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GradPics™ Best Practices Guide 🎓

GradPics™ Best Practices Guide 🎓
🎓 GradPics™ Best Practices Guide 🎓

Hey there, photographers!

Candy here, and Graduation season is right around the corner, and we're here to help you nail it with GradPics™!

Follow this handy guide filled with proven tips, tricks, and best practices to maximize your success and make your ceremony shoots smooth and profitable!

📸 Why GradPics™?

Before diving in, if you're curious about why GradPics™ is your best bet, check out this informative post. Here's the quick rundown:

  • Fast and easy Selfie Check-In™ collects accurate contact info.
  • Real-time photo uploads (or post-ceremony)—your choice!
  • Instant personalized gallery marketing and effective consent for Face Matching™.
  • FREE background removal for portrait stations.
  • No subscription fees or hefty e-commerce charges.

Simply put: It's easy, effective, and boosts your sales!

🤳 Mastering Selfie Check-In™

Selfie Check-In™ is essential to marketing your photos effectively. Follow these critical tips:

  • • Avoid sending pre-event Selfie Check-In links. It can cause day-of confusion and reduces day-of participation, making it harder to get 90%+ participation.
  • • Collect check-ins on the ceremony day at the venue’s holding area. Grads should show you the "confetti screen" to confirm completion.
  • • Print your QR code clearly on a reusable sign. Need signs? We've got you covered here!
  • • Always test your QR codes to confirm they're linked to the correct event.

Why it matters:
  • Collects accurate, updated contact info (personal and family).
  • Far superior to school-provided rosters featuring old contact info, no cell numbers, and edus.
  • Enables personalized gallery marketing, dramatically improving sales.

📢 Effective Communication with Schools

Collaborate proactively with school staff—graduation speakers, event coordinators, and volunteers—to ensure successful Selfie Check-In™ participation:

  • • Clearly explain the benefits—they want smooth photo distribution almost as much as you do!
  • • Offer schools the collected alumni data to assist their future marketing and fundraising efforts.
  • • Ask schools to remind grads and parents about Selfie Check-In™ ahead of the ceremony.

🚀 Be Proactive, Not Passive

Relying on signs alone isn't enough! Take these additional steps:

  • • Hire staff or allocate your photography team to encourage grads to check in.
  • • Consider asking schools or parent associations for volunteer help.
  • • Send engaging videos, graphics, or flyers ahead of time (without the actual Selfie Check-In™ link) to prepare grads and parents about what to expect.
  • • Prepare your customers for day-of Selfie Check-In™ to achieve 90%+ participation.

🌟 Photography Essentials

Great photography drives sales! Here’s how you maximize photo opportunities with GradPics™:

  • • Capture a variety of shots: buddy shots, processionals, pre-stage portraits, handshake moments, post-stage portraits, friends & family shots.
  • • Coordinate with the handshake presenter: request grads and handshakers turn towards your camera for the perfect shot.
  • • Tap-a-Face feature: Use NowCandid’s™ capture app to market family group shots directly.

📡 Always Have a Backup Plan

Internet issues happen. Here's how you keep rolling smoothly:

  • • Provide physical Selfie Check-In™ cards.
  • • Inform grads they can complete Selfie Check-In™ after the ceremony online.
  • • Leverage offline-compatible devices (Capture App and upcoming Selfie Check-In Station™ can both collect info offline).
  • • Work with schools to post Selfie Check-In™ links post-event if needed (available 30+ days).
  • • Enable Group-by-Face™ to simplify navigation within "All Images" galleries.

💲 Pricing Right for Maximum Revenue

Pricing too high can limit your sales. Remember:
  • • Avoid the temptation of setting premium prices for all of your graduations.
  • • Appropriate premium pricing is suitable only for certain graduations (law or medical schools).
  • • Lower prices can significantly boost your overall sales volume.

Real Example:

Now to be fair, this event was not a graduation - but he point still stands!

A recent customer lowered digital download prices from $26 to $20, resulting in:

  • • More orders overall
  • • 20% increase in total revenue
  • • Happier clients and long-term marketing benefits & residual sales

🗓️ Need Extra Help?

