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Marleen finished an online grad school program recently, and was looking for a traditional graduation session in a setting with classic brick architecture, similar to a college campus. While it would have been easy to use another university’s campus, I wanted to create a session that was unique and meaningful to her. After brainstorming different ideas—including her love for the beach and her entrepreneurial side hustle as a lash and beauty salon owner—we designed the perfect session to celebrate this milestone in her life!

My graduation portrait sessions are bespoke - just like your college experience, your photo session will be unique and designed just for you. During the planning process, I send out a planning questionnaire which lets you share exactly what made your college experience special! Furn and Masy were extremely busy STEM students and they shared with me some of their important memories of being busy together: taking the bus to the Engineering buildings together in the morning, having lunch and study breaks together at Bombshelter Bistro, and taking sunset strolls across campus when time allowed. After hearing this, I knew exactly how to plan their grad session!

The spring season is an eventful time in Southern California. Daylights savings makes its return, seniors prepare to graduate, and most importantly, flowers begin to bloom all across the state. In the peak of their bloom, for just a few weeks every spring, you can fields of wildflowers across SoCal - Bianca’s grad portraits in the flower fields was just perfect!

See my favorite locations at Occidental for grad sessions!

Once per day, as the sun reaches the edge of the horizon, golden rays of light shine through the city, outlining everything it touches with a warm glow. We call this time right before sunset golden hour. Sunset light is incredibly flattering and it’s undoubtably the best time of the day to have your portrait session!

Noelle spent many years in Southern California enjoying crisp ocean air, and Malibu’s beaches were important places to her. Because graduation happened out of state, we decided to have her grad session at one of the most scenic spots in Malibu: El Matador State Beach.

Because of remote learning, Michael was not able to spend his senior year on campus at UCLA. When he returned to UCLA for commencement, we made sure to document everything that made Michael’s time at UCLA memorable. This included dogs, a surprise visit from a friend, sunset, and of course, some quality time together with his fiancee!

Larissa’s graduation portraits features all of my favorite locations at Cal Poly Pomona and shows why I like grad sessions here. This session had a little bit of everything: casual and formal outfits, school spirit, lots of confetti, and an impromptu couples session. It was a memorable one! :)

UCI features a large and diverse campus with many hidden spots that are perfect for graduation portraits. Here are a few of my favorite locations at UCI that I use in all of my grad sessions!

I spent one beautiful (and slightly breezy) afternoon on the Santa Monica with Bella and Vikesh over Valentine’s Day weekend. They were in town for the weekend. which made scheduling perfect for their engagement session!

My goal with grad sessions, as I’ve mentioned before in previous blog posts, is to create an experience and set of photos unique to each graduate. A couple full of personality and ideas like Alma and Shawn really makes for an amazing grad session!

Sunrise graduation portraits at UCLA is favorite way to start the day. I don’t consider myself a morning person, but nothing beats the beautiful morning light slowly rising in the sky, casting dreamy glow on Royce Hall. Enjoy this highlight of Frank’s grad session!

I’m extremely grateful I was able to make it out to WPPI 2019 in Las Vegas this year! Check out this epic portrait session I did in Red Rock Canyon after attending the convention.

Check out this highlight from my recent grad session with Mindy and her friends!

Enjoy this beautiful highlight from my first ever UCSD graduation portrait session!

Fun grad session with twins Megan and Justin and their adorable dog Ellie all wrapped up! Check out their session highlight below!

My friends Dalton and Nicole are an adorable and hilarious couple and I’ve been looking forward to doing their grad session for many years. Enjoy their session preview!

The broad desert landscape - dotted with rocky hills and sharp formations, resilient cacti and their cousins, and the distinct shapes of Joshua trees - is the perfect place for adventurous couples looking for an elopement destination or epic wedding portraits.

UCLA is full of popular backgrounds and buildings and I aimed to make Alex’s session unique and different, while keeping UCLA completely recognizable. It was a lot of fun! Enjoy the photos :)

Here's something a little different from what I write about - the second annual UCLA Wind Ensemble Invitational! Enjoy the photos! 

An enormous elliptical sculpture, a popular dining area, and Hogwarts together makes an excellent grad session. Enjoy Jason and Susan's session highlight!

Sometimes, you get the best luck possible - the weather is perfect, there's a great sunset, and Royce quad happens to be extremely empty. Enjoy this UCLA grad session highlight!

I'm always happy to do sessions for my friends, and especially happy when meeting someone interested in my work turns into a great friendship. Enjoy Hang-Hang's grad session highlight!  

Shooting portraits in the rain is one of my favorite things to do but unfortunately this week I was stuck in the office and didn't get a chance to go out. Last time there was a storm, I was out on a photoshoot and we got some amazing photos with Bianca (@bianca.hd)! Enjoy! 

Two weeks ago, I went on a late night trip to Malibu with some friends to see the Geminids. It was a clear night at Point Mugu, about 30 miles north of Santa Monica. The Geminids lit up the sky amongst the stars, fighting to shine through the glow of bright Los Angeles. I'll definitely be back, because while stargazing was nowhere near as good as Joshua Tree and Death Valley, Malibu is sure more convenient to get to!