The best places for graduation photos in Las Vegas
Every campus in the valley, plus the backdrops that make Las Vegas graduation photos unlike anywhere else — red sandstone desert, Strip landmarks, and the neon signs everyone recognizes. Quick sessions stay on campus; full sessions pair campus with one of the locations below.
Not sure which fits? Tell us your school, your ceremony date and whether family is joining, and we will build the route. Spring grads: April and May dates book out three to four weeks ahead — schedule your session for two to three weeks before commencement so the gallery is ready to share on the day.
Where to shoot at UNLV & beyond
Every Las Vegas graduation photographer says “campus spots.” Here are the actual ones, by name, in the order we usually shoot them. Knowing where the light lands at 5pm in May is the difference between a queue and a clean frame.
The UNLV letters at Alumni Amphitheater
The big red three-dimensional UNLV letters near the Student Union are the single most requested backdrop on campus, and the most contested on ceremony weekends. We shoot them early or late, never midday, and we have alternates ready when there is a line twelve deep.
The Flashlight, The Talisman & Pida Plaza
The Flashlight — the 38-foot Oldenburg sculpture between the Judy Bayley Theatre and Ham Concert Hall — is the most striking piece of public art on campus and photographs beautifully in low sun. The Talisman near the clock tower hides the letters U-N-L-V inside it. Valerie Pida Plaza and the Student Union courtyard give you cleaner, quieter options.
Lied Library, the Academic Mall & the Rose Garden
The Lied Library colonnade and the Academic Mall arcade are the classic architectural frames. The Lee Pascal Memorial Rose Garden at the north end of the mall is the one genuinely soft, green backdrop on campus. The Jerry Tarkanian monument outside the Thomas & Mack is worth a frame for anyone who grew up on Runnin’ Rebels basketball.
CSN, Nevada State, Roseman & Touro
CSN has three main campuses — Charleston, North Las Vegas and Henderson — each with its own character. Nevada State in Henderson even runs official self-serve grad photo stations. Roseman and Touro, both in Henderson, send large healthcare cohorts through every year and are underserved by photographers.
On permission, honestly: UNLV publishes a commercial filming and photography policy through its Office of Public Affairs, including a still-photography rate and a minimum two-week lead time for productions. What that policy does not spell out is whether an individual cap-and-gown portrait session falls under it — the language is broad, and there is no published exemption for personal portrait work. Rather than guess, we check before campus sessions and tell you where things stand. CSN and Nevada State publish no photography permit policy at all, which is not the same as saying none applies. Anyone who tells you flatly that no permission is ever needed has not read the policy.
One thing worth knowing regardless: you cannot hire your own photographer for the ceremony itself. UNLV and CSN both use an official ceremony vendor, and guests are asked to stay seated. Everything you actually want — the portraits, the cap toss, the shots with your family — happens at a session before or after the ceremony. That is the whole reason this exists.
The Sessions
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Session-day checklist
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Cords, stoles and the tassel
Regalia is the one thing every graduate is quietly unsure about, and nobody explains it. Five minutes here saves a session.
Stole, cord or sash?
A stole is the wide band worn over both shoulders — department, honour society or cultural. A cord is the twisted rope, almost always tied to honours or GPA. A sash usually marks culture or identity. If you have a stole and multiple cords, the stole goes on first and the cords lie over it, evenly split. Messy layering is the most common thing we fix on the day.
Get your cords before the session
This trips people up every year. At Nevada State, Latin honours cords are colour-coded — gold for summa, silver for magna, bronze for cum laude — and some partnership-programme cords are not handed out until commencement day. CSN 4.0 honourees collect theirs at a pre-ceremony check-in. If you want your cords in the photographs, confirm pickup timing before we book the date.
Steam it, do not iron it
Gowns ship folded and arrive creased. Hang yours 24 to 48 hours ahead and steam it — an iron will melt the fabric. This single tip has saved more sets of photographs than any lens I own. Doctoral candidates: UNLV requires the scarlet and gray gown and academic regalia needs roughly eight weeks to order, so that decision happens long before the shoot.
And the one that actually sets your date: rented regalia usually has to go back straight after the ceremony. If you want cap-and-gown portraits, they have to happen before you walk. Book the session for the week or two before commencement, not after — by then the gown belongs to someone else.
Nursing and healthcare grads: the pinning ceremony and commencement are two separate events with two different looks. Scrubs with the stole, stethoscope and badge shoot completely differently from full regalia, and most people want both. Say so when you book and we will build the time in.
Las Vegas graduation photos, answered
The Las Vegas graduation calendar
Nearly every ceremony in this valley happens at the Thomas & Mack Center or the Orleans Arena, inside a handful of compressed weeks. Sessions have to be booked backwards from those dates, and the good slots go first. Dates below are the ones the schools have published; we confirm yours when you book.
Right now · senior portrait season
August through October is high school senior portrait season, driven by yearbook deadlines rather than ceremonies. If you are a CCSD senior in the class of 2027, this is your window, and it is a completely different session from cap and gown — no regalia, more outfits, more location.
December 2026 · UNLV winter commencement
UNLV holds winter ceremonies on December 15 for graduate students and December 16 for undergraduates. Cap-and-gown sessions for December grads run through October and November, when the light is good and the campus is quiet. This is the least crowded time of year to shoot at the UNLV letters.
Spring 2027 · the compressed peak
UNLV graduate commencement falls on May 14, 2027 with undergraduates on May 15. CSN, Nevada State, Roseman and Touro publish their spring dates closer to the time, and CCSD high schools run their ceremonies across the last week of May. Nearly every college session in the city compresses into the four weeks beforehand.
When to actually book
Two to four weeks ahead is comfortable outside peak. For a spring ceremony, book in March or early April — that is when regalia becomes available and before the calendar closes. If you want a specific campus spot at golden hour on a ceremony weekend, that is a months-ahead conversation, not a weeks-ahead one.
We photograph graduates from UNLV, the College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State University, Roseman, Touro and every CCSD high school, across Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Summerlin, Paradise and Boulder City — on campus, at Red Rock Canyon, downtown or on the Strip. Nursing cohorts, doctoral hooding, law school, friend groups and whole families are all normal here.
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Group + family rates →Don't let the
moment pass.
Graduation season books fast. Lock in your date early — we shoot year-round across UNLV, CSN, Nevada State, and beyond.