We’re here to support your success. Schedule a chat about graduation season and GradPics™ at Calendly.

Happy shooting! 📷✨

Cheers and sparkles,

Candy

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Turning Shipping Into a Smart Strategy with NowCandid™

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Shipping isn’t just about getting products into your customers’ hands—it’s a vital part of your business strategy. With NowCandid™, photographers gain control and flexibility to make shipping not just efficient, but profitable and professional.

Let’s explore how shipping can work harder for your business.

1. Flexible Shipping That Fits Your Business

Every photography business is different—and so are its logistics needs. With NowCandid™, you’re in control. You can set your shipping prices on a scale that fits your market, giving you the freedom to align costs with your audience, region, and event type.

Want to keep things straightforward? Match your lab’s costs and pass them directly to customers.


Need to account for higher packaging or handling expenses? Adjust your pricing accordingly.

This flexibility ensures you can stay competitive, protect your margins, and offer customers transparent, fair pricing—without the guesswork or hidden fees.

2. Shipping as a Profit Center

Instead of treating shipping as a pass-through expense, many photographers use NowCandid to turn it into a profit opportunity.

By setting shipping rates slightly higher than lab cost, you can generate additional income per order—a small margin that adds up quickly across dozens or hundreds of orders.

You’re already capturing the moments, managing the orders, and providing the customer experience. Why not let shipping work for you, too?

A few dollars added to each order’s shipping fee can translate into a reliable, consistent revenue stream—helping you grow your bottom line without extra work.

3. Shipping as a Customer Experience Tool

Shipping is more than a logistical step—it’s often the final impression your business makes. With NowCandid, every order is handled through a professional, automated process that builds trust and satisfaction.

✅ Orders are processed with consistent timelines.


✅ Taxes are automatically calculated and remitted as part of NowCandid’s marketplace facilitator model.


✅ Communication is streamlined and branded under your business name.

This creates a professional, polished experience that parents, schools, and organizations love. It’s not just about the product they receive—it’s about the confidence that it will arrive smoothly and on time.

Why It Matters

Traditional photographers often see shipping as an unavoidable expense. NowCandid helps reframe it as a strategic lever—a small but powerful part of your business model that can:

  • Protect your profit margins through scalable rate control.
  • Enhance customer trust with clear, reliable fulfillment.
  • Boost your professional reputation through smooth delivery experiences.

With full control and transparency, you can adjust your shipping strategy any time based on season, event type, or customer feedback.

Final Thoughts

At NowCandid™, our goal is to help photographers build stronger, more profitable businesses—with smart tools that work behind the scenes.

By managing shipping strategically—not just as a necessity but as part of your customer and revenue plan—you can deliver a better experience, strengthen your brand, and keep more of what you earn.

 

👉 Ready to put your shipping strategy to work? Create your free account today and see how NowCandid helps you ship smarter.

Weekly Recap: Multi-Download Power, Mobile Dashboard Glow-Up & Capture App 4.20.8 📱💻
Feature Updates
October 3, 2025

Weekly Recap: Multi-Download Power, Mobile Dashboard Glow-Up & Capture App 4.20.8 📱💻

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Hey photo friends!

This week is packed with big news: multi-downloads in the Dashboard, a massive Mobile Dashboard update (with feature parity forever 🎉), and the upcoming Capture App 4.20.8 release.

Let’s jump in:

📋 Dashboard

  • 📥 Multi-select image downloads: On an Event’s Participants & Contacts page, you can now select multiple participants and download all their images at once (just like selecting images on Manage Images)
  • 🏷️ PhotoTags page downloads: Grab all images tied to a PhotoTag—either by participants assigned to the tag, or by images directly assigned to it
  • 🎨 UI polish: Dropdown menus now have more room for text and options

📱 Mobile Dashboard (NowCandid App)

