Tips for Cap and Gown shoots?

I've been taking a lot of cap and gown shoots and I wanted to know what you guys do to get different poses for models that are awkward. Here are some photos that I took recently.

She looks comfortable! I think poses are pretty similar no matter what hat people are wearing.

I always start my posing off with "let's just start with something comfortable for you, and I'll make tweaks as we go." Otherwise, I think I can see the fear in their eyes as I start to puppet them. I usually make tweaks to shift their weight, hand positions, etc. After I build a rapport, I'll start making suggestions about poses.

She is out of focus in both of these. Are you trying to manually focus or is it an AF failure?

In #1 there is no focus on anything.

In #2 it's on her hands.

For a cap and gown shoot, you should take the the "holding the scroll" pose - it's highly advisory to have this formal shot in the bag as it's the one that will go on the wall.

Throwing the cap in the air can look cool, but be careful if it's a rental item (and it usually is) - you don't want your client incurring a charge if it ends up in the muck.

I'd start with friends/group shots. This is an ice breaker to warm them up in front of the camera. This can be posed or photo journalistic style. Show some energy and get them excited about there special day!!

IrishK has a good point on throwing the cap..... I'll have to say I've suggested it and have not had angry rental companies charging $$$$ for damages.

Grab the parents/guardian or relatives and do the "boring" mandatory photos. The group shots and fun photos will be the memorable ones!!!

If you don't have fun and energy the photos will display it...... Get to know the grad and make the shoot special for them!!

If you're new at this, bang it off in ETTL and "P" Mode. When you see why your shots may have failed, correct from there.

Move up to 1/200th, ISO 100, f7.1~ f11 in manual. Flash on ETTL. You'll start to get the hang of it. Read the internet from top to bottom, do it again, then when you feel confident, go out and f&%ing annoy every photog in this forum. You're going to get nit-picky/hate-mail at some point, that means that you've made the big time! LOLOLOL.

It's all a learning curve. Enjoy the ride my friend!!