Dear Class of 2024,
Congratulations on your completed journey that is a degree. What better way to celebrate than to commemorate the moment with photos to reminisce on the greatest 4 (or 3 or 5) years of your life. I promise you will have a fun and enjoyable time with me as your photographer where I will help direct or suggest poses and ideas, and you will receive great photos to look back on over the years! I have done over 500+ shoots, including individual sessions, groups, couples, and more. Book with me early to get your preferred date and time, as I love to plan shoots at least 1 week in advance. As a proud alumnus of UCLA, I know that graduation portraits can be incredibly pricey. I strive to make my rates as student and group friendly as possible. I have had over 10+ years of photography experience, and over 500+ grad sessions over the past 9 years (over 1,000 individual people!).
I’ve taken grad photos at other campus’ besides UCLA, including Cal Tech, UCSD, USC, CSUN, CSULB, Cal State Fullerton, Azuza Pacific University, and more! I am willing to shoot at any SoCal school locations, pending a travel fee depending on proximity.
Individual Images
Group Images
Couples
Preparing for your grad session.
With over 12+ years of experience as a portrait photographer, and 9+ years of experience with grad photos specifically, you could say I’ve seen it all. To help you prepare for the most efficient session and to maximize on your time, I’ve put together a few tips I’ve learned over the years to help make everything go smoothly. However, most of these are suggestions, so don’t take these tips as hard rules!
preparation.
Get enough sleep and practice self-care. It’s important to get plenty of rest the day before your session and that your adequately hydrated, so you feel refreshed for your photos. Also, please be sure to eat something. You do not want to start your session on an empty stomach.
Give yourself enough time to get ready. Don't put off getting ready to the last minute. Prep as many things as you can the night before. Then, block off time the day of your session to do your makeup, hair and/or clothes as well as time for walking, driving, or taking public transportation to your campus.
Get there early. You do not want to rush to your session due to unexpected traffic or lack of parking. Getting there early also helps me as I often times either have a strict schedule, or have another session directly before or after your session. This will give you some time to take it easy for a bit and relax right before your shoot.
clothing.
Choose an outfit that best describes you! Formal clothing is usually the type of clothing for these grad sessions. Most women prefer to wear white, but you can wear any color or pattern you like
Choose light colors and tones to contrast with your sash. Graduation sashes and robes are typically darker and more intense with color, so it helps to have a lighter base.
Please iron/steam and hang your clothes and sash the day before to prevent wrinkles.
Do not wait until the day of your session to remove the sash from the package, as there will likely be fold lines.
girls.
Footwear: If you decide to wear heels, please bring flip-flops. We’ll be walking around campus, so it is nice to have especially when walking from one end of campus to the other end.
Makeup: A few days before your session, I recommend testing your makeup in natural light by facing a window and applying it. The light bouncing off your makeup changes the way it looks in photos compared to real life. So even if you want a subtle makeup look, you need to exaggerate it – that way it shows up stronger in photos.
Clothes: If you plan on wearing lightly colored clothing, your underwear needs to be lightly colored as well or it will be visible through your clothes. You don't necessarily need to wear a strapless bra (because the stole will cover it up), but it will definitely help!
boys.
Hair: Haircuts should be done a week or a few days before your session. Some guys don't like the way they look right after a haircut, which is why I recommend doing this. Also, don't try anything new and stick to something you're familiar with.
Facial hair: If you think your beard and/or mustache is a huge part of your personality, of course, you don't have to shave. But please, at least trim and groom up a bit.
props.
For my past sessions, most people don’t bring props (besides your sash). But for the few that do, here’s what they brought:
Stoles and cords: Bring your basic one and other ones (if you have them – e.g., honors cords, club stoles).
Graduation cap with tassel: You can throw it in the air for an action shot.
Glitter: I do provide gold glitter confetti for my clients, but feel free to bring your own if you wish to do so.
Champagne: If you’ve never popped champagne, I will give you specific instructions on how to pop the champagne. For group sessions, I recommend getting one bottle for everyone in the group so everyone has some fun spraying champagne.
other things to bring:
Small towel or handkerchief: Because we'll be walking a lot, you will sweat. If you decide to hop into a fountain at the end of the session, the towel can also help to dry off your feet.
Water: Be sure to keep yourself hydrated, especially if your campus is in a hotter area.
Hand mirror: This is optional. A mirror helps out much more than using selfie mode on your phone.
Your smile :)
pop that champagne.
IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE.
Frequently Asked Questions:
When can we expect our photos?
The edited photos will be delivered within 1 week to 3 weeks (pending editing queue) of the session via Pic-time gallery delivery.
How many photos do we get?
Depending on whether it is an individual session or a group session, the amount of images will vary. See the pricing page for the breakdown. I don’t put a limit or maximum on the number of photos I deliver, so the final count will vary.
Will I be able to receive the raw images?
Unfortunately I do not give out raw files, and for many reasons. Post-processing your images after your session is one of the most important parts of the overall experience. It’s where all the magic happens, and it’s the reason why you choose the photographer and their style. Therefore I only provide the final edited images in your online gallery. You will receive the selected amount all edited. I am however very generous with the amount of photos I select, an average gallery for an individual or a group session could have anywhere from 150-250 photos. Again, the number of photos is based on how efficient the session goes.
Do you retouch any of the images?
I do not photoshop any of the images in the editing process, as I prefer to keep the images to be as natural as possible. If something in the background bothers me and I can easily edit, then that is the only time, but I rarely edit out people in the background, etc. If you would like to request any touchups on your face/body (i.e. blemishes, stain on clothing, etc), please let me know during your session or once you receive your gallery. Any further retouching will be an extra $10 per photo and can be selected as a short list within the image gallery once delivered.
Do you have a cancellation policy?
Once we’ve communicated on an available time slot and your deposit is sent and received, you are all set with me! If you wish to cancel, you will loose your deposit and your session time slot.
What’s your rescheduling policy?
Once your session is booked, if something does come up that conflicts with your session or you become sick, please let me know as soon as possible. I likely will have a couple slots potentially open, but if it’s late in the season I will likely be fully booked until after commencement weekend. I still continue to offer sessions after commencement weekend, but again it will be after your actual graduation. I do not allow last minute rescheduling for cloudy weather, only rainy weather.
Feel free to view my previous graduation photos above for posing and location inspiration to provide the most efficient session! Or to see more of my regular portrait photography, please view the rest of my portfolio using the menu above.