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Due to ongoing Tower renovations, students and photographers seek new spots for senior pictures

By Sarah Matthews

While customers at a Raising Cane’s in Pflugerville ate lunch, UT senior Faith Aguilar took her graduation photos.

Since her freshman year, Aguilar has worked at the restaurant in addition to being a full-time student. Wearing her Cane’s hat along with her stole, she posed for the camera in an area containing Longhorn memorabilia. 

As renovations to the historic UT Tower continue, both graduates and photographers are looking for new locations to shoot senior pictures.

Since late 2024, the ongoing restoration project, “Our Tower: The Next 100 Years,” has affected how students take graduation photos. While exterior restoration efforts have been underway, an email from Vice President for Student Affairs John Dalton noted increased scaffolding beginning this month. According to UT News, the work is expected to last through summer 2027, heavily impacting the classes of 2026 and 2027. 

As the Tower becomes less visible, graduation photographers like UT alumna Maddie Lindell are noticing more demand for photos. In January, she had six shoots in two weeks, a significant increase compared to her workload during fall 2025. 

“I was trying to market off of the tower closing soon, but now that they sent out the email saying to get your pictures done before January, I have had eight shoots this month,” Lindell said. 

In addition to more clients, photographers are editing more extensively than before to remove signs of scaffolding and construction. Lindell learned new techniques on Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects for thorough retouching, but now her editing process takes about two weeks per client. 

“I can see it becoming more and more of a time cost, and I do think that’s going to make prices skyrocket,” Lindell said. 

For clients who want pictures with the Tower, Lindell noted challenges getting the angles just right to avoid as much of the scaffolding as possible and shorten retouching times. 

“Last semester there was already construction, but I could get [the Tower] laying down or get creative,” Lindell said. “But the more recent ones I did, even from the lawn, you can still see the construction.”

To help students and photographers find alternative photo locations, UT Social Media Content Creator Bailey Evertson wrote an article with a visual guide of other iconic campus landmarks. 

“I just wanted to provide some spots that people could take photos and still capture that campus beauty without necessarily including the Tower,” Evertson said. 

Several locations she recommended include the Tower interior, Goldsmith Courtyard, The Canoes, and Battle Hall’s green doors. Evertson used her background as a graduation photographer to determine the photo spots. 

While it may be challenging to get photos with the Tower, Evertson emphasized the importance of shooting at places meaningful to the senior’s college experience. 

“I think that taking photos in a spot unique to you that maybe isn’t the cookie-cutter that everyone’s going to have is more important than having the quintessential photo that you’re looking to get,” Evertson said. 

Students like Aguilar are using the Tower construction as an opportunity for creativity, with her photo locations including the Perry-Castañeda Library, Littlefield Fountain, and Raising Cane’s. 

“I’ve been [at Raising Cane’s] for four years now, and I’ve spent a lot of time there, probably more time than I’ve spent at the Tower,” Aguilar said. 

While she enjoyed the experience and result, Aguilar highlighted students’ frustration and challenges about taking Tower photos during the project. 

“Anybody can take photos with a tree or flowers,” Aguilar said, “but not everybody gets to take graduation photos with the Tower.”

Despite the ongoing challenges, students in the upcoming classes may feel less connected to the Tower and continue to opt for unique locations. 

“I think [senior photos] are going to be more personalized,” Lindell said, “which I think is great because your photos are supposed to tell your story.”