Josh and Kay: USC + UCLA Graduation Portraits

A graduation story featuring two rivals

USC graduation is right around the corner, which means it’s time to highlight a few of my favorite grad portrait sessions, starting with Josh and Kay’s amazing grad session from 2020!

I always encourage my grad clients with significant others or best friends at other universities to book graduation portraits together. Having a grad session at two universities always makes for an amazing set of photos, that is completely unique from everyone else’s! When Josh and Kay reached out to me last year, inquiring about having their grad session at USC and UCLA, I knew exactly what to plan, and their grad photos were turned out even better than I imagined.

Josh and Kay were graduating from USC and UCLA and we chose to split their session time between the two universities. First, we started at USC, taking photos at Bovard Auditorium, Doheny Library, Tommy Trojan, Mudd Hall, at the sunny lawns by Dohney Fountain. I love how Josh and Kay’s hoods, caps, and PhD robes stand out against the architecture and greenery of USC’s campus!

After an hour, we drove across the city to UCLA to wrap up the grad session. We took individual photos in front of the UCLA Law School, then wrapped our session with a quick casual outfit change for couple portraits at Royce Hall. Royce Hall is my favorite place to shoot at UCLA because of its distinct architecture - the pillars and arches make great scenes for environmental portraits!

For a short window of time during golden hour, the Royce Quad and the arches in Royce Hall light up with warm and beautiful sunset light. I’m always seeking out this light as its an essential part of my signature backlit style. Royce Hall at sunset has some of the best sunset light for photos in Los Angeles, and you can see why Royce Hall is one of my favorite locations to photograph couples!

This past year has been slow, but I have new precautions in place for the 2021 grad season and I’m looking forward to doing grad sessions once again! To check my availability and see my COVID19 precautions, please visit my grad sessions info page here.