College Graduation Portraits

I was recently referred by a friend to shoot some college graduation portraits. The location was at the college campus, Cal State LA, which was great because it’s close by and I’ve been there multiple times. We decided to shoot on a Saturday afternoon when it was like 94 degrees outside, so I knew time was kind of a factor. My whole goal when shooting with clients is to make them comfortable, so trying to walk around from spot to spot with a cap and gown in the heat isn’t ideal. It was funny because it seemed like every other college grad had the same idea that day because there were at least 10 different photoshoots happening at the same time haha. So I scouted some spots, gave some tips on poses and looks and we were able to knock out the shoot within an hour. Me and the subject had a good conversation and I wished him the best in the next steps on his journey. I felt really good about the photoshoot and was able to turn around the final photos to the family a day later, they needed the images fast to print for their grad party. I feel like my 9-5 photography job has greatly improved my skills as far as creating a good vibe with the client, scouting locations, getting my ideas and poses across clearly, capturing clean imagery and finishing photo edits in a timely manner. I have a couple of other big events to shoot this year and this grad shoot was a perfect warm up to get the creative juices flowing. On to the next shoot!