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Crowning Moments: Turning Prom Night into Profit with NowCandid

Crowning Moments: Turning Prom Night into Profit with NowCandid
Prom night is an iconic milestone in a high schooler’s life, brimming with fashion, friendships, and unforgettable memories.

While it's true that smartphones have made "everyone a photographer", professional prom photography remains a lucrative venture. Why? The answer lies in the quality that professional photos can offer, capturing prom night with a finesse that smartphones simply can't match.

The Profitability of Prom Photography

Prom photography can be highly profitable, with a target metric of $1.50 per image being a realistic benchmark for success. However, with the right approach, this figure can soar, as evidenced by a NowCandid's users Oklahoma City Prom, which achieved $2 per image across 3000 pictures taken, totaling $6000 in sales.

The key to serious profitability lies in having quantity, quality, and variety! An effective photographer using NowCandid has the ability to quickly deliver a professional, high-quality image gallery that will capture the attention of their subjects.

Why Proms are Still Profitable

  1. Social Media Influence: Today’s high schoolers live in a social media-centric world where the quality of a photo can greatly increase the quality of a post. Professional, well-lit, and expertly framed photos are in demand for their social media feeds, making them willing to purchase digital copies for their Instagram or Facebook profiles.
  2. Parental Investment: Parents are equally important customers in the prom photography market. They cherish these milestones and are often more than willing to purchase photos that capture their child’s special night. Using Selfie Check-In allows you to collect both the subject and the parents' contact info, marketing the subject's photos to both parties!
  3. Speedy Delivery: With the help of NowCandid, images can be available for purchase instantly. Selling images right away can benefit your overall sales thanks to impulse purchases people make when they are at their most excited about the Event.
  4. Unique Print Products: Unique print products alongside desirable images is always a combination that will generate extra sales! A variety of products be purchased, in addition to the usual prints and downloads. You can even upload an Event-specific custom banner to your Events to further make your product unique compared to the images subjects can take with their own phones - turning every photo into a memento!

Keys to Successful Prom Photography

  • Quality: While taking a substantial number of photos is important, ensuring the quality of your images increases their salability. Ensure each photo is well-lit and tightly cropped!
  • 2 Pics Per Minute: Aim for 2 pictures every minute, targeting 120+ per hour. These need to be unique images too - don't count duplicates! Utilize features like NowCandid’s LiveLoop to encourage guests to seek out photographers to get on the big screen.
  • Posing: Encourage a variety of poses to maximize the number of sellable images for any group you approach. After photographing a group of four, break the group into couples, ladies only, guys only, etc.
  • Photo Stations: Establish a dedicated photo area with an attractive backdrop suitable for individuals, couples, and groups, enhancing the variety and appeal of a subject's image gallery. Props are optional, but can be a fun addition. Also, a photo station is also a good place to station your less-social photographers, as guests will come to them!
  • Selfie Check-In Mastery: Achieving high participation in Selfie Check-In not only streamlines image delivery but also ensures a direct marketing channel to both students and their parents.
  • Strategic Staffing: Align the number of photographers with the expected guest count, aiming for one photographer per 100-150 guests to ensure comprehensive coverage of the event.
  • Strategic Compensation: Many successful social photographers pay their photographers based on how many unique (no duplicates) and sellable (good quality) images they take at a party. Consider paying $0.20 per sellable image with a minimum pay of $18 an hour, guaranteeing them decent pay but giving them room to take more images to make you both more money. (Example: 120 images an hour would be $24 an hour)

NowCandid: Your Partner in Capturing the Magic of Prom Night

NowCandid software is designed to streamline the photography process, from efficient image capture and upload to simplifying sales through intuitive galleries and easy online ordering.

With NowCandid, photographers can focus on what they do best—taking stunning photos—while the platform handles the logistics, making each prom a potential goldmine of photographic opportunities.

Success Stories to Inspire

Photographers like Tosha LaForest and Eric Miller have harnessed the power of NowCandid to amplify their school dance and event photography sales. Their experiences underscore the potential of well-executed prom and dance photography to significantly boost revenue and client satisfaction.

