The Ultimate Notre Dame Grad Photos Prep Guide
I’m so happy to be working with you! Sometimes I wish my whole year could be spent working with the students at Notre Dame. They are all so sweet, excited and give me a fresh dose of hope for our world. I just know that you will all make such a difference in your chosen fields and communities.
In 2024, I worked with 80 Students over 21 sessions, editing over 2,775 photos! I’m about to drop some knowledge :)
Now, let’s get right down to business and prep for that grad session!
General Prep Info
Bring
Caps, gowns, tassels, stoles, extra stoles, cords.
Champagne
It’s heavy!
Leaving one person in charge of carrying it from the car is brutal on that person. Everyone carrying your own is easier.
Extra shoes to slip on between locations
A coat (or blanket or sweatpants) if it’s going to be cold to wear between locations.
Dorm sweatshirts, football jerseys, letter jackets, etc.
Class rings
Special items (see more info later) like future grad school college sweatshirt, etc.
Hairbrush for windy days
Dryclean hanger/plastic
is equal parts annoying to fight with, especially in the wind and helpful, especially in the dewy mornings.
Half of me wants to tell you to leave it home and half of me wants to tell you to bring it. They might be a necessary evil. Your call!
People forget things all the time. One group forgot their champagne. Another brought their caps but no tassels. In a group, there is often someone that didn’t bring their stole. People always wish they had extra shoes. Take note! :)
Consider
Deciding in general what you’d like to wear at each location ahead of time is such a time saver! I had one group with a shared Google doc and Pinterest board! Planning for the win! You might not need to go all out, but you can discuss the basics.
Here’s an example:
Touchdown Jesus - just stoles, cap toss
Grotto - just dresses, then just stoles
Dome - cap and gown group and individuals with dome in background, champagne at statue, if there’s time an extra shot on the steps
Flexibility
Being flexible is key throughout the session.
Locations look different at different times of day and in different lighting conditions. I wrote about the Grotto here, but you can also see some photos below.
Do bring ideas from friends. Don’t expect your photos to look the exact same.
Lighting, equipment, time of day, cloud cover, artistic differences and more all impact why a picture looks a certain way.
I love seeing your favorite ideas. I will give every effort to create that for you, but I will also explain why a photo might not work out that particular day, etc.
Earlier sessions in the season have pros and cons.
Earlier sessions in April have less wait time, less people in the background and are done and over with for the graduate so they can concentrate on finals and all the celebrations that are happening later in the year.
They are also often cold and sometimes the trees have not leafed out and the flowers haven’t bloomed. Pros and cons!
Later sessions in the season have pros and cons, too.
The weather is warmer and the flowers and trees are beautiful.
Lots of groups out doing the same thing means lots of waiting at prime locations.
Seniors are busy and it rains a lot! Reschedules happen. There are also events to work around all over campus. Alternative angles become your friend.
The Grotto images above show how different it can look at different times of day. We will make it work, but it definitely looks better in the morning!
Special Items and Locations
You might want a special location for your shoot.
Light a candle at the Grotto if it’s meaningful.
A repeated location
One senior this year became emotional when we arrived at the same spot that where her two older sister’s took grad photos. If there is a meaningful location, we can use that as one of your 3 spots.
Dorms
This is a really popular idea with groups that met in their dorm.
This year, I took photos of a large group that was the first graduating class from the Johnson Family Dorm. So special.
Bringing dorm cords, sweatshirts, incorporating the hand signs and even the moving bins are all really fun ways to make your dorm room shoot special.
Dog
Man’s best friend made an appearance!
Gifts
A grad student wanted to include a photo with a special gift from her parents, so we took a few shots of her in her sunglasses.
Other Locations
Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to. There are so many beautiful spots on campus to chose from. You may consider some of the following. What is important to you?
DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
The Lakes
Raclin
Your school’s buildings (Eck Law, Mendoza, etc)
Client Love
“I love the photos! I love them all, but my favorite is probably the cap toss in front of the dome—such an iconic picture and you captured it perfectly!”