At commencement, offering close-up photographs is a great way to provide additional photo options to your graduates and their families.

In this article, we will explore why using a reader list to announce graduate names as they cross the stage is not a best practice for commencement ceremonies.

When a school enters into an “all-inclusive” agreement for photography services, this typically means one (and only one) photographer has been retained for all pictures at that institution, regardless of the event type. This arrangement is most often seen at middle schools and high schools, where the photographer could be asked to capture everything from marching band pictures to prom portraits.

A ceremony portrait is a posed photograph taken of each graduate during commencement. Typically, these images are taken as graduates approach or depart the stage.

Pre-registration is a quick step that your graduates should be encouraged to take before commencement.  By completing a short online form, graduates (and family members) can provide their own email address directly to GradImages, which ensures timely delivery of their photo proofs after the ceremony.  This can be done by visiting:

With graduates and their families, there’s an inherent expectation that photo proofs from their graduation ceremony will be available online almost immediately after the ceremony. After all, with today’s technology, we live in a world of near-instant gratification.

In the context of commencement ceremonies, the terms "graduates" and "participants" are often used interchangeably, but can have different meanings. And in discussions with your vendors and providers, clarifying which term is being used is key.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is U.S. federal law that provides guidelines to the rights and privacy of students’ and their education records. It defines what information a school may or may not release of its current or former students. Additionally, it outlines parental rights for students under the age of 18 attending non-postsecondary institutions. The law applies to all schools receiving funds under applicable U.S. Department of Education programs, which includes the majority of schools in the United States.

A composite is a large photograph created for an organization consisting of smaller pictures of that organization’s individual members. They are traditions at many institutions, particularly