Portrait Photography: The most creative graduation photos
The Most Creative Graduation Photos
This is a blog post about a collection of the most creative graduation photos I have ever done.
The story behind this photograph
I asked my client what they were studying and he told me how he want a music career after graduating with a diploma on arts & entertainment. I grabbed my over-the-ear Bose white headphones and had two assistants. One was holding a LED lightsaber stick i ncolor blue directed at his face and the other assistant spraying atmosphere aerosol behind his head. I had 2nd light, Godox AD200 with a Magmod gel: Orange CTO + Mag gel holder directed at the back of the subject’s head and under/behind the smoke.
With some photoshop magic, I was able to make a creative photo for my music-loving (graduate) client
The story behind this creative photoshop grad photo
I was inspired by photoshop magicians and gurus I follow on Instagram like @justin_designs . I could not do this photo composite without two key assistants. One was acting as a light stand and holding up my 24inch octabox by MagnetMod. The other assistant was tossing items in the area and I was shooting so fast with my Nikon Z 6ii + f to z mount adapter + 35mm 1.4 f mount lens. I also had the camera set on a sturdy tripod.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Warning! We shared a LOT of laughs over a simple thing called gravity.
The story behind this creative graduation photo
Both the client and I shared a love for Disney films. I asked my client to bring props related to his degree/studies. Such as his diploma and balloons that match his school colors at PACE University (yellow and blue). I had an idea that I drew out on my reMarkable tablet where he would either be standing on a stack of books reaching for his diploma OR flying to reach for his diploma. IDK the movie, UP!, came to mind too. I thought it was fun to try out and composite. I needed two assistants. One to hold the 24″ octa box + Godox ad200 and another to help with the props like balloons and the diploma to composite in the shot. The best part was, that he was down for anything I wanted to try!!
THE DRAWING THAT INSPIRED THIS PHOTO
The story behind this creative confetti and champagne pop graduation photo
The reality behind this photo is two photos combined as one. One photo had the confetti and the other had the best expression while shaking it. Sometimes it’s hard to get the “perfect” shot so having the ability to merge photos in Photoshop has been a photography life savor in my career! My client won’t ever care nor notice either!
WATCH BEHIND THE SCENES NOW
The final creative photoshop graduation photo
Like above, I had the client change out of the outfit he was wearing before and wear something he wouldn’t mind getting a little wet from Champagne. I had my assistant pop a confetti canon behind him and had a maggel + godox ad200 aimed behind his torso so he pops out in the scene. My 2nd assistant was holding up the Magmod 24″ octabox and aiming 45 degrees at his face. This was such a fun creative photo to do!
WATCH BEHIND THE SCENES NOW
I hope you enjoyed & got inspired by the creative photography shared here for graduates. You can follow my portrait work and wedding work on Instagram too!
