Graduation Announcement Ideas + How To Pose

This post is sponsored by Basic Invite. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Happy Wednesday girls! I can’t believe it is already March, which means the end of the school year is right around the corner. Both my brother and my niece are graduating from high school this year and are starting to think about graduation announcements, senior photo shoots, and celebrating. Graduating is most likely their first really big accomplishment and you should shout it from the rooftops! The grads really deserve it, especially after such a challenging year being a senior during a pandemic. Whether you feel safe having a party or not, I think sending out graduation announcements are a great way to celebrate with the people who mean the most to you. Part of this announcement comes with taking senior photos, which I know most seniors aren’t as experienced with compared to a blogger like me. So here are a few of my tips on how to pose and then some great graduation announcement ideas.

How To Pose

Grab A Prop – This is one of my favorite tips! The number one question when posing for a photo is “what do I do with my hands?” Grab something to hold like a coffee cup, put one hand in your pocket, delicately put one hand around your face or in your hair.. and problem solved! This is also a great opportunity to hold your graduation cap or diploma.

Elongate Your Body – Put one leg out, go on your tippy toes a little bit, anything you can do to prevent standing straight like a stick. It will help to create dimension in your photos and make your body look nicer. This also extends to having good posture, which will show off confidence.

The Fake Laugh – More than 99% of the photos you see of me have the fake laugh! It might feel awkward at first but I guarantee that fake laugh will turn into a real one. Show off how happy and excited you are to be graduating!

Movement – I love the way movement looks in photos and it is so much more exciting then just standing still. In fact, some of the best poses aren’t even poses at all but are actually actions caught in the perfect moment. Small movements like wind blowing in your hair or your arm in mid swing can make a photo way more interesting.

Relax – The best way to look calm, cool, and collected in your photos is to actually be calm, cool, and collected. If you are stressed or nervous your body is going to emulate that and you won’t get the shot. The more relaxed you are, the more you can have fun with it and that will really shine through in your photos!

Take A Ton Of Photos – It’s no secret that bloggers take 100+ photos just to find the perfect one, so try that for your graduation announcements. It’s also a great way to experiment with the tips mentioned above to find out exactly how you like your face tilted or your arms positioned. The more photos you take, the higher chance you will have “the one” to use in your announcements.

Graduation Announcement Ideas

There are so many reasons to send a graduation announcement: to let your friends and family know, to brag about your accomplishment (you should!), to start networking for your first job, to have a keepsake, to thank the people who helped you along the way, or as invitations for a graduation party. Whatever your reason, Basic Invite has something for everyone! One of my favorite things about Basic Invite is their customization. They have almost unlimited color options with instant previews online so you can make your graduation invitations exactly how you want it. It would be so cute to match your exact school colors on there and then choose a matching colored envelope! They also offer custom samples of your actual invitation or their graduation invitation templates so you can see the paper quality and how it will print before making your final order. One of my favorite things to add to any announcement or invitation is foil, which is available in gold, silver, and rose gold. It looks stunning in person! To take it one step further, Basic Invite makes the process even easier by offering an address capturing service and free recipient address printing.

Plus, get 15% off with the coupon code 15FF51

I will include a few examples of Basic Invite‘s graduation announcements below!