Three local photographers describe the experience photographing UC Davis graduates
By RACHEL GAUER — features@theaggie.org
Graduate photos have entered the list of many students’ must-do’s before concluding their undergraduate careers. Whether the photos themselves are used to alert LinkedIn or Instagram followers that you’ve graduated or to announce future plans to distant relatives via grad announcements, they serve as a way to commemorate the achievement of an important milestone. Though we all carry cameras on us constantly, having a professional photo done still certainly holds symbolic significance.
Soleil Barbour-Berson, a UC Davis alumna who holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.S.) in international relations, had personal portraits and photos with friends taken to commemorate her early graduation in fall of 2024. Barbour-Berson explained that because she graduated from high school during the pandemic, she felt particularly inclined to get photos taken for her undergraduate commencement.
“I didn’t get high school grad photos and really regretted not having them,” Barbour-Berson said. “I really wanted to do it this time — it’s a good way to commemorate the moment and the accomplishment of graduating.”
As grad photos increase in popularity, some student photographers have taken advantage of the opportunity to provide their photography services to the growing market of students.
Sophie Beifuss, a first-year maternal and child health graduate student, began photographing her friends’ graduation photos during her final year of her undergraduate career at UC Davis in 2024 and has now progressed to offering her services to the larger student population. Beifuss, who advertises under @sophiebportraits on Instagram, said she found a love for photography early in her adolescence and later realized she could apply it to more formal avenues.
“I got my first camera when I was 13; I saved up all my allowance and was so excited to finally be able to start taking pictures that weren’t only on my iPod touch,” Beifuss said. “Ever since then, I’ve always had a camera in my hand, taking photos of everything. My favorite type of photography is portrait photography — I love taking candids and helping people feel comfortable and have a fun time in front of the camera.”
Savannah Luy, a UC Davis alumna with a B.S. in computer science, also began her photography career casually shooting friends and peers in high school. She first began her business, Luy Photography, in 2017, long before her university days. Now, she shoots not only in Davis but also has extended her services to other local universities like Stanford University, UC Berkeley and Sacramento State University. Her undergraduate career at UC Davis, she said, has led her to be particularly aware of the campus’ beauty and photographability.
“During my time at Davis, I spent a lot of time walking around campus and just being fully aware of different things around me, whether that be all the different trees or the way the light hits a certain building at a certain time,” Luy said. “I feel like I paid a lot of attention to stuff like that which really helps me plan my sessions.”
The process of taking graduate photos varies from student to student and from photographer to photographer, but Beifuss pointed out several hot spots for students to select to be featured in their photographs.
“Some grads have fun memories in the library, [the] Death Star or the Quad and have special requests to have photos there,” Beifuss said. “Others let me take the wheel, in which [case] I take them to my three favorite spots: the brick wall on A Street, the trees near the Quad and the wildflowers near the Arboretum.”
A stroll across these iconic campus spots, particularly at sunset during the spring months, will inevitably bring the sight of students with stoles across their shoulders, champagne bottles in hand and photographers clicking away on their cameras.
Unlike most photographers who have the ability to take hundreds of photos during a single session, however, every photo counts for Alexandria Ikuma, a fourth-year physics major.
Ikuma takes a more old-school approach to photography — she uses a film camera to capture grad portraits. One singular roll of film, Ikuma explained, allows for about 36 photos.
Citing the uniqueness and nostalgic quality of film photos, Barbour-Berson decided to book with Ikuma for her grad portraits. She explained the experience of not having access to digital features like previewing photos and taking many shots in one sitting.
“We had to be a lot more intentional about the photos we were taking,” Barbour-Berson said. “It was really cool to not know how they were going to turn out — I really liked the anticipation of waiting to see what they were going to look like.”
Though Ikuma tends to mostly take photos for friends or acquaintances and considers herself to be a non-professional, as of this year she has begun posting her content to her photography-specific Instagram account, @gradfilmphotos, where she also allows for booking sign-ups.
Ikuma explained that her services started last year when her friends expressed a love for her film photos she would often post on her social media page.
“Two of my friends who were graduating last year asked me to take their grad photos,” Ikuma said. “I’d never thought of doing that but I said yes, and it was really nice to spend that time with them since they were graduating,”
Unlike Ikuma, Luy has connected with a variety of clients previously unknown to her via her business’ Instagram, @luyphotography, and by way of flyers across campus. Luy, however, also highlighted the unique time spent one on one with a client as being one of the most impactful parts of photographing graduating students.
“I think that shooting college students in general, everybody has this sort of chaos going on around them — everybody seems to be part of different clubs and [organizations] and everybody is doing something crazy,” Luy said. “But when I get to do these shoots, it feels like me and the grad come together and the world goes silent. We don’t have to worry about anything else going on in the world for that hour and instead we get to recognize that graduating is a huge milestone and a moment to celebrate.”
Written by: Rachel Gauer — features@theaggie.org
