The kids, they grow up so fast. Just yesterday they were in diapers, now they're headed off to college or the real world.
You only get one chance to take pictures when your pride and joy graduates from an institute of higher learning, so be sure to make your shots count. Here's some of the best collected wisdom on the subject of how to take the perfect graduation photo.
Charge your batteries - You'd be surprised how many people charge into a big photo situation, only to realize too late they have dead or dying batteries. That camera sitting untouched on the shelf for months loses its charge over time, so check it out, get it charged up, and make sure you have enough room on your memory card for a day's worth of pics. It's also a good idea to check your lens whenever you charge your batteries to make sure it's clean of fingerprints and grime.
Your best shots: Before they walk - On a hot day, people get sweaty and gowns get rumpled. Caps get tossed away and hair gets messed up. You'll get your best photos well before the ceremonies begin, before everyone starts to get sloppy. What, no diploma? If you really need to see your graduate holding a "diploma," bring a prop from home: roll up a piece of printer paper and tie it with a red bow. Remember, you can always shoot him or her with the real thing after the ceremony.
Shoot a variety of shots - It's great to take a lot of pictures, but don't take 30 pics of your grad standing next to the same tree or -- worse -- barely visible from hundreds of feet away. Use your zoom lens and get as close as possible to capture the shot as intimately as you can, and back out to get wide shots to capture the scale of the event, too. Move around if you can, and capture the festivities from lots of different angles. You never know how which shot will turn out to be the perfect one.
Be wary of shadows - Most graduations take place during the day, and the full summer sun can make for challenging pictures. Strong sunlight sounds like it will make for great shots, but it often means deep shadows across your subject's face and squinting, uncomfortable-looking expressions. Ideally you simply want to move (see tip #2 above to give you the most freedom in moving around) so you're not in unobstructed sunlight. Shade is best -- the shadow of a building or a particularly large tree -- but you don't want a situation where light is coming through the leaves and landing on your subject, as it can blow out the photo in areas where the sun creeps through and leaves weird patterns on your grad's face. Look for a uniformly shady area or hope for clouds.
If you have to shoot in broad sunlight... - Use a flash. Get close and use the flash to fill in shadows on your subject's face caused by the sun. This won't help with squinting, but it will at least let you see the person's features. To get their eyes in the shots, have your subjects keep their eyes closed while you set up the shot, then count down from three and have them open their eyes right before you press the shutter button.