Ana’s Grad Portraits - CSUN Class of 2022

May 15

Ana was so fun and fabulous during her graduate portrait session, I just had to make an entire blog post about her.

Female CSUN graduate sitting in front of a red and pink rose garden. She is wearing a black lace blouse and black graduation cap and looking at the camera. Graduate portraits by Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of shooting Ana’s graduate portraits at California State University Northridge (CSUN). She’s a fellow born and raised Valley girl and was so fun to photograph. Her joyful energy was infectious and made my job so easy (and it didn’t even feel like a job. It felt like a laid-back photoshoot with a friend!) The shoot consisted of lots of confetti, the iconic CSUN orange grove (it’s been around since the 1940s), conversations about cats, and ended with us finding a turtle. Clearly, it was a perfect day.

Female CSUN grad posing in front of orange tree at the CSUN orange grove. She is holding her grad cap in her right hand. Graduate portrait shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN graduate posing in front of the CSUN spaghetti letters during golden hour. Graduate portrait shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN grad posing under orange tree at CSUN orange grove. She is putting her grad cap on. Graduate portrait shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior university college grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN grad posing with sparkling cider bottle while string confetti flies above her. She is smiling and holding the bottle like she is going to drink it. Graduate shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA

Female CSUN grad crossing street on campus holding her ca above her heard. She's smiling at camera and standing on one leg with the other bent. Grad shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college graduate CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Close up of letter board that says CSUN Class of 2022. Grad is holding the board over her feet. She is wearing shoes with photos of her cat.. Graduate photoshoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the shoes Ana wore during most of the shoot. They were custom made for her as a gift and feature her beloved cat, Jujubee, who has been by her side for more than 10 years.

Female CSUN grad blowing rainbow confetti towards camera during golden hour. The confetti is on the graduation cap she is holding. Graduate photos by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA

Female CSUN grad smiling at camera and holding black cap. Graduate portrait by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN grad sitting in front of red and pink rose bushes holding letter board that says CSUN Class of 2022. Graduate portraits by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN grad posing and looking a camera with red and pink rose bushes in front of her. Graduate portraits by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN grad holding cap against her face. She is leaning sideways and smiling at camera. Her curly purple hair has confetti stuck in it. Grad portraits by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior university college grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Before our shoot, Ana asked me if her sister and mom could accompany her. Of course, I said yes and let her know I would take some photos of her with her mom since the shoot was on Mother’s Day. They were all funny and friendly, so the fun sense of humor runs in the family. It’s always nice to see grads celebrating with their supportive families. Her mom wore the cap and gown a few times.

Female CSUN graduate and her mother posing at the turtle pond at CSUN. They are looking at each other and smiling. Graduate portrait shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN grad wearing black cap and gown posing with her mom in front of fountain at CSUN. They are hugging and grad is giving mom bunny ears. Grad portraits by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN graduate and her mom posing at the CSUN turtle pond. They are hugging and smiling at the camera. Graduate photo shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

We made sure to get a few shots in front of Sierra Tower. This was the part of campus where Ana spent the majority of her time since nearly all her classes took place here. We wanted to get some photos in the hallways, but the building was locked for the weekend.

Female CSUN graduate posing in front of Sierra Tower sign on campus. She is holding her cap above her head. Graduate photo shoot by photographer Giannina Fredo. Senior college school grads CSUN USC UCLA CSULA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN graduate posing in front of Sierra Tower sign on campus. She is putting her cap on her head. Graduate portraits by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA LMU MSMU

These confetti shots were one of my favorite parts of the session. I asked my assistant to throw some confetti in the air over Ana to make it look like “a light confetti snowfall.” I don’t know what possessed him to interpret that as “create a confetti blizzard”, but he threw so much that it pretty much made her disappear. We were all laughing so much and I kept thinking about how it looked like Fruity Pebbles. It got stuck in her hair and behind her glasses, so she ended up with rainbow freckles.

Female CSUN graduate posing in front of library. She is smiling and holding her cap above her head and is being covered with rainbow confetti. Graduation portraits by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA LMU MSMU

Female CSUN grad posing in front of library palm trees. She is smiling and holding her cap above her head with rainbow confetti in the air. Graduation portraits by photographer Giannina Fredo. university college grads CSUN USC UCLA LMU MSMU

Once the shoot was over and we started heading back to the parking lot, we found a turtle on the grass close to the main street. We took him back to the nearby turtle pond area so he could be safe and reunite with his friends… or maybe he was trying to run away and we ruined his plans. His name was Franklin in my mind.