Graduation season is a time for celebration, reflection, and of course, taking pictures. Getting creative with your graduation photoshoot is a great way to commemorate your accomplishment. That’s why we’ve rounded up some of the most popular graduation photo ideas and trends we love. So, if you want ideas for college graduation photos keep reading!
Sure, cap and gown graduation photoshoots are classic and send the message of a victorious and completed collegiate career. But, if you’re looking for something more, here are 10 ideas to spice up your graduation photoshoot.
1) Celebrate With Champagne
If you’re at or above the legal drinking age of 21, popping a champagne bottle could be a nice toast to completing your collegiate career. Bubbly is typically popped during a time of celebration and a graduation photoshoot is the perfect occasion. The bubbles and overflow of champagne can be the perfect touch of flair to your photoshoot!
2) Add Colored Smoke Bombs
If you have a flair for the dramatics, colored smoke could be just what you’re in the market for. Especially if you’re part of an organization on campus, like Greek life. Colored smoke is a top outdoor graduation photoshoot trend to display the colors of your organization in a stand-out way.
The best part is, you can add more grandeur to your graduation photo shoot in bunch of ways. You can draw with it, place it in the background to help make you pop, or even stand in the smoke so you’re surrounded by it. Either way it’s used, smoke can add some creativity to your graduation photoshoot.
3) Add An Outfit Change
Why stick with the classic cap and gown pictures if you have the option not to? Outfit changes are another way to show off your personality in a photoshoot. Plus that’s even more opportunity to incorporate plenty of school pride for your alma mater.
Consider a casual outfit, a dressier option to showcase the significance of the moment, and rep your sorority or frat in Greek gear. Don’t forget to bring along team uniforms to represent any extracurriculars you were a part of too.
When you book a graduation photoshoot with RTW Photography you get unlimited outfit changes in your session time! So you never have to worry about picking one outfit, bring them al!
4) Personalize Your Graduation Cap
One of the most traditional parts of any graduation photoshoot is the cap and gown. However, you can jazz up this classic look by personalizing your cap.
Adding a personalized message to your grad cap is becoming a popular photography trend, and it’s easy to see why. It can be a short and sweet message or something that really represents who you are and your achievements.
Graduates often use their caps as a way to communicate a message, share parts of their life leading up to their graduation or as a way to welcome a new chapter of their life, such as a job offer or big move.
5) Send A Message With Letter Boards
These trendy graduation photo props are a great way to showcase your personality and add a personalized touch to your photos. You can use them to spell out your name, your major, or even a funny message.
Letter boards come in all shapes and sizes. And you can choose from different fonts and colors to match your style.
6) Bring Colored Or Numbered Balloons
Whether they’re number balloons that represent the year you’re graduating, multi-colored balloons or ones that match your college or university’s colors — balloons may be the perfect amount of pizazz in your graduation photoshoot.
7) Make It Personal With Meaningful Props
Rather than just using generic graduation-themed props, we’ve been seeing grads use props that are personal and meaningful to them. This is a great way to create a more authentic and memorable photoshoot.
Whether it’s a family heirloom or a photo of a loved one who has passed on, incorporating meaningful props into your graduation photo ideas can make them more special.
8) Add A White Coat Or Stole
If you’re a graduate of a health-related major, you may have earned a white coat. Or, if you were active on campus in clubs, organizations, volunteerism or earned honors and distinctions, you may have earned decorated stoles or cords.
This is the opportunity to show off that freshly-laundered, crisply-ironed and hard-earned graduation regalia that celebrates all of your scholarly achievements.
9) Throw Confetti And Glitter
What’s that saying? Throw happiness around like it’s confetti? Confetti and glitter are a fun touch to add in your graduation photoshoot. Whether it’s multi-colored confetti or representative of your college’s or university’s colors, add some sparkle to your shoot!
It’s such a fun way to capture the excitement of reaching this big milestone, and we love how it adds a touch of whimsy to photos. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to play with confetti? We definitely think this grad pic idea is one to try!
Want even more grad pic ideas? Click here!
10) Show Off Your Hobbies & Interests
Lately, we’ve been seeing a fun trend in graduation pictures – incorporating hobbies and interests into the shots. Graduates are showing off their personalities by posing next to their prized musical instruments, flaunting their favorite sports equipment, or holding onto a stack of their go-to books.
Not only will this make for a unique photo, but it’ll also capture a bit of who you are beyond just the cap and gown. This is a great graduation photo idea if you really want to be creative!
Creative Graduation Photo Ideas
As you can see, there are countless graduation photo trends out there that can help you create photos that reflect your personality and accomplishments. Whether you opt for balloons, letter boards, confetti, or all –
The most important thing is to have fun and celebrate this momentous occasion. With a bit of creativity and planning, you’ll have a set of photos that will make you smile for years to come. Congrats again, graduates!
Which of these college grad pic ideas do you think you’ll use?
