Each commencement ceremony we photograph goes through a life-cycle of six stages throughout the year. The various components of each stage are outlined below. While most of these are transparent to our clients, each is important for our success at their events, and many are vital to ensure graduates and their families receive the best possible images.

Long Range Planning

At GradImages, long range planning takes place approximately 5-10 months prior to each commencement. With a bird’s eye view of our anticipated schedule of events, we look to see if any adjustments are needed, or if changing circumstances may affect any of our clients. For example, if a client school transitions from one main ceremony to multiple, smaller ceremonies taking place simultaneously at different locations around campus, we know our staffing and equipment requirements will need to expand to accommodate that change and can plan accordingly.

During long-range planning, we also work with our clients on improvements or changes that can be made that might help us provide the best possible service. Examples of this might include designing a custom ceremony portrait backdrop for a particular school, helping a client transition to reader cards provided by GradImages, or preparing for additional photography poses to be taken at commencement. This stage is typically a calm, structured period in each ceremony’s workflow cycle. This is the optimal time for us to reinforce what is working well, and implement minor changes where appropriate.

Mid-Term Planning

Mid-term planning takes place 2-5 months prior to each commencement. This period in the workflow cycle is focused on acquiring detailed event information, and making sure we have the appropriate staffing and resources in place for the ceremony.

Event confirmations are a critical piece of our mid-term planning, and our account management team is heavily involved in this process. The verification of the ceremony’s date, time, and location is important, along with information on the expected number of participants and ceremony flow. Even if all pertinent details remain unchanged from the prior year’s ceremony, it is still important for us to have official confirmation of these details from our clients.

In addition to having an open line of communication with their GradImages account manager, each school has 24/7 access to our exclusive online client portal. This website provides the ability to confirm pertinent event information, send messages to GradImages, and order public relations photos from each ceremony.

With respect to the GradImages staff assigned to work at a given ceremony, this mid-term planning stage is when those assignments are generally made. Our highest priority is to ensure each event is staffed by well-trained, skilled commencement photographers, even if those professionals need to be re-positioned from other areas to cover a particular ceremony. Each ceremony is also assigned a team captain, which is generally the most experienced commencement photographer at the event. The team captain is the leader of our on-site operations and is responsible for ensuring our company’s high standards for photography and service are met.

During this time the University may also host a Grad Fair, or a Cap and Gown Pickup. GradImages provides photography services to may of our clients for these events, details on this service are on the next page.

Final Preparations

Although busy, the weeks and days leading up to each commencement ceremony are tightly orchestrated. After final event confirmations are complete, our Logistics Department begins compiling the requisite equipment and materials needed for the ceremony, and ships those to the appropriate locations. Additionally, the team captain is sent a detailed data sheet for the event, and is charged with fully understanding its contents in order to be prepared for the ceremony ahead.

In the days prior to each commencement, the team captain will contact the ceremony coordinator(s) by phone. The purpose of this call is four-fold: (1) to introduce himself/herself, if they have not met on a previous occasion, (2) to make one final confirmation of the event details as known by GradImages, (3) to determine if any last-minute changes have been made that might affect the photography, and (4) to exchange mobile phone numbers, in case either one needs to reach the other on the day of the ceremony.

GradImages team captains are required to persist with multiple calls and messages if unable to reach their contact on first attempt. If phone contact has not been established within 48 hours of the ceremony, an urgent escalation within our company occurs, triggering phone calls and emails to every known administrator to ask for their assistance in either reaching the commencement coordinator by phone, or reaching his/her replacement. This conversation is very important to our operations, and clients are strongly encouraged to either accept the team captain’s call or return the call as soon as possible, even after hours or on the weekend. 

The Big Day

Company policy is that our event photographers must be at the venue at least two hours prior to the commencement. Two hours allows more than enough time for our pre-ceremony preparations, while padding additional time for any unexpected issues. We are happy to accommodate any special circumstances that might warrant our photographers arriving even earlier than two hours in advance, such as a rehearsal or pre-ceremony group photos.

CHECK-IN WITH EVENT COORDINATORS

The GradImages team captain will check-in with the University's commencement coordinator, in person, once he or she can be located at the venue. We understand commencement day is very hectic, and that the coordinator may not be available right away. However, if the team captain has not located the event coordinator within 60 minutes prior to the ceremony, attempts will be made to check-in with the coordinator by mobile phone. The purpose of checking in is so the University's commencement coordinator is aware of our presence on location, and to see if there are any last-minute requests with respect to the ceremony’s photography. Additionally, the team captain will quickly work together with ceremony coordinators to determine the most appropriate locations for our photographers.

