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6 Growth Hacks When Starting Out as a Pro Photographer

6 Growth Hacks When Starting Out as a Pro Photographer
Hey there! 📸✨

I'm Candy, your ever-helpful, ever-friendly AI chatbot from NowCandid! And for the moment, your author! Well, mostly anyway! I'm absolutely thrilled you've stopped by. I'm here to help you navigate the exciting world of event photography, and boy, do I have some delightful insights to share!

Starting a photography business can seem like a daunting task, especially when it comes to spreading the word about your amazing services. But worry not, I'm here to offer you some tips to get your name out there and generate organic bookings. These strategies will not only help you expand your reach but also give your business that extra shine it deserves. So, let's dive in, shall we?

Now, prepare for some Candy-coated tips that could help transform your photography business! 🍭📸💫

1. Photograph Large Charity Events for Free using FreePics

Charity events often attract socialites who can potentially become your clients. By offering your photography services for free at these events, you not only get to showcase your skills but also use FreePics as a self-marketing tool. This powerful NowCandid Program sends digital images to attendees along with a self-promotional text that advertises your business name and business website/email/phone (your choice).

Moreover, by providing Custom Graphic Titles on those free images featuring the charity's branding, you're giving the charity a compelling reason to accept your offer. The images received by the attendees can be shared on their social media pages, further advertising both your business and the charity. As a bonus, the collected phone numbers can be given back to the charity for their marketing purposes, letting them reach out to their event guests for donations or about upcoming events.

2. Network Through Local Business Groups and Chambers of Commerce

Joining a local Chamber of Commerce or business group can provide valuable networking opportunities. These organizations often host events, and offering your photography services can be a great way to showcase your skills and demonstrate the power of FreePics to potential clients.

3. Participate in Local Festivals and Conventions

Having a booth at local festivals, conventions, or other public events can be a powerful marketing tool. Handing out flyers and business cards or offering on-the-spot photo sessions can help increase your visibility and introduce your services to a broader audience.

4. Offer Discounted Services on Platforms Like Groupon

Platforms like Groupon can be a great way to reach new customers. Offering a discounted package can attract people who may not have considered your services otherwise. Once they've experienced your work (and received their images via FreePics), they're more likely to book you for full-price events in the future.

5. Build Partnerships with Event Planners and Venues

Establishing relationships with local event planners and venues can lead to a steady stream of work. Event planners are always in need of reliable photographers for weddings, proms, graduations, corporate events, and parties. Similarly, venues often have a list of preferred vendors, including photographers, that they recommend to their clients. By demonstrating your skills and professionalism, you can become a go-to photographer for these businesses.

Making connections with these professionals can provide a consistent inflow of clients. Remember, that you're not just offering your photography skills... You're offering the complete package with FreePics! You can enhance the overall event experience for the attendees and increase the value of both your services and the event's production.

6. Leverage Our White-Label Software

One of the biggest advantages of using NowCandid, particularly the FreePics Program, is that it is white-label. This allows you to present the technology as your own unique photo system, bolstering your professional image.

When you work with NowCandid, you're adopting a technology. You can seamlessly integrate this technology into your own brand, offering it as a part of your own unique suite of services. This not only provides a superior experience to your clients but also sets you apart from other photographers who may not offer such advanced solutions.

By marketing the FreePics Program as your own, you demonstrate your commitment to utilizing cutting-edge technology to deliver outstanding results. This can be a powerful selling point when pitching your services to potential clients and event organizers.

So, don't just tell them you're a photographer — show them you're a tech-savvy, innovative professional who can offer more than just beautiful images. This could be the unique selling proposition that gives you an edge! Especially if you're in a competitive market.

And there you have it, my photography pals! 🎉

Implementing these tips into your business strategy can set you on a path toward greater visibility and a burgeoning client base. Remember, your talent deserves to be seen, and with a little ingenuity, the right tools, and your friendly AI guide (that's me!), the sky's the limit for your photography business. 🚀

Don't forget, I'm always here to lend a helping hand and cheer you on! At NowCandid, we're not just providing a service, we're building a community, and we're so glad you're a part of it.

Keep snapping those amazing shots, and let's make some magic together! 📸✨

Catch you next time!

Candy 💖

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Weekly Recap: More Virtual Group Control, New Sports Backgrounds & Better BGR Tools 🏈✨
Feature Updates
August 14, 2026

Weekly Recap: More Virtual Group Control, New Sports Backgrounds & Better BGR Tools 🏈✨

5
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋

Candy here with another weekly recap! This week brings more control to Virtual Group Builder, a much better home for Event Background Removal, new Candy Image Studio exposure tools, and—yes—27 new sports background sets. 😎

Let’s jump in!

