Grad Photos Now Included in Every Tassel Package

We're announcing something we're really excited about: starting this month, photo delivery is built into every Tassel package. Schools still hire photographers by the hour, but graduates receive their photos with no watermarks, no packages, and nothing to buy.

Why we did this

Many schools receive graduation photography at no cost. Photography companies send a photographer to campus free of charge and manage the process from start to finish.

That arrangement is funded by the graduates. These companies recover their costs through high‑priced photo packages sold to students and families.

The results show how this plays out. Before partnering with Tassel, BYU Marriott School of Business worked with outside photography vendors. In 2025, fewer than 4% of students left the ceremony with professional photos, and the college lost nearly all of the content from one of the most meaningful days of the year.

Tassel saw an opportunity to build a better model, one that supports students now and benefits schools over the long term too.

Capturing their graduation and putting the photos directly into their hands has a much bigger impact than offering another add‑on for purchase. Students get a tangible memory of their day. The school gets another way to build a real, lasting connection with its newest alumni.

How it works

Schools hire independent photographers by the hour, just as they always have, and Tassel's software handles the rest.

1. Photographers upload to Tassel. Photographers shoot the ceremony as usual, then upload their photos to the Tassel platform.
2. Students claim their photos. Graduates verify their identity during registration and upload a selfie. Tassel's facial recognition software matches them to every ceremony photo they appear in and builds a personal gallery, typically within 48 hours. The selfie is used only to match a student to photos from their ceremony. It is not stored or repurposed, and the process is designed to meet FERPA, GDPR, and strict biometric privacy regulations.
3. Schools add general shots. Schools can also select a set number of general ceremony photos to include for every graduate, so even students who skip the selfie step still receive something to remember the day.

Graduates can download and share their photos right away, with no watermarks, no packages, and no cost.

Why it matters for students

Graduation comes with a long list of costs. Regalia, travel, tickets for family, and often a hotel for the weekend. By the time the big day arrives, many graduates and their families have already spent a lot, and professional photos are one more line item they have to decide whether to skip.

That decision usually isn't about how much the photos matter. When photos are sold in packages, the students who can afford them go home with a keepsake, and the rest rely on blurry phone shots from the stands. For a first‑generation graduate, or a family that traveled a long way to be there, those photos can be the one lasting record of the moment.

When photos are included, that choice goes away. Every graduate gets their ceremony photos at no cost to them, with no watermarks, no packages, and nothing to buy. They can download and share them within days, while the excitement is still fresh and the whole family is still talking about it.

Why it matters for schools

Graduation is one of the last big moments a school shares with a student before they become an alum. Putting those photos directly into their hands means more than offering another paid add‑on. It's a tangible memory with your school's name on it, and a warm start to the alumni relationship.

Additionally, when only a small fraction of graduates buy photos, only a small fraction of your branded graduation moments are ever shared. Free photos change that. Graduates who receive high‑quality photos quickly and at no cost are far more likely to post them, and every post puts your school's name, stage, and regalia in front of families, future students, and employers.

For a sense of scale, Tassel's estimate for a school with 2,000 graduates assumes four shares per graduate and 300 impressions per share. That comes to about 2.4 million impressions, worth roughly $19,200 in paid media at standard social rates. These are estimates built on industry averages, but they show how much reach sits behind a paywall today.

What's next

Free photos are included in all Tassel packages October 2026. Want to talk through how it would work for your commencement? Reach out to your dedicated success manager or Get a Demo.