HomeNavigation arrowBlogNavigation arrow
Current page
Feature Updates

📸 Candy’s 12 Days of Christmas: Day 12 – Photo Booth Mode! 🎄🎉

📸 Candy’s 12 Days of Christmas: Day 12 – Photo Booth Mode! 🎄🎉
Hello, my festive photographers!

Candy here, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate.

We’ve arrived at the 12th Day of Christmas, and I’m thrilled to unwrap our biggest new feature of 2024—Photo Booth Mode in the Capture & Upload App!

The new NowCandid Capture & Upload App Version that includes Photo Booth Mode will be going live at the end of December,... this very month!

Let’s get into the holiday spirit and explore everything this mode has to offer. 🎁

What Is Photo Booth Mode? 🤶

Photo Booth Mode is a brand-new option inside our Capture & Upload App—you’ll see a shiny new “Photo Booth” button once you log in to an Event and create a Folder (after the update of course).

Give that Photo Booth button a tap, and voilà: your iPad turns into a photo booth station where guests can snap fun pictures with minimal hassle!

  • Multiple Camera Options: Tether a Nikon, Sony, or Canon camera, or use your iPad’s front-facing camera, depending on your particular photo booth setup.
  • Solid Internet Connection Required: The app downloads any custom overlays or backgrounds you’ve set on the web dashboard, and live-uploading images of course requires an internet connection, so stable Wi-Fi or LTE is essential!

It’s perfect for holiday parties, corporate shindigs, weddings, or any event where a lighthearted photo booth can bring on the smiles!

The Photo Booth Flow ⏱️

Here’s how Photo Booth Mode keeps your guests engaged:

  1. Tap to Begin Screen: A dimmed live view awaits guests to tap and start. Once they do, the booth will let them know to get ready for three photos.
  2. Three Countdown Shots: Each shot has a 3-second countdown followed by a short preview of the taken pic after each shot. If your event uses a Bottom Banner Overlay or Full Frame Overlay, it shows up in the live view, so no one ends up hidden behind the graphics!
  3. Instant Delivery & Overlays: In Events using the QuicPics Program, each photo is sent via MMS with the overlay art included! And with every NowCandid Program, a gallery link is delivered where retail site users can download images and order photo products.

Guests can hop in, pose, and receive fun, branded photos—no fuss required! 🎉

On-Device Backgrounds & Filters 🎨

Before finalizing those memorable pics, guests can personalize them right on the device:

  • Background Selection: If you’ve uploaded custom backgrounds on the web dashboard, the app fetches them before the booth session. Guests can pick from these in addition to several default backgrounds, great for holiday vibes or brand-specific themes.
  • Filter Options: Classic filters like Noir, Sepia, Clarendon, and others let participants get creative.
  • Reshoot Button: Not happy with the shot? Guests can “Reshoot” and start the session over at any time.

This ensures a lively, interactive experience that encourages guests to come back for more snaps. ⛄

Positive ID vs. Face Matching 🧐

After styling, the next step depends on your event’s workflow:

  • For Face Matching Events: Guests are guided to tap the faces they see on-screen, and then can enter contact info for each face! If this is their first or only reference photo for the Event, it will also match them to shots taken outside the Photo Booth!
  • For Positive ID Events: A simpler approach: participants just type in their contact info and send off the images! Easy peasy.

Either way, photos head straight to their phones via QuicPics (if you’re using that Program) and will always land in their personal gallery. 🔔

Seamless Integration with NowCandid 💖

Photo Booth Mode plugs right into your existing NowCandid features:

  • Selfie Check-In & LiveLoop: Photo booth images appear in your LiveLoop feed if you’re displaying one at the event. Selfie Check-Ins can still match participants to their booth photos too if they don't self-identify during their photo booth session!
  • QuicPics & PartyPics: The images upload instantly, letting your guests receive them right away via MMS (with QuicPics), or find them in their personal gallery for easy purchase or free download (with every Program).

