A few months ago, I received an Instagram DM from a senior at Rider University named Tanner, who was looking for a graduation session with a unique twist. When the day of our shoot finally arrived, we brought her vision to life through a scenic, nature-inspired session that combined the excitement of her accomplishment with the beauty of the outdoors scenery.

Tanner chose to have her session at the beautiful Lackawanna State Park, which gave us such a wide variety of scenery to work with throughout the shoot. We started near the lake, where the overcast weather created soft, natural lighting that photographed her beautifully. While I’ve photographed graduation sessions on many different college campuses, this session stood out to me because the nature-inspired setting captured a side of Tanner’s personality that a traditional university setting simply couldn’t.

One of my favorite parts of the shoot was finding creative ways to incorporate details that reflected Tanner’s biochemistry major, including her textbook, lab goggles, and periodic table. We also experimented with her graduation tassel by using it as a bookmark in her Bible and styling it alongside her shoes, which added such a personal touch to the session. 

Overall, Tanner’s shoot was such a fun and creative experience that truly captured her personality while celebrating her success at Rider University. I loved the decision to choose a scenic, nature-focused setting over a more traditional university campus, because it gave us so many unique elements to work with and made the session feel much more personal and authentic.

What creative elements would you incorporate in a graduation Shoot? Furthermore, would you choose a Campus location or more natural scenic location?

Thanks for the read!🌿✨🌤️

Instagram: @capturedbykail