Guelph Grad Photos · By program
Sessions by Program.
How grad sessions change by program: hood colours by degree, engineering iron rings, DVM and OVC traditions, master’s and PhD regalia, nursing pins, and why program-specific details make the best photos.
No two programs graduate the same way. An engineering class carries different symbols than a nursing cohort, a DVM class celebrates differently than a master’s convocation, and the regalia itself changes with the degree. We photograph on the University of Guelph campus every week of grad season, so we know these differences and plan sessions around them, which spots flatter which regalia, which details deserve close-ups, and which traditions your class will want on record.
Hood colours carry the story.
The hood draped over your gown is colour-coded to your degree, which means your photos are program-specific before you pose at all. Getting it right matters: worn backwards or twisted, the colours hide, and that is the single most common regalia mistake we quietly fix before the first frame. Tell us your degree when you book, and we will make sure it is sitting the way it should before the first frame.
In the frames below you can see how differently the same campus reads depending on the hoods, the group, and the light.
Engineering and the iron ring.
Canadian engineering grads carry the smallest symbol on campus: the iron ring, worn on the little finger of the working hand, received at a ceremony most classes attend in the months before convocation. It is easy to lose in a wide shot and unforgettable in a close one. We plan hand-forward poses for engineering sessions, hands on the cap brim, a fist bump between classmates, fingers laced in a group line, so the ring shows without anyone having to point at it. If your whole project group is booking together, tell us; a ring line-up is one of the best group frames in engineering photography.
DVM and OVC traditions.
The Ontario Veterinary College graduates one of the most tightly knit classes on campus, and DVM sessions come with props no other program has. White coats and stethoscopes photograph beautifully against limestone, and some grads bring the animal who got them through school, which we are always glad to work into the session. DVM regalia also reads differently than an undergraduate gown, so we scout backdrops that give the hood colours room to stand out. If your class has its own tradition, a group photo spot, a shared toast, a class item, build it into the session rather than trying to squeeze it in after.
Master’s and PhD regalia.
Grad-degree regalia rewards a slower, more formal session. Master’s hoods are longer and fuller than bachelor’s hoods, with more colour on display, and doctoral dress differs again in gown trim and headwear. These details are precisely why grad-degree photos should not be rushed: the regalia is the achievement, and it deserves frames that show it properly, full-length shots for the hood, seated portraits for the detail, and quiet backdrops like the Portico columns or the paths near the Arboretum that let formal dress feel at home. Many master’s and PhD grads also book a headshot in the same outing, since an academic CV photo and a LinkedIn photo are rarely the same picture.
Nursing and the pin.
Nursing has one of the oldest graduation traditions there is: the pin. Where a class marks graduation with a pinning tradition, the pin belongs in the photos, worn where it will live on the uniform, held in open palms, or photographed close with the gown soft behind it. Nursing cohorts also tend to book group sessions, and the contrast of gowns with a symbol of the profession makes those group frames feel like more than a row of matching outfits.
Why program traditions photograph so well.
Generic grad photos age into wallpaper. Specific ones age into heirlooms. A ring, a pin, a stethoscope, a hood in your program’s colours: these are the details that tell you in twenty years exactly what you finished and who stood beside you when you did. They also give a session structure. Instead of cycling through the same three poses, we build frames around the symbols your program actually earned, and the photos come out looking like your graduation instead of anyone’s.
Whatever you studied, the plan is the same: tell us your program when you book, bring the symbols that matter to your class, and we will handle the rest.
Book a session built for your program.
Solo, duo, or the whole cohort: pick a package, tell us your program, and a $50 deposit holds your date. Rates and inclusions are on the pricing page.