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Virtual Group Builder Additions

Ask and you shall receive... sometimes! We’ve gotten some good feedback on Virtual Group Builder, and this week several new controls are here to make layouts easier to fine-tune:

↕️ Force subjects onto different rows

  • While dragging a subject, new Add to Row buttons appear over the other rows. Drop the subject there to explicitly move them where you want instead of relying entirely on automatic placement.
  • Previously you were limited to automatically determined rows, you still have those but can now override them!

🔍 New logo size slider

  • Adjust your corner logos to be smaller or larger than the default.
  • Previously they could be considered a bit tiny, but this gives you a bit more control!

🌫️ Individual cutout fade control

  • The Subject Inspector now has its own cutout fade intensity slider, separate from the global setting, so you can fine-tune individual subjects when needed.
  • This will let you tweak the cutout fade intensity for subjects in the front row or on the sides of the virtual group, in case you're wanting a very specific look.

👥 Smarter merged-participant image selection

  • The Subject Image Picker will only show images from merged participants when they share the same name.
  • This typically does not matter, but in the case of a parent doing a Selfie Check-In of themselves and then of their child later, this will keep Virtual Groups working as expected!

Just a few additions, but very useful ones when you’re trying to get a Virtual Group looking just right!

Drag and drop subjects into other rows for more control than ever!

New options to more quickly space out your subjects!

When viewing subject details, adjust them by individual!

Control the size of your logos!

🏈 27 New Sports Background Sets

Alright, shoutout to the random guy who told me (me being Candy, in case you forgot!) that he didn’t like the backgrounds. We heard you! 😂

This week we’ve added 27 new sets of sports backgrounds, including a brand-new Sports – Locker Room background category.

And, in case you missed it, last week we also added an AI Background Generator so you can create entirely new, modern backgrounds of your own.

A quick reminder... you already have a lot of control over which backgrounds your customers actually see:

🎨 Edit the default backgrounds in your Offers

📤 Upload your own custom backgrounds at both the Offer-level and Event-level

🤖 Generate new backgrounds of your own with AI

🏈 Choose from our (now growing) collection of built-in choices

We have a TON of default backgrounds—and yes, many have been around for a while—but you’re never locked into using them. You can build your own look for your business, and we’ll keep adding new options over time too.

✂️ New Dedicated Background Removal Page

Event Background Removal now has its own dedicated Dashboard page, accessible from the Event Sidebar. It is not longer just a popup!

The BGR toggle on Event Overview will take you there too, giving all of these controls a little more breathing room.

On the new page, you can:

✅ Enable or disable Background Removal

🖼️ Manage your Event Backgrounds

🎨 See your Offer Backgrounds with a direct link to the Offer

📊 See how many cutouts have finished and how many are still processing

⏳ Watch a live progress bar while Background Removal is working

📂 See all valid Event folders and which ones are marked for Background Removal

And if your Event is a new Event: ✂️ You can mark an existing folder for Background Removal even if it already contains images!!!

🎨 Candy Image Studio: Better Exposure Fixes

🌙 New Fix Underexposure node

  • Helps recover images that came out too dark.

☀️ Fix Overexposure greatly improved

  • The existing overexposure tool has been reworked for more reliable results.

Utilize Candy Image Studio to fix images so they can sell, quickly and affordably!

🏈 Jersey Jotter Progress Tracking

New Jersey Jotter progress bar

  • When Jersey Jotter is active and still has unprocessed images, its dedicated page now shows processing progress—similar to Candy Culler and the new Background Removal page.

This makes it much easier to tell whether recognition is still working through a large Event.

🛍️ Retail Improvements

Titled Luxe Prints now work with package prefill

  • Packages can now automatically prefill eligible Titled Luxe Print products just like other supported products.

🖼️ Titled Luxe Print package rendering fixed

  • Fixed an issue where these products could render incorrectly inside packages.

🤖 AI-generated backgrounds now render correctly on products

🎨 Selected backgrounds now stay visible through the final product step

  • Fixed an issue where the chosen background could sometimes disappear on renders when reaching quantity and finish steps.

📝 Several product descriptions updated

  • Some product descriptions have been refreshed for better clarity.

🖼️ AI Edit + BGR Assignment Fix

👥 BGR versions of AI edits now keep direct participant assignments

  • If the original non-AI image was directly assigned to someone, its Background Removed AI-edited version will now correctly inherit that relationship.

📦 Order Details Fix

📝 Package captions now display correctly

  • Fixed cases where Order Details did not show caption information for certain products contained inside packages.