It’s the same NowCandid ecosystem you know—just dressed up in a festive booth format! 🎄

Requirements & Limitations 🎅

A few notes to keep in mind:

  • Camera Orientation:
    • Nikon supports horizontal and vertical live view.
    • Sony/Canon currently only support horizontal orientation for tethered cameras.
  • iPad-Only for Now:
    • Photo Booth Mode works on iPad in vertical orientation, not on iPhone or Windows.
  • No Built-In Printing:
    • If you need on-site prints, consider setting up your own print station with a computer and a printer! Use quic.pics/portal to access your Event images, and then download images with or without overlays to print them on-site.
  • We Value Feedback:
    • Missing something? Let us know! Your input shapes our next updates.

Why Photo Booth Mode Is a Holiday Treat 🎁

  • Interactive & Fun: Guests love choosing backgrounds, filters, and overlays, making the booth a memorable attraction.
  • Fully Integrated: Works seamlessly with QuicPics, PartyPics, LiveLoop, Face Matching, and more.
  • Revenue & Engagement Boost: Branded overlays, holiday backgrounds, or sponsor tie-ins can lead to higher sales and delighted clients.

This mode is a surefire way to add a dash of cheer to any event—holiday-themed or otherwise! ✨

That’s all for now, folks.

We hope Photo Booth Mode adds a dash of magic to your season and beyond.

And thank you for following along with our 12 Days of Christmas!

Enjoy this new feature, and as always, keep capturing the moments that matter most.

Reminder: The new NowCandid Capture & Upload App Version that includes Photo Booth Mode will be going live at the end of December, this month!

Candy 🍬

Related articles

QuicPics Just Got Quicker! 🚀
QuicPics
October 27, 2023

QuicPics Just Got Quicker! 🚀

2
 minutes read
Hey, photo fanatics!

Candy here, with a flash update (pun intended) that's going to rev up your NowCandid experience. Ready to capture the moment? 📸

Blink and You'll Miss It!


Using a Positive ID Workflow like Type & Take, Scanner ID, or Name Lookup? You're in for a treat! QuicPics images are now zooming to individuals at warp speed. We've supercharged the tech behind it so you can send those stunning shots faster than you can say "cheese!"

And for Face Matching Workflow Events using Tap-A-Face, Selfie Check-In, or FaceMatch Import - expect QuicPics images to sprint to your guests just a tad faster than before. Maybe not light-speed like our Positive ID pals, but definitely faster!

Sweet Savings Alert! 🍬


Did you catch our little tweak from last month? The fee for each uploaded image when using QuicPics dipped to just $0.20, down from $0.31. Savings, speed, and sensational images? Talk about a picture-perfect combo!

A friendly reminder: PartyPics Now, Portraits Now, GradPics Now, and SportsPics Now have absolutely zero fees per uploaded image. QuicPics is the only NowCandid Program that has any sort of fees!

Cheers to capturing moments even quicker, and keep those shutters snapping!

Stay snazzy,

Candy 🍭💜📷

Important Update! Apple iOS 1.0.8
Feature Updates
October 26, 2023

Important Update! Apple iOS 1.0.8

5
 minutes read
Hey there, NowCandid users!

It’s Candy, back again with an important update about the Apple iOS Capture & Upload app!

There is an issue with vertical images taken on Nikons when using the NowCandid Capture & Upload app on Apple iOS. The images do not rotate to appear vertical properly on the retail site!

To fix this issue, install version 1.0.8, now available on the iOS App Store.

Moving on!

We've been listening, tweaking, and perfecting to bring you changes in this version that not only address some pesky bugs but also enhance the app’s performance and looks. Here’s the lowdown:

📸 Bigger and Better Preview

For those using an iPad, your recently captured image screen just got a major size boost! You can now view your recent masterpieces in even bigger glory.

📷 Camera Loading Tips

Waiting can be a drag, right? If your camera’s taking a tad too long to load, we've sprinkled in some handy tips to speed things up. Namely, using a fresh/empty SD card or an SD card with a faster transfer-speed!

🔍 From Image to Folder

Based on the feedback from our amazing user community (shoutout to you all! 🌟), we changed "Open Image" button in the image gallery to "Open Folder". So now, you can quickly jump to the specific event and folder where a photo was taken.

