Graduation season is upon us and it’s one of my favorite seasons. I love taking photos of new graduates who have worked hard to make this moment possible. If you need some ideas for how you should have your photoshoot styled, I’ve got you covered with 10 graduation photo ideas.

Traditional Cap and Gown Studio Portraits

This style is for our more traditional audience. It requires a graduate to be in a studio with props that show the year they graduated, or a prop that says Senior in the background. In these types of photoshoots the graduate will usually just wear their cap and gown with a nice dress or suit underneath. These shots can include the graduate sitting, showing off their diploma, throwing their cap in the air, or showing off their cap topper. If you want to make this traditional shoot more unique, ask your photographer about different colored backdrops or some cool props you can bring with you.

Celebratory Candid Moments

This type of photoshoot can be taken both inside a studio or outdoors in a park or at your school. This requires that the graduate have props that help them look like they’re celebrating their graduation at the moment, so they’re staged but look candid. Examples of this could be popping a bottle of champagne–21 and up only, of course, throwing glitter or confetti in the air and or blowing it toward the camera. This photo shoot is usually popular, especially among college students.

Career / College Major Themed 

This photoshoot can also be done in a studio or outdoors–I personally prefer this type to be in the studio because you can control the background more depending on what your career or college major will be. In this type of photo shoot, the graduate will bring some props or even an outfit that shows what they want to do after high school or college. For example, if you’re going to medical school, you might want to have a stethoscope, if you are going to culinary school, you might want to have some food or a chef hat and apron.

Hobbies / Clubs / Organizations Themed

In this photoshoot, the graduate brings props or outfits that help highlight their hobbies. An example of this could be a person who was in the band bringing their instrument and posing with it. Another example of this could be wearing an outfit from your fraternity or sorority organization. These types of photos are popular because they show a part of who the graduate is and what they are interested in or involved with.

Achievement Portraits

This is another great photoshoot to help brag about how awesome the graduate is. In this type of photo shoot, the graduate brings awards, trophies, medals, and anything else that helps to celebrate what they achieved while they were in school.For example, if a graduate got several plaques for their educational endeavors, they could bring these plaques with them and pose holding them all up. They could also sit down and have the plaques surrounding them.

Editorial Style

This is a great shoot for the graduate who wants to show off their creative side. In this type of photoshoot the graduate can wear their favorite outfits–maybe even a prom dress that they want to get extra use out of–get their hair and make-up done in extravagant ways to appear like they’re in an editorial magazine. This type of photoshoot might require bold poses and dramatic lighting.

Generational Grad Photos

This is a unique yet heartwarming idea for a photo shoot and can be done in a couple of different ways. The first way works best if one or both parents or guardians along with the child all attended the same high school or college. The family would pose in their gear together to show a generation of family members who went to this school together. Another way of doing this type of photo would require that multiple family members are graduating during the same period. For example, maybe you are getting your bachelor’s degree and your child has just graduated from kindergarten, this would be a great opportunity for you both to take a picture in your cap and gown together. Another example is maybeyou have two siblings who are both graduating at the same time. This would be a moment for them to pose together.

Sports Themed

If you’re an athlete you’ll love this idea. This would require that the graduate pose with a prop for their sport of choice. If you’re a basketball player you’ll pose with a basketball or if you’re a soccer player you’ll pose with a soccer ball. This allows the graduate to show off a big part of their life. It also can be an opportunity for them to show off any awards they got for the sport they played.

Fantasy Shot

This shoot is for the more creative and unique graduates. Also, another good excuse to use those prom dresses again. In this photoshoot, the graduate will wear an outfit that they would normally wear in a fairytale and have a backdrop of a castle or be in a field outdoors to pull this type of shoot off. This is a fun one that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Retro Inspired

This last shoot is for people who want a more retro graduation shoot. This might require the graduate to wear a letterman jacket or an outfit from another time period. This also could require the photographer to use a filter to make the photos look like they are older. This type of photo gives a nostalgic vibe to the graduate and can be a fun creative shoot for them to partake in.

I hope this gives you some good ideas for your graduation shoot!