Illinois State University Graduation
Photos | Ideas + Locations

There is something slightly funny about college graduation pictures because, technically, we're celebrating one day. Except nobody works that hard for one day.

By the time you're standing on campus in a cap and gown, there have been years of classes, exams, clinicals, questionable amounts of caffeine, group projects you probably still have opinions about, and at least a few moments where dropping out and moving somewhere nobody could find you sounded reasonable.

For nursing graduates? Multiply accordingly.

That's why I don't think Illinois State University graduation photos should just be 45 minutes of standing in front of campus landmarks holding a diploma.

Obviously, we're getting those pictures. Your mom wants them. Your grandma wants them. You will probably want them too, even if right now you're convinced you only care about the fun ones.

But your graduation session can be a hell of a lot more personal than that.

Planning Graduation Photos at Illinois State University

Illinois State University gives us a really good mix for graduation pictures because we don't have to make an entire gallery look the same.

Around campus, we can go from traditional red brick and recognizable ISU architecture to big staircases, greenery, flowers and cleaner backgrounds that don't immediately scream "college campus." That means you can get the classic Illinois State graduation pictures AND portraits that stand on their own without needing to schedule two completely different sessions.

That's exactly what we did for this nursing graduation session.

We used the architecture and stairs for some of the more traditional graduation photographs, incorporated the red throughout the session, wandered into the landscaping for portraits that looked completely different, and worked in details from the degree itself.

The result wasn't 100 photographs of the same person holding a cap in increasingly creative ways.

Which is kind of the goal.

Your Degree Gives Us More to Work With Than a Cap and Gown

This is especially true for nursing graduation photos.

A stethoscope is an obvious choice, but obvious doesn't automatically mean cheesy. The difference is whether we're using something because Pinterest told us every nursing graduate needs the exact same picture, or because it actually belongs in this chapter of your life.

Scrubs, your stethoscope, nursing pins, school-specific pieces, your stole, cords and other things you've actually used or earned can all make the session more specific to you.

And I love mixing those photographs with regular portraits.

You don't need to spend an entire session wearing scrubs and holding medical supplies just because you're graduating from nursing school. We can take the photographs that very clearly say, "I DID IT. I'M A NURSE." and then move on.

Bring the white dress.

Put on the heels.

Wear the cap and gown.

Lose the cap and gown.

Bring the scrubs.

Basically, give me options.

The best graduation galleries usually happen when we have enough pieces to play with instead of trying to force one outfit and one prop to carry an entire session.

What Should You Wear for Illinois State Graduation Pictures?

My favorite answer is: more than one thing, if we have the time.

For a college graduation session, I usually like having one outfit that works beautifully underneath the gown and another option that represents either your personality or what comes next.

A white dress is popular for graduation pictures for a reason. Against Illinois State's red brick, red details and green campus landscaping, white photographs incredibly well. It's clean, it doesn't compete with your cap and gown, and you can completely change the photograph just by taking the gown off.

But you absolutely do not have to wear white.

If you're deciding what to wear, I would think less about "What do people wear for graduation pictures?" and more about what you want these photographs to represent.

Do you want polished portraits you could also use professionally?

Bring something clean and simple.

Do you want the pictures to feel obviously celebratory?

Bring the cap, gown, stole, cords and whatever shoes you've been saving specifically for this.

Did you finish a professional program?

Bring something related to it.

And PLEASE bring shoes you can actually walk in between locations if your cute shoes are trying to kill you.

You do not get extra graduation honors for hobbling across campus in heels for an hour.

Yes, Bring the Red Shoes

I need a separate section for this because details like this are exactly why I tell people not to overthink whether something is "too much" for pictures.

The red heels in this session were so good.

Against a white dress, black graduation gown and Illinois State's campus, they made sense without everything becoming aggressively school-themed. They also gave us detail photographs that looked completely different from the wider portraits.

If you have a statement piece that works with your school colors, bring it.

Shoes. Earrings. Jacket. Sunglasses. Whatever.

Not every piece has to appear in every photograph. Sometimes one slightly ridiculous pair of shoes is all I need.

Graduation Photos Don't Have to Be Only About the Graduate

This is probably my favorite part of this particular session.

Her little boy came along.

And suddenly the photographs weren't only about finishing nursing school. They showed a piece of what life looked like while she was doing it.

I think people sometimes hesitate to include their kids, partner or parents in graduation pictures because they think the session is supposed to be exclusively about the graduate.

It can be.

But it doesn't have to be.

If somebody was a huge part of getting you through college, I want you to consider bringing them.

Maybe that's your mom.

Maybe it's your partner.

Maybe it's the kid you were raising while you were simultaneously trying to survive nursing school.

Maybe you want ten minutes with them and the rest by yourself.

Perfect.

You don't have to turn your graduation session into a family session. We can get a handful together and then keep going.

Years from now, though, those may be some of the photographs that hit differently.

Not because they're technically "graduation pictures."

Because they show who was there.

The Best Illinois State University Graduation Photo Locations Aren't Necessarily One Location

When people start planning ISU graduation photos, one of the first questions is usually where we should take them.

My answer is rarely one exact spot.

