Graduation photos don't have to take place on a college campus to feel meaningful. For these two best friends, the lush greenery of the Bellevue Botanical Garden created a beautiful setting to celebrate graduation while also incorporating personal details that made their portraits their own.
What initially began as a 30-minute graduation photo session turned into a back-to-back session when my client's best friend decided to join in with a 15-minute session of her own. Because both sessions took place entirely within the Yao Garden, we were able to create plenty of variety without spending valuable photography time walking between locations.
And, of course, we couldn't photograph two best friends back to back without getting a few graduation portraits of them together!
Graduation Photos at Bellevue Botanical Garden
The Bellevue Botanical Garden is a beautiful option for senior and graduation photos on the Eastside because it offers so much natural scenery in one location.
For these sessions, we stayed entirely within the Yao Garden, a Japanese-inspired garden filled with winding paths, rocks, colorful plants, and layers of greenery.
Even though we never left this section of the botanical garden, there were enough different backgrounds and compositions to give both graduates variety in their galleries.
The dense greenery also created a beautiful contrast against their white dresses, black graduation gowns, and gold stoles, allowing the graduation details to stand out while still giving the portraits a soft, natural feel.
If you're still deciding where you'd like to take your own graduation photos, my Best Graduation Photo Locations in Seattle & Tacoma guide includes more ideas ranging from college campuses to waterfront and natural settings.
Making a Short Graduation Session Feel Personal
One of the things I love about graduation photography is finding ways to make a session reflect the individual graduate rather than simply working through a list of standard poses.
For the first graduate, one of the most important photographs she and her family wanted was a portrait incorporating the flag of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia.
We made the flag a prominent part of several portraits, including images that incorporated movement and allowed it to spread out behind her. It added a meaningful personal element to her graduation gallery while also creating some of the most dynamic photographs from the session.
Personal touches like flags, cultural items, graduation cords, stoles, decorated caps, or other meaningful objects can transform a traditional graduation portrait into something that tells more of the graduate's story. I share more ideas for creating portraits that feel individual in How to Personalize Your Senior Photos in Seattle & Tacoma.
Cap and Gown Photos in the Yao Garden
We also incorporated traditional graduation attire throughout the sessions.
The Yao Garden worked particularly well for cap and gown portraits because the natural surroundings kept the images from feeling overly formal. We could photograph classic portraits in the graduation gown and stole and then quickly transition into more relaxed photographs without changing locations.
The stone features and pathways gave us opportunities for full-length portraits, while the surrounding trees and plants created beautiful backgrounds for closer photographs.
This is one reason a location with plenty of variety can be especially valuable for a shorter senior or graduation session. You don't necessarily need several locations to create a gallery that feels diverse.
For a completely different example, my University of Washington graduation session at the W Sculpture, Smith Hall, Miller Hall, and the Quad shows how multiple campus locations can be incorporated when a graduate wants more variety and meaningful school landmarks.
Celebrating Graduation With Your Best Friend
The back to back sessions also gave us an opportunity we wouldn't have had during two completely separate photoshoots.
Since these two graduates are best friends, we finished with photographs of them together in their caps and gowns.
Those images became a fun way to document not only graduation, but also the friendship that was part of this chapter of their lives.
Graduation portraits can absolutely include the people who helped make your school years memorable. Parents, siblings, partners, and best friends can all be incorporated into part of a session while still leaving plenty of time for individual portraits.
I've photographed this in several different ways, including a recent University of Washington graduation session at Guggenheim Hall, Drumheller Fountain, and Rainier Vista, where we incorporated the graduate's mother and partner into her session.
For these two, having their sessions immediately after one another made including best friend photos especially easy.
Is Bellevue Botanical Garden a Good Location for Senior Photos?
While these were graduation sessions, Bellevue Botanical Garden would also be a beautiful location for high school senior photos.
The Yao Garden alone gave us greenery, flowers, stone features, pathways, filtered sunlight, and opportunities for both close portraits and wider environmental images.
That makes it especially appealing for seniors who want their portraits to feel natural and colorful without traveling far outside Bellevue.
It can also work with very different styles. A dress can create a softer, more elegant look among the gardens, while jeans or another casual outfit could give the same location an entirely different feel.
For Class of 2027 seniors planning photos this summer or fall, choosing a location with several different backgrounds can help create variety even during a shorter session. If you're deciding what to wear, my What to Wear for Senior Photos guide has tips for choosing outfits that photograph well while still feeling like you.
Short Graduation Sessions Can Still Tell a Story
These back to back sessions are also a great example of how much we can create in a relatively short amount of time.
One session lasted approximately 30 minutes, while the additional session was only about 15 minutes. By staying within the Yao Garden rather than trying to cover the entire Bellevue Botanical Garden, we were able to spend our time actually creating portraits instead of constantly moving between locations.
The result included traditional graduation portraits, photographs without the cap and gown, meaningful personal details, movement, environmental portraits, and photographs of the best friends together.
Sometimes a smaller area with plenty of visual variety is all we need.
If you're preparing for your own graduation session, my How to Prepare for Your Graduation Photoshoot in Seattle, Tacoma & South King County guide covers what to bring and how to plan ahead so we can make the most of your photography time.
Planning Senior or Graduation Photos in Bellevue
Your senior or graduation photos should feel like more than simply checking another item off your graduation list.
Whether that means bringing something that represents your culture or family, celebrating alongside your best friend, choosing a location that fits your personality, or incorporating the people who helped you reach this milestone, there are plenty of ways to make your session personal.
The Bellevue Botanical Garden offers a beautiful alternative to traditional campus graduation photos and is also a great option for seniors looking for a natural portrait location on the Eastside.
If a classic college setting is more your style, you can also explore my University of Washington graduation photo location guide, which compares several of the UW locations I've photographed and the different looks each one offers.
I photograph senior and graduation sessions throughout Bellevue, Seattle, Tacoma, Kent, and the surrounding Puget Sound area, and I love helping each client plan photographs that reflect who they are rather than creating the exact same session for everyone.
If you're a Class of 2027 senior beginning to plan your senior photos or you're looking ahead to graduation portraits, I'd love to help you create a session that feels like you.
