The Inquiry.

I’m scrolling through Facebook during my down time and I stumble across a post on Monash Stalkerspace - a page I had joined when I was at university and still happen to be a part of. Here, Mahnoor had posted an question asking about whether or not graduates could bring a professional photographer to the graduation day to shoot their portraits and she also needed a recommendation for one.

This is right up my alley, so I sent her a message, saying “of course you can bring your own photographer” and then I recommended a decent photographer I kind-of know - me!

After a few messages over a few days, we lock in the date and we wait for the big day to arrive.

Back at Monash.

The big day arrives, and going back to Monash University made me feel all of 21 again. Mahnoor gives me a call and we try to find each other admist the chaos of all the other graduates. She says “I’m at the glass building” and I have no idea what building she’s talking about, because when I was a student, there was no glass building. I occasionally use the track for my run with friends, but I hadn’t seen the new buildings that Monash now has, so seeing the new revamp that Monash has undergone was quite nice.

Fellow Graduates.

We find each other, and it time to get shooting! Shooting a graduation, is much the same as shooting a wedding, or any other important event for that matter. You let the moments play out as they do, and then when the excitement dies down a little, we go for our portrait shoots.

The plan was to shoot group photos first with Mahnoor’s friends. The energies at this point are high, and everyone is all together so as a photographer you want to ensure you get these shots first. It also helps the client relax, and ease into the shoot, as having friends around makes the idea of a camera in your face a lot less awkward. Although Mahnoor did not need this as she was a natural infront of the camera.

Baba.

After the group shots, I got photos of her number one fan, her Baba (Pakistani word for ‘Dad’). Not many words were spoken, but they didn’t need to be. I could tell her was a proud father, and his actions were loud enough to communicate this.

Mahnoor.

As time goes on, the space at Monash gets quieter, so we shoot in some iconic spots at Monash to get a mix of ‘standard’ graduation shots, along with some nice portraits of Mahnoor and her Baba. The plan was to get a variety of shots to have a complete feel of the day, and to get her money’s worth for the hour we were together.

It’s always important to always make sure you have fun during your shoots, and let go of any rigid plans that aren’t flowing with the moments. In our case, Mahnoor wanted to get some random body building pose shots - just for fun, amidst all the graduation pictures. So we found some fun ways to do both her body building shots, but make it graduation.

The Experience.

As I said earlier, Mahnoor was a natural in front of the camera. It always helps as a photographer when your client also happens to be very enthusiastic with the shoot. You start with a plan, but you also need to be adaptable. I would much rather have a plan and not need it, than have no plan and need it.

Collaborating with Mahnoor was the highlight of this shoot, as we both agree it wasn’t a typical graduation shoot. We both don’t like ‘stock standard’ looking photos, so I think we created something uniquely ours.

It just goes to show when you bring the right energy, the right energy finds you. Mahnoor brought a great energy to the day, which made the hour we were together fly by - and we got some great shots!

Congratulations again on graduating with your Masters Mahnoor. It was an honour to document your day, and I hope you enjoy your heirlooms.

- Anthony