Graduation. It's a monumental time in anyone's life and deserves some memorable photographs to mark the occasion. Here are some tips to help you photograph graduations so you will have amazing photos to cherish for years to come.

Keep in mind all of the events on this day so you won't let any pass by without a great photo. From dressing in their cap and gown, to walking across the stage, to throwing their cap in the air, and finally the joyous celebration with family and friends after the formalities. 

Have your camera ready and know your equipment

Nothing is worse than being at a once in a lifetime event and you run out of batteries or your memory card fills up too quickly limiting the number of photos you can take. Be sure to check your equipment beforehand to avoid these problems.

Spare batteries, an extra memory card, and a longer telephoto lens if you are using a Digital SLR should be in your camera bag and ready to go. If you are using a compact digital camera, make sure you are familiar with the zoom lens and the camera's settings to you can get the best photos of the day.

Capture the emotion of the day in your photos

Graduation marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in someone's life. It is inevitable that emotions will run high on this day so be ready for smiles, hugs, tears of joy and tears from good-byes. Trying to photograph your graduate with family, friends, teachers and mentors on this day can yield more true emotion if you stand back and use your telephoto lens or zoom on your digital camera. If you are right in front of them, they will tend to pose for the camera so stand back a few feet and try to get the real emotions of the day.

This is a day to take a ton of photos

Any once in a lifetime event like a graduation deserves a lot of photos. Remember, you can always edit them later and delete what you don't want. Not having enough to pull together a scrapbook page or a facebook post would be a shame though so shoot away!

How far they have come

Try to find a photo of your grad from years back and recreate a similar pose on their graduation day. It's a fun way to show how far they have come.

Party, party, party

After the big day comes the big celebration. It's time to party so don't put the camera down. Photograph the after party since some of the most candid photos might come from this part of the day.

Something techy to think about

Since graduations happen this time of year the sun is usually pretty strong. Don't be afraid to turn your flash on and fill in the shadows with a little extra light. The on-camera flash on your Digital SLR or your compact camera can do a great job within 10-15 feet on a bright sunny day. If you've never tried this before, be sure you do a test at home with your camera around the time of day the graduation will take place so you can master this technique before the big day. It's easy and some of the cameras even have settings built in so you just tell the camera what you want and it'll take care of the techy stuff for you.