Picture Perfect: Essential Photography Tips for Graduation Day
It’s graduation season! If you’re a parent, aunt, uncle, guardian, grandparent, or proud loved one, you may feel the urge to rush to the front, blocking everyone behind you, and distracting everyone in front to capture images of your 'precious' walking across the stage. Don’t!
While we all want to capture these 'once-in-a-lifetime' memories, we must be mindful of others and practical based on the situation. With that in mind, here are some tips on how to score digital memories of this special event.
Work with the Pros
Encourage the school to hire a professional photographer, or a team of photographers, to cover the entire event and make the images available to parents. Such a photographer will be pre-positioned to get the best possible photograph of every graduate.
If the school isn’t on board with making the arrangements, collaborate with other parents to either hire a photographer or designate one. Once the designee is in place, just sit back and enjoy the ceremony.
Show Some Courtesy
Always be mindful of others. Depending on the event, whether it's a primary school or university graduation, there could be hundreds of other parents also eager to get that one shot. Do not obscure their view, knock them over, distract faculty or students on stage, or otherwise call undue attention to yourself as you try to secure your shot. Be considerate of others.
Ready, Set, Shoot!
Ensure you are ready for the big moment by taking a few moments to prepare your camera. Whether you’re using a smartphone, point-and-shoot, or pro DSLR, it’s important to clean your lens, clear memory, and set your settings before you even arrive at the venue. Using a tablet is not an option.
Before you rise from your seat, identify your shot—who will be in the frame, how much background you want to capture, and which angle makes your precious look best. Once you have pre-visualized your shot, plan your path, shoot location, and exit.
With all that complete, adopt a ninja mindset—move in quickly, find your spot, stay low, shoot your shot, and move along before anyone notices you were there. Consider using a Bluetooth-enabled selfie stick for an even lower profile.
Multiply the Odds
Getting a great shot won’t be easy. Increase your odds of not missing the moment by shooting video and photos simultaneously. Both Android and iOS smartphones offer this feature. While shooting video, a white circle or camera icon may appear on one side of the screen. Tap it to snap photos without stopping the video recording. Every time I have shared this tip, people have had their minds blown. If you miss the shot, at least you have the video. You’re welcome.
Capture lovely photos with family and friends on location.
Think Beyond the Stage
Rather than following the herd moving in for stage shots, consider focusing on gathering the family, and extended family, for shots after the ceremony. It’s still not a photo shoot, so don’t linger all afternoon, but there is a lot less pressure and a lot more interaction possible with post-event shots. Many schools even provide well-designed, branded, and lit photo op areas just for this purpose, so use them.
Share Smartly
Like me, I know you are proud of your precious graduate. Share family photos with family and friends via private channels. It’s not necessary to post every picture on social media for the world to see. If Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook is your jam, carefully curate which images you post to balance pride with privacy.
Congratulations to you and your graduate! May your memories be filled with joy and always accessible to you.
