The Perfect Picture: Graduation

One of the most exciting and fun parts about the week leading up to graduation is receiving the cap and gown.  I picked mine up on a rainy Tuesday after completing my last final exam and went home excited to decorate it.  But, as someone who loves social media (particularly instagram), my favorite part of the week leading up to graduation was taking group and individual pictures with my friends.

When deciding what to do for graduation pictures, there are many factors that come into consideration.  My number one best piece of advice is to hire/make friends with someone who has a good camera, or at least someone with decent photography experience.  When looking at the pictures taken last week at graduation, without fail the best ones were the ones taken on a digital camera.  My roommates and I were lucky enough to have had my sorority GLittle take them on her Nikon, and she edited them so we all looked #flawless.  Another piece of advice is to add some variety to the typical graduation picture.  When we finally nailed down a photographer, my roommates and I sat down and came up with our favorite locations on campus; being at Miami, these spots are endless.  But, we narrowed them down to about five and during the photo session switched up what we were wearing in order to add some variety.  We each brought our gowns, caps, a stole or two, and a few pieces of regalia in addition to wearing our actual graduation day dresses and shoes in order to get a feel for the whole outfit.  By switching it up and doing some group and individual pictures, we each received a wide range of photos to choose from when the proofs came back the next day.

When it comes to photography and really nailing down the perfect picture outside, we have to rely on the single most unreliable factor of all: weather.  This time of year, Miami is notorious for awful weather whether it's brutal summer heat, high humidity, or endless amounts of rain.  One of the fun parts about being in a sorority is that we all take group pictures when the time comes for graduation.  Of course, the day that we decided to do our little photo shoot ended up being the rainiest and most disgusting day of the year.  Luckily we found time the next day to squeeze in some last minute pictures.  Coincidentally they happened to occur the afternoon following our roommate picture session so we were all ready to go when it came time to get back to campus.  With large groups, coordination is key.  We, too, picked a few locations on campus to do our pictures, all with varying amounts of regalia.  In the end we had a bunch of really cute pictures that pretty much captured the essence of the graduating senior mindset in a sorority.

And, of course, what's a photo session without a few candids thrown in there for good measure?  Taking group pictures is always fun when you get to do it with like-minded people who you have a good time with, and who complement you when you're all together.