I care more about creating variety within an area than dragging you all over Normal trying to hit twelve landmarks because somebody made a Pinterest checklist.

Illinois State's red brick is obviously part of the campus look, and we should use it. Stairs and architectural lines work beautifully for wider photographs and cap-and-gown pictures. Greenery gives us somewhere softer for portraits. Seasonal flowers can give us color without needing any props at all.

The trick is combining backgrounds that look different enough that your finished gallery doesn't feel repetitive.

I also pay attention to what you're wearing.

A white outfit against pale concrete gives us a completely different photograph than the same outfit against brick. A black gown pops beautifully against lighter stairs. ISU red becomes more noticeable against neutral backgrounds. Green spaces are great when we want the photograph to be about YOU rather than the university behind you.

We're not collecting locations.

We're building a gallery.

There's a difference.

When Should You Take Graduation Photos at Illinois State?

Earlier than the night before you need announcements printed…. lol

Beyond that, there isn't one graduation-photo season.

Spring graduates obviously make up a huge portion of college graduation sessions, but summer and December graduates deserve pictures too. Nursing programs and other professional programs don't always fit neatly into the traditional May-graduation timeline anyway.

If you know you want Illinois State University graduation pictures, I recommend getting on my calendar before the campus becomes absolutely packed with graduates doing the exact same thing.

Earlier planning gives us more flexibility with timing, crowds and weather.

And if your graduation date has already passed?

Who cares?

Your degree does not expire because we didn't photograph you before commencement.

Put the outfit back on. Bring the cap. We're doing it anyway.

What Time of Day Is Best for ISU Graduation Pictures?

This depends more on the locations we're using than an arbitrary rule that every photographer has to shoot at golden hour.

Campus has buildings, open areas, shaded spots, reflective concrete and all kinds of different light situations within a relatively small area. Sometimes a location that looks great at one time of day becomes a tiny personal version of the surface of the sun two hours later.

That's why I plan around light rather than choosing a location and hoping for the best.

If there's a specific Illinois State landmark you absolutely want, tell me before the session. I can work that into the plan instead of discovering halfway through that the one place you cared about was actually on your must-have list.

What Should You Bring to a College Graduation Session?

You do not need to arrive with the contents of a graduation-themed Hobby Lobby aisle.

In fact, please don't.

Start with the things that actually belong to you:

Your cap and gown.

Stole and cords.

Diploma cover if you have it.

A second outfit.

Anything related to your degree or future profession.

Comfortable shoes for walking.

Then add one or two things if they genuinely make sense.

For a nursing graduation session, a stethoscope is easy. Scrubs make sense. Professional details make sense because they're part of the story.

What I don't want is for props to become the entire personality of the session.

You worked too hard for the photographs to basically become an advertisement for a graduation cap.

You Are Allowed to Want Good Pictures of Yourself, Too

This gets overlooked in graduation photography.

Yes, we're photographing an accomplishment.

But you are also probably at a weird transition point where you're leaving one version of your life and walking straight into another one.

Maybe you're starting your first nursing job.

Maybe you're moving.

Maybe you're finally done being a student after what feels like seventeen thousand years.

You are allowed to want portraits where you just look GOOD.

No diploma.

No cap.

No giant "2026."

No explanation required.

Some of my favorite photographs from graduation sessions are the ones that could have been taken for absolutely any reason.

That's part of why I like mixing traditional campus photographs with portraits in flowers, greenery or cleaner architectural areas. It gives you pictures you'll actually want to use outside of a graduation announcement.

Your Graduation Session Should Look Like You Actually Went to Illinois State

There is a balance here.

I don't want every photograph to have a university sign directly behind your head.

But if you're booking Illinois State University graduation photos, we should probably create at least a few photographs that couldn't have been taken at a random office park in another state.

Use the red brick.

Use the campus.

Use your school colors.

Use the recognizable places that matter to you.

Then give yourself permission to walk twenty feet away and make something completely different.

That's how you get a gallery that feels connected to Illinois State without turning the university itself into the subject.

Planning Nursing Graduation Photos

Nursing graduates have SO much material to work with, which makes these sessions especially fun for me.

You can bring scrubs for a few portraits and change into your graduation outfit. We can incorporate your stethoscope without wrapping it around seventeen different objects. We can photograph your nursing pin or other details. If there are people who helped get you through nursing school, they can jump into a few.

And then we can completely ignore nursing for twenty minutes and take beautiful portraits of you.

You don't need to prove your entire degree in every frame.

One of the things I want people to understand before booking with me is that I don't show up with a rigid list of poses that every graduate has to perform.

I want the pieces that are specific to you.

We'll get the safe photograph.

We'll get the one Grandma wants.

Then we have room to actually have some fun.

Graduation Photography in Bloomington-Normal and Central Illinois

I photograph graduation and portrait sessions throughout Bloomington-Normal and Central Illinois, including students at Illinois State University and other colleges throughout the area.

If you're graduating from ISU and already know you want photos, reach out sooner rather than later, especially during the busiest spring graduation weeks.

You don't need to know exactly where you want to go, what poses you want or how you're supposed to stand.

That's my part.

Your part is considerably easier:

Finish the degree.

Bring the stuff.

I'll figure out the pictures.