Graduation is upon us and what an amazing accomplishment to capture!  If you don’t have access to a photographer to get graduation photo’s made, we have some tips for DIY graduation pictures that will let your graduate shine!

Lighting:

To capture the perfect graduation pictures, you don’t need any fancy equipment or lighting setups, all you need is natural lighting. Going outside to get the shot is your best bet, and aiming for “golden hour” will give you some beautiful lighting. Golden hour is a short period of time (so you need to work quickly!) where the sun isn’t directly overhead, and you won’t get any shadows cast across your face in photos. Golden hour begins roughly an hour before sunset and an hour after sunrise.

Posing:

There are several small poses that your child can do that will make your photos look more professional. First, make sure to never take the photo directly head-on to the camera. You will want to angle your graduate’s body so that they are facing a little to one side of the camera, then have them just turn their face slightly to look at the camera. Good locations to take photos would be near some lush, green trees or near a pretty fence. We’re working with what we’ve got, so anywhere that may be a nice backdrop is fair game! While many of you are taking pictures for high school grads, if you’re taking pictures of a UF grad, The Swamp is also still open right now amidst COVID-19.

Props:

You child’s cap and gown are great props to use for graduation pictures. Take some picture of the subject with their cap and down on completely, then have them open up the gown or throw it over their shoulder for a more casual look. Finally, take some shots of your subject in their outfit with just their cap. Also, if your graduate is involved with a sport, use their letterman jacket and a football, volleyball or baseball could be a great alternative shot to show some of their interests.

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