Durham, NC - The Class of 2013 was ready for its collective portrait Saturday evening. The only question was whether they would get a chance.

More than 1,700 first-year students gathered on the East Campus quad for what has become an annual tradition at Duke -- the taking of the class photograph by Duke University Photography.

Part of the charm of the event, said University Photography Director Chris Hildreth, is that it gives the new students an early opportunity to bond as a class.

"This is the last time they'll be together in one place as a class until graduation four years later," Hildreth said. "A couple of years ago we had a request from a couple of students for their old class photo because they were getting married, and they met at the class photo."

This year's assignment was different. Hildreth brought in special guests, including coaches David Cutcliffe, Mike Krzyzewski and Joanne McCallie, Undergraduate Education Dean Steve Nowicki and President Richard H. Brodhead, to get the students pumped up for the shoot. Nowicki and the three coaches handed out Duke t-shirts for the students to wear.

The other difference from past years was weather. Hildreth said he's had good luck avoiding rain in past years, but for much of the evening the shoot was in question. As sunset approached, so did rain clouds. At 7:57 p.m., Coach K directed the students to look up at a platform 50 feet in the sky where Brodhead and Hildreth were situated.

"I got off 15 shots and then the rain came," Hildreth said. "That's less than I normally took, but the result was the most dramatic class photo we ever took. We spent the evening watching the Doppler on our laptop and seeing the front come east right on top of us. We had a good sunset last year, but because of the storm system, we had the most dramatic and beautiful sunset ever."

Below, President Richard H. Brodhead and women's basketball coach Joanne P. McCallie distribute Duke t-shirts prior to the photo shoot. Photos by Duke University Photography