo session (indoors or outdoors), the Flashpoint FV200 R2 Hybrid Continuous LED Light and HSS Flash has you covered. It provides both a standard flash burst and a LED continuous luminous flow, allowing you to explore the full range of creative freedom.
Don’t forget about accessories. For shooting in bright sunlight, a lens hood is essential. So are a UV filter, a circular polarizer filter, and sometimes a color intensifier filter. If you hold a camera, you will need a strap. And, of course, a tripod that can support the load of your camera and lens, and stand firmly on grass or other surfaces should be in your bag, too.
Camera Settings for Graduation Photos
Camera settings start with white balance, which depends on whether you take indoor or outdoor photos, the weather forecast (e.g., sunny day, overcast) and available artificial lighting. Arrive at the location sometime before the graduation and set up the white balance.
ISO, aperture, and shutter speed also depend on the available light conditions but also the composition and visual effect. As always, you want to keep ISO at a minimum to avoid ISO noise. But to take sharp photos of moving people (or flying hats), you need fast shutter speeds. And when the graduation is indoors, you will have to increase the ISO to be able to reach those shutter speeds. Go as high as your camera’s sensor allows it.
For graduation portraits and close-ups, a large aperture (e.g., f/1.8) will make the subject stand out by creating a smooth blurred background. Furthermore, it hides a busy background. Thus, if you don’t benefit from a smooth and neutral background for your post-graduation photo session, set a large aperture. However, if you take environmental and wide-angle shots, you want a deep depth of field because the background is relevant to your story. In this scenario, use a narrow aperture.
Shutter speed is essential when you want to freeze motion, like when graduates walk on and off the stage, jump with joy, or toss their hats in the air. In any of these scenarios, use fast shutter speeds. It’s also a good idea to set the camera to Continuous Shooting Mode or Burst Mode and take a series of pictures each time you press the shutter. You may also want to try the Shutter Priority Mode, set a fast shutter speed, and let the camera deal with the rest of the settings.
Poses for Grads
During the post-graduate photo session, you can direct your grad through a series of poses that emphasize the moment, their personality and emotions, and their family’s support. Fortunately, you have plenty to work with, starting with the grad’s outfit.
Graduate Attire
Traditionally, a graduate outfit includes a cap (with a tassel that marks the graduation), a gown, a stole, and a cord. The pieces’ colors also matter because they represent their school’s colors or achievements. Therefore, make sure you include close-ups of these items for future reference and direct the grad through poses that emphasize the meaning of their outfit. For example, you may ask the grad to hold their cap, stole, and cord as a much-awaited award, proudly, or joyfully.
Personality Shots
At the same time, you should consider the grad’s personality and mindset. Some are full of energy, excited to begin a new chapter in their lives. They may agree to jump, dance, or take funny poses. Others may be more serious and touched by the graduation milestone. They may prefer to cross their arms in a powerful stance, pose for a professional headshot, or hold their diploma in a visible place.
Candids
There are also grads overwhelmed by emotions. You should grant them the space and support they need. For them, candid shots work better because they can forget about the camera. Allow them to sit quietly and think about their future, talk with their family and colleagues, take a walk, or examine their surroundings. Meanwhile, take many photographs — both portraits and environmental shots. Try to use a telephoto lens that allows you to keep your distance while still being able to capture close-ups. Don’t focus solely on their faces. You may also want close-ups of their hands, anti-portraits, and full-body portraits.
Shots to Get
During the preparation step, after checking out the location, finding the best places, putting together your gear, and making a list of possible poses, list the shots you want to get. Having a clear intention helps you avoid panic mode and forget something important. And because you are a photographer, chances are you are a visual person: write or sketch the shots to get.
Typical shots for graduation photos include:
Portraits
In this category, you may want to include individual portraits, both staged and candid, in various poses, such as full-body with complete graduation outfit (cap on), half-body and headshots with and without the cap on, sitting, standing, and walking poses, jumping in the air, dancing, and business-like poses.
Group Photos
List a series of shots from large groups (e.g., entire family, all classmates, etc.) to small groups (e.g., mother and child, best friends, grad and favorite teacher, etc.). Again, pass through multiple poses, from emotional to serious, according to the situation.
Documentary Shots
Here you can include everything related to the ceremony, from walking on the stage to get the diploma, moving the cap’s cord in agreement with the new status, speeches, and the final moment of tossing their hats. You may also want to turn your lens to the audience and register the emotions of their families and the general mood of the event.
Establishing Shots
We all know those stories that start with “In my time…” Here is your chance to prove them right. Add to the list to get a few shots that have the school in the background, capture the iconic symbols of the place (e.g., a statue, façade, garden, tree, logo, etc.), or focus on the grad’s achievements (e.g., diploma, stole, cord). They would like to have those memories for the years to come.
Conclusion
Graduation photos are a challenge for the photographer because they have to include so many aspects, both practical and artistic. They aren’t just portraits or just documentary shots. Graduation photos are a good example of storytelling in action because they need a strong narrative line. Furthermore, they are a technical challenge. The unpredictability of the conditions (e.g., lighting, forecast, protocol, etc.), the limited location options, and dealing with nonprofessional models require a lot of gear and technical skills. But, in the end, it’s always rewarding to take part in such a happy event.