Prom photography, powered by NowCandid, offers a great option for photographers to expand their portfolios and profit margins. By focusing on quality, variety, and quantity, photographers can tap into the lucrative prom market, turning each dance into a profitable venture (and fun) venture.

Learn more, and join the ranks of successful prom photographers with NowCandid.

Visit our success stories to learn more and get inspired to capture the vibrant energy and timeless elegance of prom night.

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Weekly Recap: JerseyJotter™, SportsPics Action Pricing, and Smarter Gallery Sharing🏷️
Feature Updates
June 20, 2025

Weekly Recap: JerseyJotter™, SportsPics Action Pricing, and Smarter Gallery Sharing🏷️

7
 minutes read
Hey there, it’s Candy!

This week, we’re bringing the action with jersey recognition, fresh new price levels for sports events, and a sleek gallery-sharing upgrade that makes your links pop.

Let’s dive in! 💦

🧢 Introducing: JerseyJotter™

Your new MVP for sports galleries has arrived!

JerseyJotter™ automatically adds searchable filters to the All Images gallery for SportsPics Events:

  • 🎽 Color Recognition – identifies the primary shirt/jersey color worn in the photo.
  • 🔢 Number Recognition – picks up numbers from jerseys or racing bibs

You can toggle:

  • ✅ Both on
  • ✅ Only one
  • ✅ Or turn them both off

✅ Color & Number Recognition will work for both Positive ID and Face Matching Events (as long as the All Images Gallery is turned on)


🔍 Customers can filter using either filter independently, or both filters at once!

It’s your new best friend for organizing crowded team galleries!

💸 New SportsPics (Action) Price Levels + Offer Template

We’ve added new price levels and a recommended offer template for action-packed sports coverage. These are designed to complement JerseyJotter™ and better suit high-volume, high-energy photo galleries.

Perfect for:

  • 🏃‍♂️ Race day events
  • 🏈 Game-day action
  • 🏀 Sideline candids

If you’re used to SportsPics Portrait pricing, give this new setup a look—it might be a better fit for your action photgraphy Events!

🔗 Gallery Sharing Just Got an Upgrade

Now when you share your NowCandid Gallery Links via:

  • 📱 iMessage
  • 💬 Discord
  • ✉️ Other messaging platforms

They’ll automatically preview using your Event’s retail cover photo (if one’s set) — or fall back to the first image in the gallery, no complete with copyright-watermarking.

📸 Cleaner. Sharper. Way more pro.

🔍 Dashboard Search Boost

  • Hit Control + K (or find it in the Extras dropdown) to search Orders and Events
  • Because finding stuff fast should feel like magic 🪄

✨ Tiny Changes & Bug Splatting

  • 🧵 View Sequence logic now uses image names for better chronological accuracy
  • 🪲 Smashed a bajillion bugs (yes, bajillion is a real number)
    • Including quirks with email marketing
    • And rare background removal issues in relation to group photos & group products

That’s it for this week! If you're capturing athletes, races, or energetic action shots, this update was made just for you. 💪

Until next time,


📣 Candy

Graduation Was Great… But What If You Missed the Selfie Check-Ins™?🎓
GradPics
June 18, 2025

Graduation Was Great… But What If You Missed the Selfie Check-Ins™?🎓

7
 minutes read
Hey there, grad photographers! 👋

Candy here from NowCandid, and we need to talk about a common situation we’ve been hearing a lot about:

“I didn’t get enough graduates to do Selfie Check-In™… now what?!”

We get it. When you're new to the Selfie Check-In™ system, it’s easy to be a little too passive — maybe you just printed QR codes on handouts or stuck signs around the venue. That’s a decent start, and sure, it’ll get you some check-ins… but not nearly enough to maximize your reach (and sales 💸).

So what should have happened? Ideally, you have staff at the entrance — where all the grads arrive — actively guiding them through Selfie Check-In™ before they even get to the ceremony space. Yes, it may feel pushy at first, but schools usually love that you’re making sure families get the photos they want. Some schools even appreciate the contact info you collect, because it helps them stay connected with their new alumni! 🎓💌

But that’s beside the point. Graduation season is winding down now. You can’t go back in time and be more assertive with check-ins. So the question is:

😰 You Missed the Selfie Check-Ins™… What Now?

