Graduating graduation photoshoots
An unexpected journey because I was in school too long.
Originally written in Korean on April 14, 2025. Revised and translated into English on February 2026.
This particular line of thought started on a random day in early spring on the subway. I had just a few months left before getting my Ph.D (assuming all goes well, which it did thank god). On that day back home, I realized that I will not only be graduating academically, but also ‘graduating’ from being a graduation photographer for my friends.
For context, I happened to attend the same university for both my undergraduate and graduate studies, so I had been around the campus for quite some time. One of the things that happen when you hang around a university for too long is that you get to attend a lot of graduation ceremonies of your friends. I joined the photography club during my early undergrad, which means that I took my camera with me to graduations over all of those years. When it was eventually my turn, I had been doing this for so long that it actually took some time for me to realize the obvious: I would no longer be taking graduation photos anymore.
As you can imagine, the whole campus gets a little festive during graduation seasons, making the place considerably more enjoyable place to be. A lot of outside visitors, young and old, in groups in cafes, benches, parking lots, and a lot of chattering about everywhere. It’s a once(or twice, or more for some) in a lifetime event if you are the one graduating. The event itself, however, can get a bit repetitive after a while. The campus doesn’t chang much, and there are only so many places and poses you can take graduation photos after all (I later found out that this is similar for weddings as well).
But that does not mean I did not enjoy taking these photos. Quite the opposite actually. These kind of events are a good reason to get together with long time no see friends, and since I have been behind the camera for so many of these events, I know all the best spots and angles to take photos from. That opened up a lot of opportunities for me to volunteer as a guide/photographer for friends who were graduating. Looking back, I am really glad I found a unique way to enjoy and celebrate these moments, as it felt like I was actively participating in my friends’ big days. This is especially true since I was not graduating along with them for most of these events.
But now I am leaving the university for good, and I will not be able to take graduation photos anymore. There are still a few friends left in school, but I don’t think I have the energy to be the designated camery guy. The days in February, May, August, and October sitting in the lab, waiting for friends to text me saying they have arrived at the campus, are now over. After going to almost 40 graduation photo sessions of my friends in their cap and gown for more than 7 years, I am graduating…from graduation photoshoots.