Graduation photo background: the wall, the gown and the tassel

A graduation photo is a portrait with three awkward things in it: a gown that covers most of the body, a board that sticks out past the head, and a tassel that swings wherever it likes. The background has to cope with all three, and it usually has one more constraint that the photographer does not control, which is that somebody else, a school or a yearbook or a family frame, decides where the picture ends up. This guide covers what to ask first, how to choose a wall, how to frame the cap and tassel, and how to change a background that did not work without damaging the edges.

Say the limit first. getPNG removes a background. It does not know your school’s rules and it does not tell you whether a photo will be accepted. Those come from the people who asked for the picture. If a school, a photographer or a yearbook gave you instructions, they are the rule, and what follows is for the parts they left open.

Ask what the brief is before you choose a wall

Schools differ. Some collect a plain background in one colour so every portrait in a book matches. Some allow the family to choose. Some take the photograph themselves and give you no say at all. A form or an email usually states which, and the answer changes everything below.

• A colour is named. Use it, and match it as closely as you can. A page of portraits on slightly different greys looks careless, and the person assembling it will thank you.
• “Plain background” and nothing more. Pick a mid-tone, as set out below.
• An unedited photo is required. Then do not swap the background at all. Take it again against a wall that works.
• Nothing is said. Ask. A one-line reply from the school costs less than a photograph that cannot be used.

Choose the wall by contrast with the gown

The gown is the biggest shape in the picture, so it decides the background before your hair or skin does.

The hood, the stole and the cords matter too. A stole in the school colour sits against the shoulder, so a wall of that colour hides it. When in doubt, a mid grey separates from almost everything. The guide to the best headshot background colour compares grey, blue, white and black by hair colour and use, and the same logic carries over.

Standing and framing: the cap, the board and the tassel

The cap changes the shape of the head. The board is wider than the head and sits above it, and a camera framed for an ordinary portrait will clip its corners or leave no space at the top.

• Frame wider than you would for a normal portrait. Leave clear space above the board and on both sides. You can crop later; you cannot add edge that was never photographed.
• Decide where the tassel goes before you shoot. It hangs from the board, usually to one side. Move it so it falls over the shoulder or the front of the gown and does not cross the face, and check it has not twisted.
• Keep the board level. A cap that tilts back shows the forehead and makes the head look larger; one pulled forward shades the eyes. Look at the eyes in the first frame and adjust.
• Stand away from the wall. About a metre in front of it keeps your shadow off the surface and the wall slightly soft, which makes both the photograph and any later cutout easier.
• Face the window. Soft daylight from the front or a little to the side lights the face evenly. A board throws a shadow across the eyes in overhead light, so avoid a lamp directly above you.

Take several frames. Gowns settle, tassels move and eyes close, and the best frame is rarely the first.

The photos taken on the day

Most graduation pictures are not planned portraits. They are taken on a lawn, on the steps of a hall or in a crowded corridor, with relatives behind and a stranger walking through the frame. They are often the best expressions you will have, and they make poor formal portraits because of the background.

• Take a second frame for the record. After the family pictures, ask for one more with you against the plainest wall nearby, even a closed door or the side of a building. Thirty seconds on the day saves a long edit afterwards.
• Watch what sits behind the head. A pillar, a flagpole or a doorframe that appears to grow out of the cap is hard to cut out and distracting to keep. Move a step to the side and it separates.
• Mind the sun. Bright sun from behind puts a glowing rim on the hair and a dark face in front of it. Turn so the light falls on your face, or stand in open shade.
• Share the original. Ask whoever took it to send the file itself, not a screenshot of a chat, so the edge has real pixels to work with.

When the background is wrong: swap it

A photo taken in a hall, a corridor or a garden often has a busy background and an excellent expression. Putting a plain colour behind the person is quicker than a reshoot, and the steps keep the full resolution of the original.

