UCIrvine Graduation Photography

Written By Guramrit Malhotra

Quick Guide:

  • Essentials:

    Stoll/Sache, Grad Gown, Grad Cap, Tassle, Cords (if any) and a comfortable pair of shoes other than heels.

    Props:

    Anything goes! Except Confetti.

    Popular Props:

    Peter Plushie, shades, Family Heirloom/memorabilia, Champagne, Cigar etc.

  • Based on your group size or if you are coming solo here is what we cover:

    1. Langson (Starting Point).

    2. Aldrich Park:

    Red Flower area and field

    The Big tree

    Iconic Bench

    Tunnel

    3. MSTB Arches

    4. Your School/Choice of Location:

    Science Library

    School of Business/Engineering/humanities etc

    Peter at Brens* (based on time available)

    UCI sign* (based on time available)

  • You receive all the images we take from the shoot! you have access to all the raw files which you receive within 24 hours. After which you download all and share your selected files with me. Detailed info available.

  • Solo: 250

    Duo: 175/person

    Trio: 150/person

    4 or more: 150/person

    **These Prices are for UCI Graduates only, other campuses different fees applies.

 

Extended Guide:

Hello there! Congratulations! You've done it! YES YOU! I feel like the last question to ask you is "Soooo how was it?" Trust me I totally get it, getting through college is definitely not a vibe, but hey seems worth it now doesn’t it?

Anyway, now you're done and it is time to take some Graduation Photos. You're probably like I really do not want to stress about this too, so here is this blog to help you. This blog is definitely focused on Graduation Photography at UCI (University of California, Irvine), and I will walk you through how I approach and shoot a Graduation Shoot at UC Irvine.

How do I choose the right photographer:

Here are a few things to consider while booking/looking for a photographer:

Lets start from the beginning, where do I find a photographer in the first place? The UC Irvine Class of 20__ is a group page on Facebook which usually has over 10,000 people each year, on this site photographers usually will advertise their services. Instagram again a very reliable source with ease of communication as well a great way for photographers to showcase their Portfolio. (Instagram)

- Availability: The months of April-July are hot for the photography industry, most photographers even take bookings in advanced, so if theres a photographer you like make sure to reach out them as early as you can.

- Affordability: After 4 years, you do not want another bank breaking service, entry level graduation photographers are priced around 100 or below, but i find an experienced, professional price around the 300 and above mark.

- Style: this brings me to the choice of photographer. To be honest, for most things in the world you will always find someone to provide a service for cheaper, its just the way the world works. For photography consider the following things, Quality of images and deliverables, Return time and volume. What I mean by this is, would you want your images to be taken in the style of the photographer, is the style something you resonate and is it something professional and worth.

UC Irvine Graduation shoot Breakdown:

Alright, now you know who or how to choose a photographer for your shoot. Now let me walk you through how I conduct a graduation shoot at UC Irvine.

Say you've booked with me and we have set up a time and date, we first meet in front of Langson Library to warm up:

The warm up session is time to break the ice, make you feel comfortable and practice the poses we will be doing throughout the shoot and talk about how and where we are going for the next 90 minutes or so.

After we've warmed up and gotten a little comfortable we move over to the iconic Red flower area. Fun fact, the flower itself is white the leaves of the flower are the ones that are red and look pretty. The flower area has 4 areas we cover and here is what I call them:

Cozy Corner, The poster image, The red backdrop and The Rabbit hole, dont ask me why all these just make sense in my head.

This covers editorial style photos, gives you the whole park in the background and with the Lighting I use I am able to capture beautiful portraits amidst the red flowers in Aldrich Park.

After this I make a quick stop right in front of the red flowers in Aldrich Park if the lighting is good the day of.

Guramrit Malhotra