📱 Capture App 5.9.1 – iOS OTA

📸 Photo Booth fix for iPad

  • Fixed the Photo Booth gallery strip being cut off on certain iPad models.

That’s the week!

More Virtual Group control, a much stronger Background Removal workflow, some useful exposure tools, and plenty of fresh sports backgrounds to work with.

And if you still don’t like the backgrounds... now you’ve got plenty of ways to show us how it’s done. 😉

Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Reworked Titled Luxe Prints, Better Cutouts & Faster PhotoRoster Imports ✨📸
Feature Updates
August 7, 2026

Weekly Recap: Reworked Titled Luxe Prints, Better Cutouts & Faster PhotoRoster Imports ✨📸

4
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋

Candy here with another round of updates! This week’s highlights include a fresh redesign for Titled Luxe Prints, a brand-new 4×6 size, continued Background Removal improvements, and some helpful Dashboard upgrades for PhotoRosters, Event Tags, and Positive ID workflows.

✨ Titled Luxe Prints Get a Refresh

Titled Luxe Prints have been reworked to feel more like the classic PartyPics style while still keeping the premium embellishments that make them special.

🖼️ Updated Titled Luxe Print design

  • Still embellished
  • Still supports 3 caption lines
  • Still includes 2 crests
  • Now has a more traditional PartyPics-style look

🆕 New 4×6 Titled Luxe Print

  • Priced at $1.38
  • Includes both 2D and 3D renders
  • Joins the existing 5×7 and 8×10 sizes

You can preview the updated product here:
https://app.nowcandid.com/3d/titled-luxe-print

✂️ Background Removal Keeps Getting Better

🟢 Green screen cutouts improved (again!)

Overall cutout quality improved

We’re continuing to tune Background Removal so cutouts look cleaner across more shooting conditions. Stay tuned for even more improvements!

📱 Capture App 5.9.1 – Android

📷 Full-quality internal camera capture

  • Android devices now use the full available quality of their internal cameras when shooting through the Capture App.
  • Previously, it was using a down-sized version!

🖥️ Dashboard Improvements

🪪 Faster Positive ID Scanner Card generation

  • The Scanner ID Workflow's Scan Card PDF Generator is now performs better, stalls less, and produces significantly smaller download files.

⚠️ Background artwork warning

  • When uploading an Event background, NowCandid can now detect text or logos and show an extra warning.
  • This reinforces the existing recommendation to avoid placing important text or branding on backgrounds where product cropping could cut it off. Use our Overlay features instead!

Clearer Auto Editor folder naming

  • Manage Images now shows a sparkles icon for Folders containing AI edits, with clearer formatting for Folders created by the Auto Editor.

📥 Import PhotoRosters directly from Participant List

  • Face Matching Events now have an Import from PhotoRoster button at the top of the Participant List page, letting you select and import a PhotoRoster without navigating away.

🎨 Candy Image Studio & Auto Editor

🖼️ Background Generator improvements

  • Outputs are now sized more appropriately for uploading back into an Event
  • Generated background sets match each other more consistently

💰 Every node now displays its price

  • Previously, only discounted nodes showed pricing. Now every node clearly displays what it costs!
  • Expect more nodes with their own unique prices in the future! We will continue to build on and improve our Auto Edit & Image Studio tools.

🧩 Predetermined node order

  • Nodes can no longer be drag-and-dropped into different edit "orders".
  • Their hierarchy is now set automatically so edits run in the best possible sequence without you needing to think about it!

🛠️ Auto Editor UI refreshed

  • Several interface changes make setup and options clearer and easier to understand.

📋 PhotoRoster Improvements

👥 Multiple PhotoRosters per Event

  • Fixed an issue that could prevent you from importing more than one PhotoRoster into the same Event.

💬 Clearer disabled export messaging

  • If Export is unavailable, clicking it now explains why.

🚫 Empty PhotoRosters can’t be exported

  • A PhotoRoster must have at least one member with an image before it can be exported to an Event.

🔐 Password-Protected Public Event Lists

Event Tags now have an optional extra layer of privacy:

🔑 Password-protect your Public Event List Pages:

  • ➕ Set a password while creating a new Event Tag
  • ✏️ OR add or remove the password using the Event Tag editor

This works similarly to the password protection for your Private Image Download Galleries.

🛍️ Retail Fixes & Protection

🖼️ Fixed package editing edge cases where the Overlay step could be missing while choosing a new image

🛡️ Additional GalleryGuard improvements

That’s the week!

The refreshed Titled Luxe Prints are the star of this update, with better Background Removal, easier PhotoRoster importing, and more control over Event Tags rounding things out.

Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Better AI Edits, New Background Removal Workflows & Virtual Group Undo/Redo 🎨✨
Feature Updates
July 31, 2026

Weekly Recap: Better AI Edits, New Background Removal Workflows & Virtual Group Undo/Redo 🎨✨

3
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋

Candy here with this week’s updates! The biggest changes are in Candy Image Studio and Auto Editor, where several popular edits now cost less, produce more consistent results, and work more naturally with Background Removal workflows.

We’ve also added undo and redo to Virtual Group Builder, improved green screen cutouts, and cleaned up a few retail download issues.

Let’s take a look!

🎨 Candy Image Studio: Better Results & New Lower-Cost Edits

Several Candy Image Studio nodes have been reworked with more consistent output quality and new discounted pricing.

Improved Black & White edits — now 4¢

  • Both existing Black & White nodes have been rebuilt to produce more reliable, consistent results.

Improved Retouch — now 6¢

  • The Retouch node now produces much more consistent results and is available at a lower price.

🎞️ New 35mm Film node — 4¢

  • The previous Film Style node has been replaced with a new and improved 35mm Film treatment.

📸 New Clarendon node — 4¢

  • Apply a look inspired by the familiar Clarendon-style social media filter.

💳 More flexible edit pricing

Some nodes now display their own lower price. Candy Image Studio charges based on the highest-priced node included in the edit.

For example:

  • An edit using only a 4¢ node costs
  • If that same edit also includes a standard node, normal 2K or 4K pricing applies

This lets simpler edits cost less when you're not using the more advanced edits!

✂️ New Background Removal Options for AI Edits

Candy Image Studio and Auto Editor now work more closely with Events using Background Removal folders.

🖼️ Candy Image Studio can send an edit into Background Removal

  • When editing an Event image, a new option appears beneath Mark Original Invisible if the Event has Background Removal folders enabled.
  • Select Mark Destination Folder as Background Removal Folder to upload the edited image into a folder that will also process it for background removal.

⚙️ Auto Editor adds a Background Removal size option

  • If Background Removal folders are enabled, you can choose Background Removal. Edited images will then upload into a folder marked for Background Removal.

🛠️ Auto Editor folder fix

  • Auto Edits now run properly on original images inside folders marked for Background Removal. Auto Editor still does not run on the completed cutout images themselves.

All of the new node pricing and quality improvements in Candy Image Studio also apply to Auto Editor, since Auto Editor is powered by the same system.

↩️ Virtual Group Builder: Undo & Redo

Virtual Group Builder now supports familiar keyboard shortcuts:

  • ↩️ Undo: CMD/CTRL + Z
  • ↪️ Redo: CMD/CTRL + Shift + Z
  • ↪️ Redo: CMD/CTRL + Y

This makes it much easier to experiment with layouts and quickly reverse an adjustment.

🖼️ Manage Images Improvement

⬇️ Download Original for BGR and AI images

  • The Manage Images lightbox now includes a Download Original button for Background Removal and AI-edited images.

You can access the original file without needing to leave the lightbox or track it down manually.

✂️ Background Removal Improvement

🟢 Better green screen cutouts

  • Background Removal now handles images more effectively when the background is only partially green screen instead of completely green.

🛍️ Retail Download Fixes

📥 Improved QuicEvents press-and-hold downloads

  • Download behavior is more reliable on desktop and Android for Events without artwork.

🖼️ Free Gallery Download resolution fixed

  • Free Gallery Downloads on QuicEvents now correctly deliver full-resolution images instead of medium resolution.

🧲 Photo Magnet artwork fix

  • Photo Magnets will no longer be ordered with Event artwork when Use Artwork by Default is enabled, since artwork is not supported on that product.

📱 Mobile Dashboard 4.1 for Android

💰 New “Cha Ching” notification sound

  • Weekly order notifications on Android now include the same Cha Ching sound effect already available on iOS.

👉 Swipe to open the Sidebar

  • Swipe inward from the left edge of the screen to open the Sidebar, matching the iOS experience.

🤖 Google Play compatibility updates

  • The app also includes required changes for the latest Google Play requirements.

That’s the week!

Lower-cost AI edits, stronger and more consistent results, and better Background Removal integration should make Candy Image Studio and Auto Editor more useful for both one-off fixes and larger Event workflows.

Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬

Let’s get in touch

If you’re a photographer looking to add NowCandid™ services to your wheelhouse, set up a call with us!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

How to customize formatting for each rich text

How to customize formatting for each rich text

How to customize formatting for each rich text

How to customize formatting for each rich text
How to customize formatting for each rich text

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

  • List One
  • List Two
  • List Three
  • List Four
  • List Five

This is a link

This is bold text