WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GRADUATION PHOTOS IN WASHINGTON DC
Hi grad! If you’re looking for fun, bright, and vibrant portraits, meet, cat, your Graduation Photographer in DC. Nice to meet ya! Whether you’re finishing high school, your associate’s degree, a Bachelor’s, or a Ph.D., I got you covered. Let’s celebrate this important milestone with a fun session in DC.
For starters, congratulations! This is such an amazing accomplishment, I remember when I walked across the stage to pick up my diploma as the representative of my entire class and I felt such an honor to be the one chosen. Now that you’re finishing this hard but rewarding step, let’s get you set u for your next chapter.
Sessions typically include cap and gown photos, but let’s not stop there, you will also get some beautiful portraits without them so that you can use those for your new LinkedIn profile and social media as well. My sessions start at 60 minutes of portrait time and you have the option to add more time for extra outfits too. Bring your friends, and make this a fun group event.
DC PHOTO PERMITS
DC has some restrictions when it comes to the National Mall from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The Capitol Itself and the Library of Congress do not require a permit. But don’t worry if you have your heart set on any of the permitted areas, I will guide you to obtain your permit.
All rules and regulations can be found on the National Parks website. Be sure to check the alerts for up-to-date information about closures.
WHEN TO GO
When looking for a graduation photographer in DC, you need to keep in mind that the best time of day to go is at sunrise. This makes sure the traffic is much less congested, parking is much more widely available, and the foot traffic is also much smaller than at sunset.
Graduation season brings a lot of graduates to the DC monuments, so keep in mind that depending on what month you choose, you might have some competition for the same space and might have to wait for “your turn” to use a very specific spot within your chosen location. The most popular months for graduation portraits in DC are from April through June.
CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE PROJECTS
Is it not unusual for construction or maintenance work for the monuments to happen in the early Spring, so check locally if possible, to make sure you aren’t caught off guard with orange cones and yellow caution tape.
With that in mind, people, runners, and distractions are something most graduation photographers in DC and clients have to face at some point. One of the ways I ensure my clients get beautiful, polished, and clean portraits is by offering a different tier of editing already included in your collection.
Refined editing includes the removal of small distractions in the background, as well as light smoothing of the skin, and removal of temporary skin blemishes. So when you book with me as your graduation photographer in DC, you’re getting the work! Full retouching is also available for a fee.
WHY REFINED EDITING IS NEEDED?
As I mentioned above, refined editing is already included with any collection you purchase with me, some of the best ways to showcase this is through some fun before and afters, I know I love some before and afters.
In this example, my client’s gown was extremely wrinkly, making her portraits a bit drab, so by reducing the appearance of those wrinkles, we can now focus on her beautiful face and pose.
This high school senior had a little acne he wasn’t fond of, it happens to the best of us, and since those are temporary blemishes and not what he is going to look like for the rest of his life, those will be edited so that you look your best in your portraits for many years. However, all the moles and freckles were left alone, since those are a part of who he is and should be celebrated.
Another way I make my client’s portraits better is by removing small distractions in the background of your images, part of my job as a photographer is to watch for those things while I am photographing you, but sometimes there is no way of avoiding it completely, so in this case, the runner was removed.
In the second image, more editing was necessary for the person and the orange cones and yellow tape to be removed, for this reason, some images and complex editing will be outsourced but are available at a fee depending on how much needs to be edited or fully retouched, such as braces removal, large or difficult object removal.
