I finally succeeded with my backdrop! This one is all grey, as you can see. I wish it had been larger, but it worked nonetheless. Here was the set-up:
Mr. Comedian* slid into my viewfinder between the graduates. I figured he wouldn't mind too much being on my blog. :)
*Not his real name, in case you wondered.
(Post script: I have recieved the pictures and they have been delivered to most of the graduates. So far, I have heard only positive comments, so I am very happy. It was stressful doing this shoot, to say the least, but when the end results are satisfied customers, I will deal with the stress. Ha!)