Best places for graduation photos in Auckland

The Wintergarden's formal courtyard, with its ponds and glasshouses, gives a gown enough gravity to stand out against the manicured hedges. The wide lawns just outside have plenty of room for the whole group in gowns to line up for one shot.

For graduation photos: a campus-adjacent backdrop that reads academic.

The memorial's formal, sunken gardens give a gown the kind of symmetry that photographs well from above the harbor. The lawns run flat and wide enough around it to line up an entire group in gowns without anyone standing on uneven ground.

For graduation photos: room for the cap toss and the reaction.

The summit lays the whole city and harbor out behind a gown, though the steep slopes push a full group shot back to the flatter ground near the rim. It's a walk up from the parking at the base, so build that climb into the timing.

For graduation photos: a setting that suits regalia without competing with it.

The Sky Tower and marina skyline give a gown a properly urban, formal backdrop rather than the usual campus lawn. The boardwalks run flat and wide enough to hold a full group in gowns in one line without anyone stepping into the water.

For graduation photos: space for family to gather after the solo frames.

The summit's full circle of harbor, city skyline and gulf islands gives a gown a backdrop with genuine scale and formality. The slopes are steep enough that a bigger group in gowns is better arranged near the top's flatter ground than strung out along the path.

For graduation photos: clean architecture behind a gown and hood.

The stone ClockTower, faced in Mount Somers stone, gives a gown the kind of formal, institutional backdrop that needs no explanation. It's the spot everyone wants that same week each year, so a weekend once classes clear out keeps the lawns clearer.

For graduation photos: somewhere the colours of the regalia stand out.