Good news: All is not lost! 🙌

We just added a set of brand-new post-graduation email templates to our Digital Marketing Materials, accessible via our Resources Page.

These are customizable Word docs you can quickly edit and send to the school — making it super easy for them to email students and parents the Selfie Check-In™ URL.

These emails invite grads and families to check in after the event, so they can still receive their images. We even included:

  • ✅ A version you can send to the school to make the ask
  • ✅ A version the school can send to grads & families directly
  • ✅ Language that’s clear, warm, and action-driven

By doing this, you’ll reach a bunch of people who want their photos but never knew how to access them. It means:

📸 More participants tagged

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 More happy families

💰 More sales coming your way!

📈 Real Results: One Photographer's Experience

One photographer we worked with saw many graduates did not complete their Selfie Check-In™ by the day of the event. So, after the ceremony, the photographer asked the school to send a follow-up message using our post-event template.

The result?


Participation is up 12% so far! Between additional participation and continued marketing campaigns - Event revenue has increased significantly since the photographer asked the schools to send out these emails for the stragglers!

📬 Let’s Hear From You!

Whether this graduation season was a smashing success or a learning experience, we want to hear from you.

Got feedback? Success stories? Questions? Rants? Raves? We’re all ears. 👂💕

Drop us a note right here: nowcandid.com/contact

Your feedback helps us grow — and we’re always looking to celebrate wins or learn how we can make your job easier next year!

Until next grad season,


💖 Candy from NowCandid

Weekly Recap: A Slicker Image Details Page & Some Nice Quality-of-Life Upgrades📸
Feature Updates
June 13, 2025

Weekly Recap: A Slicker Image Details Page & Some Nice Quality-of-Life Upgrades📸

4
 minutes read
Hey friends, Candy here!

This week we’ve got a shiny new Image Details page, some small but mighty tweaks across the board, and a handful of fixes to make your dashboard life just a bit smoother.

Let’s take a peek! 👀

🌟 Brand-New Image Details Page!

Your favorite behind-the-scenes image panel just got a makeover—and it's so much faster now! Whether you’re digging into face match data or reviewing contact info, everything’s loading snappier and more clearly than ever.

You’ll notice:

  • • Cleaner layout 🧼
  • • Larger image preview
  • Speedy load times ⚡
  • Better organization of metadata 🗂️

Details, Participants, and Logs have also been split into three distinct tabs!

Go ahead, give it a click from the Manage Images page or a Participant's Details page!

You can even hover highlighted faces with your mouse to view attached Participants!

In case you need to know how to get to the Image Details page!

🔧 Misc Changes & Improvements

Some smart, helpful little tweaks that add up to a smoother experience:

  • 🔗 Image Details links added to image previews on the Participant Details page (because shortcuts are life).
  • 🖼️ Free Download / Medium-Res Download for QuicPics™ Events are now set to a 2:3 aspect ratio—perfect for showcasing your 2:3 Full Frame overlay art!
  • 📦 Better retail display for big packages: Packages with 5+ items are now prettier, yay!

A look at the new 5+ Item Package graphic! Retail Theme: Liquorice - Event Program: QuicPics

  • 🎯 Face Matching Confidence level is now selectable during Event Creation, not just after. Set your confidence from the start!
  • 🛡 GalleryGuard™ has been updated to work even on iOS 26. The screenshots stay black. The images stay safe.

🐛 Bug Fixes

A few pesky things we squashed this week:

  • 🚫 The Unassigned Images count no longer includes BGR cutouts that have already been matched. More accurate image management FTW.
  • 🔄 Some Events were having trouble loading the Manage Images page. That glitch has now been zapped. 💥

That’s all for now!

Be sure to check out the new Image Details page, and if you haven’t yet, try out GalleryGuard™ on your own iOS device—it’s basically wizardry. 🧙‍♂️

Until next week,
💖 Candy

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.

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How to customize formatting for each rich text

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