Cap and Gown Mini Sessions in Hazard, Pikeville, Hindman, Jackson KY: One Last Portrait Where It All Began

You’ve pictured this moment for years. Now the cap and gown are yours, graduation is getting closer, and suddenly the school you’ve walked into a thousand times means a little more.

Before you walk across that stage, let’s make time to remember where you started—and celebrate who you’ve become.

Every spring, I offer cap and gown mini sessions for seniors throughout Eastern Kentucky, including my original Cap and Gown Mini at Hazard High School. I’ll meet you at your school so we can create graduation portraits with a setting that is already part of your story.

Your School. Your Story. Your Graduation Moment.

There’s something special about photographing a senior at their own school. Those familiar surroundings hold years of friendships, hard work, big wins, and everyday moments you probably didn’t realize you would miss.

For Hazard High School seniors, a cap and gown session brings this chapter home. You’re celebrating your graduation in a place that helped shape you—and giving your family photographs that will mean even more as the years pass.

The cap and gown mark the milestone. You bring the personality.

A Mini Session That Still Feels Like You

Graduation portraits can have personality, movement, and a little attitude! We can create a beautiful portrait your mom will treasure and make room for the smile, confidence, and excitement that feel completely yours.

I’ll guide you through posing and help with the little details, so you can relax and enjoy your moment. You don’t need to arrive knowing what to do in front of the camera.

Bring your cap, gown, tassel, and any graduation honors you want included. Wear something underneath that makes you feel great, and we’ll let your personality lead the rest.

Available to Seniors from Every School

While Hazard High School is a special focus for these sessions, my spring cap and gown minis are open to seniors from all schools.

Whether I photographed your full senior session or this is our first time working together, you are welcome. If you’d love portraits at your own school, reach out so we can discuss the location and coordinate access.

These sessions are a beautiful finishing touch to your senior year—and a chance to celebrate just how far you’ve come.

Give This Chapter a Place in Your Home

One day, that cap and gown will be packed away. Your graduation portraits deserve a place where you can keep enjoying them.

A framed portrait on the wall or a photograph displayed beside your earlier school pictures tells a story a camera roll simply can’t tell in the same way. For parents, that little face from the first day of school is still there. Now there’s a graduate looking back.

That’s worth remembering beautifully.

Plan Your Spring Cap and Gown Mini

As soon as you know when your cap and gown will arrive, reach out to start planning. We can discuss spring availability, your school location, and the details for your session.

Hazard High School seniors—and seniors throughout Eastern Kentucky—let’s celebrate this last chapter before your next one begins.

Contact Suzanne Deaton Photography to inquire about spring cap and gown mini sessions.

The Perfect Dress for Your Cap and Gown Pictures

The cap and gown may make it official, but what you wear underneath is part of the fun!

So many of my senior girls arrive with a new spring dress they’ve picked especially for their graduation portraits. White is always a favorite—it feels fresh, timeless, and beautiful beneath so many different gown colors. Other girls choose a dress that matches their school colors, bringing the whole look together in a way that feels personal.

My advice? Choose something you love wearing. Think about how it looks with your gown open, how it feels when you sit, and whether you can move comfortably. Bring your dress along with your graduation pieces so we can create portraits with and without the gown.

You’ve spent years getting to this moment. You absolutely get to dress for it.

The Perfect Shoes Deserve Their Own Moment

Can we please talk about the shoes?

I have seen some AMAZING shoes at cap and gown sessions! My girls put real thought into finding that perfect pair, and I love seeing what they choose. Under a long graduation gown, those shoes can be the detail that makes the entire outfit pop.

Maybe you love a classic heel with your white dress. Maybe your shoes bring in your school colors. Maybe you found a pair so fabulous that we need to build a photograph around them. Maybe you have danced your whole life and want to bring your toe shoes and be en pointe for your cap and gown, whatever the shoe . . . I am here for it.

Bring the shoes you’re excited about, and let’s give them their moment. A full-length portrait shows how everything comes together, while a closer detail photograph lets us remember the pair you shopped so hard to find.

One practical tip: pack comfortable shoes for walking between spots, especially if we’re photographing around your school. You can slip into your portrait shoes when we’re ready.

A Graduation Cap That Says Something About You

Your decorated graduation cap can tell a story all its own.

A favorite quote. A Bible verse that has carried you through. A few words about your future. Something heartfelt, funny, or completely your own.

I love photographing these details because they give us a glimpse of who you are at this exact point in your life—what you believe, what matters to you, and what you’re carrying into your next chapter.

If you’re decorating your cap for graduation, bring it! We’ll make time for photographs that show the design clearly, along with portraits of you wearing or holding it.

And if you’re leaving your cap undecorated, that’s beautiful, too. There’s something timeless about the simple cap, tassel, and gown.

Bring Every Color, Cord, and Accomplishment

One of my favorite things about welcoming seniors from across Eastern Kentucky is seeing all those beautiful school colors together in their portraits.

Your gown, stole or sash, honor cords, medals, and tassel are part of your graduation story. Bring every piece you want photographed—even if you’re unsure how it all goes together. We’ll take a moment to straighten everything and make sure the details can be seen.

Those cords and honors represent work that happened long before picture day. They deserve a place in these photographs.

Before your session, take your gown out of its packaging and follow its care instructions to help release the wrinkles. Hang it up and bring it on a hanger so it arrives ready for its close-up.

Your Cap and Gown Session Packing List

Before you head out, gather:

• Your spring dress or chosen outfit.

• Your portrait shoes and a comfortable pair for walking.

• Your cap and gown.

• Your tassel.

• Any stoles, sashes, honor cords, or medals.

• Any small touch-up essentials you’d like to have nearby.

Try everything on together beforehand, including your shoes. Then you can arrive feeling prepared and excited.

One Last Celebration Before What Comes Next

Welcoming my senior girls back for cap and gown portraits is such a sweet way to finish their senior year. I get to see the outfits they’ve planned, the honors they’ve earned, and the excitement of everything coming next.

And if we haven’t worked together before, I would love to celebrate with you, too.

My spring cap and gown mini sessions are open to seniors from schools throughout Eastern Kentucky including Leslie, Knott, Letcher, Perry, Breathitt,  Floyd Central, Pikeville, Prestonsburg, Johnson Central, Paintsville and Hazard High Schools. We can discuss meeting at Hazard High School, coordinating a session at your school, or choosing another location that fits your plans.

These sessions also make meaningful Christmas gifts for seniors—a spring celebration to look forward to as graduation gets closer.

Reach out to Suzanne Deaton Photography to inquire about spring availability and plan your cap and gown mini. Bring the dress, bring those fabulous shoes, and let’s celebrate you.

Sparklers, Streamers, Balloons, Glitter and MORE PROPS!

Want to bring a little extra celebration to your cap and gown mini? Let’s talk props! Sparklers, streamers, glitter, and balloons can add movement, color, and personality to your graduation portraits. And if being the school mascot was part of your senior story, bring that uniform—we absolutely need to remember that chapter! Send me your ideas beforehand so we can plan what works for your location, check any school rules, and keep the celebration easy to clean up.