1. Use the original file. A copy sent through a messaging app is smaller and more compressed, and the damage sits exactly at the edge of the hair and cap.
2. Drop it on getPNG and wait for the cutout. The edge is fitted to the full-size photo, so it follows your real hair rather than an enlarged mask.
3. Put a plain colour behind it. Try the colour the school asked for, or a mid grey, and shrink the preview to thumbnail size, which is how most people will see it.
4. Check the three hard edges in the compare view. Drag the divider slowly across them:
   • The board of the cap. A straight, hard edge, so a missing corner or a pale rim shows immediately. Pull a rim in with Edge shift, or take the old colour out of it with Clean edge colour.
   • The hair beside it. Fine hair on a contrasting colour carries a little of the old background. The soft pixels are kept soft, which is why it looks natural.
   • The tassel. Its threads are thin and semi-transparent, and a strand that was blurred into a busy background may be lost. Paint it back with the brush, or rub out any background the model kept.
5. Save for the destination. A JPG on the colour for a form or a book, a transparent PNG if somebody else will place you on a page.

An edited background is convincing when the edge, the light and the colour agree. A face lit by warm light on a cold blue wall looks pasted on even when the edge is perfect, so choose a warmer grey. If a swap still looks wrong after a couple of colours, take the photograph again against a better wall; it is the quickest fix.

A graduation portrait is a clear picture of a face, and most online background removers upload it to a server. getPNG processes it in the browser and it is never sent anywhere. The guide on whether it is safe to upload photos online compares what popular tools say in their own policies.

After the swap: the questions that decide whether it can be used

• Is an edited photo allowed? For a family frame, anything goes. For a school record, a yearbook or a licensed photographer’s proof, ask.
• Does it match the others? If your photo will sit beside other people’s, the background colour should match theirs. Ask for the hex value if it is a set colour.
• Is it the right shape? Schools often want a fixed crop. getPNG keeps your photo’s own dimensions and offers fixed canvas sizes for some uses, so do the exact crop in your editor or the form’s own tool.
• Is it big enough to print? A phone photo is plenty for a frame, and a cutout is saved at the size you started with. The guide to DPI explained shows how to count pixels against a print size.

A graduation photo is a record of one day. The background should be quiet enough that, years later, you look at the person and not the wall.

The steps, in short

1. Check what the school or photographer asks for. Read the instructions that came with the photo slot or the yearbook form. If a colour, a size or a plain background is stated, that is the brief.
2. Choose a plain wall that contrasts with the gown. Dark gown against a mid or light wall, pale gown against a mid or dark one. Avoid a wall close to the colour of the hood or stole.
3. Stand away from it and face the light. About a metre in front of the wall, facing a window, so your shadow does not fall on it and the face is lit evenly.
4. Frame the cap and tassel. Leave clear space above the board and to the side where the tassel hangs, and check that nothing is cut off.
5. Swap the background only if you need to. Drop the photo on getPNG, put a plain colour behind the cutout, and check the cap, hair and tassel in the compare view.

Questions

What is the best background colour for a graduation photo?

A plain, mid-tone one that contrasts with the gown. Mid grey or a muted blue separates from a black gown, from pale skin and from most hair colours. If your school or photographer names a colour, use that one, because a set of photos looks best when every background matches.

Should a graduation photo be taken against a white wall?

It can be, but white is the least forgiving choice. Pale gowns, light hair and white collars lose their outline against it, and any fault in an edited background shows at once. Use it when the school asks for it, and check the edges at full size.

How do I stop the tassel and the cap being cut off?

Frame wider than you think you need. The board of the cap sticks out past the head on every side and the tassel hangs below it, so leave clear space above and beside the head, and crop afterwards. A wide frame can be cropped; a tight one cannot be extended.

Can I change the background of my graduation photo?

Yes, as long as the school or the person publishing it allows an edited photo. The cap and the tassel are small shapes with a soft edge, so look at them in the compare view and fix anything with the brush before saving. Some schools and yearbooks want an unedited photo, which is a question for them.

Does the gown colour change which background I should pick?

Yes, more than almost anything else in the picture. The gown fills a large part of the frame, so choose the background by contrast with it first and with your hair second. A black gown on a black wall becomes one shape, and a white or cream gown on a white wall does the same.

Can I take a graduation photo at home?

Yes. A plain wall or a hung sheet, a window in front of you and someone holding the phone level at eye height is enough. Put on the gown and cap, check the tassel, and take several frames. If the wall is not plain, cut it out afterwards and put a colour behind you.