Today, I was randomly looking through my Facebook photos and found some of the very first photographs I uploaded 10+ years ago. The one that stood out to me was a professional photograph that was taken of me my senior year in college (to the right). I don't remember it being a big thing back then to have your photo taken your senior year, but my mom set it up with a local photographer on a whim. When I saw that photograph this morning, memories rushed back to me and I felt thankful to have that moment in time documented.
Your senior year in college is one of your busiest years: you are taking some of your hardest classes, you have senior projects, you might have an internship or a job, and you are trying to figure out what you are going to do for the rest of your life. So why add one more thing?!
Before you graduate, here are my top 5 reasons you should consider a college graduation portrait session:
1. Graduating from college is an achievement! You've worked incredibly hard the past four years accomplishing more than you ever thought possible. 20 page research paper? Check. Studying into the wee hours of the morning so that you can ace that test? Check. Juggling 20 different things on a daily basis? Check. You've put in the time and hard earned cash to invest in your education and you deserve to celebrate the occasion.
Think about how fun it would be to get done up, wear your favorite outfits, visit a beautiful location, and feel confident while you get your photos captured. Schedule a session with your best friends and get some photos of you all together.
2. Better social media profile photos. It's important to have professional looking photographs for social media like LinkedIn since it's a huge part of networking and getting jobs. You could give your Facebook and Instagram profiles a major upgrade too, which can help if potential employers are checking there.
3. You could use the photos for your graduation announcements to let everyone know that you really did graduate. Friends and family love to keep up with you, and would appreciate a recent photo to put on their fridge.
4. It solves the problem of what to give your parents and grandparents for gifts. Seriously, they LOVE photos of you and are so proud of you.
5. The photos from the graduation ceremony are expensive, plus who looks good in mortarboards?!
5 sounded better than six, so here is one bonus reason: Document who you have become. Chances are, your college experience has been life-shaping and you've grown into who you truly are. Get a senior photo for yourself. Also, (at least for me) you are probably a lot less awkward than you were in your high school senior photos!