🚀 Performance Boost!

Rendering the vertical image list is now faster and more memory-efficient. Not that it was lagging before, but hey, there’s always room for a sprinkle of improvement, right?

🛠 Fixes Galore!

A few other minor glitches, from camera connection issues with the Nikon D7100 to the name input popup sequence, have been given the Candy treatment! They're all fixed up.

🎨 Juicier Colors

Your app visuals and captured images are about to pop with vibrancy! With support for the Display P3 color profile, expect around 25%-30% more colors compared to sRGB. Prepare for a visual feast!

🔍 iPad Interface Lift

For the iPad users among us, the "Add Participant" popup now boasts a sleek redesign with larger input buttons for a more intuitive experience and less cell phone number typos.

🔄 And, of course, The Big Rotation Fix!

Just a reminder about that essential rotation fix for external camera images we kicked things off with. Yup, it's that important!

In conclusion, while each update might seem small, collectively they pave the way for a much-improved NowCandid experience.

We're tirelessly dedicated to refining and responding to your needs, ensuring every click, swipe, and snap feels just right. Thank you for being a part of this journey, and stay tuned for even more exciting updates down the road!

Until next time, keep those cameras clicking and the feedback rolling! 📷✨

- Candy 🍬

Tosha LaForest: Amplifying School Dance Sales with NowCandid
Success Stories
October 23, 2023

Tosha LaForest: Amplifying School Dance Sales with NowCandid

7
 minutes read

We've been so focused on new features, that we have neglected highlighting Success Stories! Let's fix that...

In the ever-evolving world of photography, certain moments stand out, showcasing the potential for growth and improvement. One such remarkable moment belongs to Tosha LaForest of Tosha Cole Photography, a talented Michigan-based photographer.

Tosha LaForest of Tosha Cole Photography

From Usual to Unprecedented


Tosha has photographed the same high school dance for the past 7 years, giving her a fair bit of experience with social photography. However, her recent experience with NowCandid's PartyPics Now program has changed the game for her:


"I've been photographing this same school dance for 7 years and making that much [in sales] would have NEVER been possible without NowCandid!" Tosha excitedly shared. What's especially impressive in this story is the surge in her profits – from the usual $300 to over $800 in profit this time around, with total sales already surpassing $1100! Meaning, she has almost tripled her usual sales. Nice job, Tosha!

Strategies and Selections

Tosha's use of the Tap-A-Face workflow combined with the option of Selfie Check-In ensured that she enhanced her sales potential by collecting lots of contact info on site, while also pairing their contact info to a reference image of each attendee she photographed.

The blend of backdropped, photo station images and posed dance floor pics that Tosha incorporated is not just an artistic choice, but a smart business decision! Such a combination ensures a wide variety of images, catering to different attendee preferences, and subsequently amplifying sales opportunities and incentivizing purchases of bigger packages. More poses and more images will always lead to more sales!

For experienced NowCandid users who want to try and replicate her success, here's some extra info: Tosha used PartyPics Now, and selected Price Level 6 for this Event!


Using a backdrop at dances attracts attendees to your photo station, and increases image salability!


Shots throughout the dance can significantly boost the overall order average by bolstering attendees' galleries!


Looking Ahead: The Future is Bright!

Tosha's future plans? They're simple yet ambitious. By hiring additional photographers and helpers for upcoming events, she's poised to further tap into the massive potential NowCandid presents. Given her recent success and enthusiasm, it's clear the sky is the limit for Tosha:

"Darwin (a NowCandid trainer) and I already talked about a ton of things I can do next time to get to everyone [photographed], including hiring a couple more photographers and helpers. It's definitely worth it! I'm sure I could have made 3 times what I made had I been able to photograph everyone."

We're looking forward to seeing how things progress for you, Tosha! Thanks for using NowCandid.

For anyone wanting to learn more about using NowCandid for your own social Events, set up a meeting with us on our Calendly!

+ Click here to view our Calendly page to schedule NowCandid Training +

Let’s get in touch

If you’re a photographer looking to add NowCandid services to your wheelhouse – set up a call by clicking the button below.

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