SET-UP LOCATION

Most venues have backstage rooms that would be suitable for our pre-ceremony preparations. Our team captain will work with the event coordinators or venue officials to secure access to one of these areas for the assembling of equipment, case storage during the event, and a meeting area for our event staff.

STAFF BRIEFING AND FINAL CHECKS

After all photographers and event staff have arrived, the team captain will assemble the team for a short conference. During this meeting, staff will be fully briefed on photographer stations, roles, expectations, and any other information deemed pertinent to the upcoming ceremony. At least 60 minutes prior to each ceremony, all photographers will have performed a rigorous series of inspections and tests on every piece of equipment. The team captain is responsible for ensuring these checks are satisfactorily completed. Shortly before the ceremony begins, the team captain will start two separate audio recordings. While these recordings are normally not needed, they are intended to be used as a back-up.

Ceremony Photography

GradImages photographers will take public relations images before, during, and after the event. Overview images will also be captured during the ceremony, if possible. Group photographs, if applicable, can be taken before or after the ceremony at a time and location determined by ceremony coordinators. While graduates are individually recognized on stage, our photographers are capable of capturing numerous poses. Detailed information about these poses start on the next page.

While Graduates are Being Recognized

As graduates are being individually recognized, our photographers expertly capture their images from their assigned poses. It takes a significant amount of skill and stamina to perfectly frame each graduate quickly, so as not to disrupt the flow of the ceremony, and to repeat that process over and over throughout the duration of the graduates’ recognition. This is why most universities rely on a company who specializes in this type of photography. There are no second chances to capture this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

GRADUATE SEQUENCE

During the ceremony, photographers are generally not cognizant of the order in which graduates are recognized on stage. Their job is to simply capture the best possible images consistently for each graduate. However, in order for graduates to later be matched with their correct images, there must be some method by which an accurate sequence of the graduate order is recorded.

Therefore, steps are taken to ensure that a proper sequence can be acquired. The preferred method for any commencement is the use of reader cards. Each graduate receives a card with his or her name printed on it. As graduates approach the stage, their cards are handed to the person announcing names over the PA system. After each name is read, that card is handed to an assistant who is responsible for keeping them in order. GradImages is happy to provide this assistant, at our expense. At the end of the ceremony, those cards are carefully scanned in sequence, and the electronic information is sent to our office for data processing.
Sequences can also be acquired from a reader’s list or ceremony program if appropriate. GradImages works with each event coordinator to determine  which sequence type is to be used at their ceremony. On rare occasions, the primary method of graduate sequence may become unreliable, or need some type of confirmation. At each ceremony, GradImages photographers make dual, independent audio recordings which can be used to cross-check or validate the primary sequence method, if necessary. Regardless of the circumstances at a commencement ceremony, our company is overly prepared to capture the best pictures, and make sure those images can be properly identified.

Following the Ceremony

The team captain’s responsibility following each commencement is to secure the images from each camera, as well as any data or information that is pertinent to the accurate identification of images.

Using GradImages’ proprietary software, images, notes, audio recordings, sequencing documents and staff information are compiled, categorized, and inspected. This generally takes 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the ceremony. If an Internet connection is available at the venue, this data will be securely uploaded to our servers for processing. If an Internet connection is not available, however, the team captain will upload this data from another location shortly after leaving. Materials that must be returned to our office for manual processing will be shipped via UPS Overnight delivery.

While images and data are being secured by the team captain, the remaining photographers and event staff will work to pack equipment and clean up. For the University's planning purposes, it generally takes 30-60 minutes after the ceremony for our staff to vacate the building.

POST-EVENT PRODUCTION

Time is of the essence to match graduates with their images and deliver proofs as quickly as possible. During graduation season, our Production Department operates in two shifts, seven days a week. Their job is to properly assign each image to the graduate to whom it belongs. Our goal is to have images from each ceremony identified and email proof notifications sent as quickly as 48 hours after each ceremony. Paper proofs are mailed to each graduate’s address of record shortly thereafter.

Using proprietary software developed by our company, each graduate’s images for all the various poses are grouped together. For example, a given graduate’s handshake photograph, ceremony portrait, and close-up portrait will be “aligned” with one another. After images for all graduates have been accounted for, our production staff can then assign the appropriate group of images to the correct graduate based on the sequence in which that individual was recognized on stage.

Before an event is finalized, a production manager will review the work to make sure everything was done according to our high quality standards. As soon as that process is complete, images are posted online for graduates and their families to view. Email notifications are sent, as are text messages, if applicable. Finally, proof cards are printed and mailed.

Assessment & Review

The final stage of the workflow for each commencement is review and quality control. During this process, images are closely inspected for the purposes of photographer evaluation and future training topics. Notes and details of the ceremony are recorded in our event management software to make sure our services at the next ceremony will adapt, if necessary, to meet the University's needs and maintain our high service standards.