  • 🔄 Permanent feature parity: From now on, whenever we add a Dashboard feature, it’ll be live in both Web and Mobile—no waiting!
  • 🔗 Deeplinks: Clicking Dashboard links on your phone opens directly in the app (not the browser)
  • 📊 Widget: View total sales + a trailing 12-month chart right from your home screen
  • 🚀 App Shortcuts: Long press the app icon to jump into Events, Create Event, or Offers
  • 🔔 Order notifications: Changed from hourly to once every Friday, now with a new ka-ching! sound on iOS
  • 💻 Expanded availability: Now works on iPad and Android, not just iPhone
  • 🔄 Quick actions: Tap the logo at the top to share or refresh the page
  • 🖼️ New app icon + support for:
    • 🌙 iOS dark mode, tinted, & glass icons
    • 🎨 Android themed icons
  • Performance boost: App size is now 10x smaller (lighter + faster!)

Screenshots below!

📷 Capture & Upload App 4.20.8 (coming Oct 3–5)

  • 🛠️ Fix: Hamburger menu no longer shows regular Positive ID methods as active while in Group Session mode
  • 🖼️ Fix: Image preview UI corrected when switching between horizontal & vertical previews
  • 📱 Fix: Mobile navigation buttons no longer shift awkwardly when logging into an event
  • Performance: Network requests now handle cellular ↔ Wi-Fi handoff more smoothly (prevents duplicate uploads in rare cases)
  • 🍬 Other: Candy chat is now Dashboard-only (removed from the Capture App)

That’s everything for this week! 💫

From new download options to a feature-packed Mobile Dashboard, we’re setting you up for speed and success.

Keep being amazing,
Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Capture App 4.20.7, GalleryGuard Boost & Retail Tweaks 📸🛡️
Feature Updates
September 19, 2025

Weekly Recap: Capture App 4.20.7, GalleryGuard Boost & Retail Tweaks 📸🛡️

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Hey photo friends!

Big update week! The Capture & Upload App v4.20.7 is right around the corner, and we’ve got some great new features for sports workflows, roster clarity, and retail protections.

Let’s dig in:

📱 Capture & Upload App 4.20.7 (releasing Sept 19–22)

  • 🔍 Smarter search: Search Name Lookup with both first and last name in one query (not just one or the other)
  • 🔄 Swap Events: New option in the shooting page menu for Positive ID events
  • 🏈 Group Session mode: Added to the shooting page menu for sports events
  • 🗂️ BGR support: Can now shoot in Group Session mode inside BGR folders - uploads into a new folder name “(OriginalFolderName)b”
  • 🏷️ PhotoTags on Group Photos in BGR Folders: Add tags to group shots in Group Session mode when in BGR folders
  • ⌨️ Type & Take Participants now appear in Name Lookup
  • 🎛️ New context menu UI: Wheel/circle menus replaced with clearer buttons and room for more options
  • 📱 UI tweaks:
    • “Manual Name Lookup” renamed simply “Name Lookup” on iPad
    • iOS 26 only: Liquid Glass context menus, native dialogs, keyboards, and controls
    • Error toasts are now native dialogs (prettier + don’t disappear too fast)
    • Info dialogs on event overview use native UI
    • Name Lookup modal now correctly titled “Name Lookup”
  • 🛠️ Fix: Upload toast now shows correct number of uploaded images

🛍️ Retail Site

  • 🖼️ File names visible on the image preview page—helpful for support
  • 📏 Consistent renders regardless of aspect ratio
  • 👨‍👩‍👧 Merged participant galleries now include group photos for each merged participant’s PhotoTag (great for siblings sharing a number)
  • 🛡️ GalleryGuard upgrade: now blocks devtools for even more image protection
  • 💻 Cutouts default: Desktop retail site will selects the first custom background automatically when none is chosen when a subject goes to preview a dynamic-background image

📋 Dashboard

  • 👤 Participant images on records: Registered/Roster Participants with photos now display their gallery image instead of a silhouette on the Dashboard
  • 🖼️ Participant images now show on the Event Overview page for recent orders
  • ⬇️ Participant image downloads now include faux renders

🛠️ Misc

  • 🏅 SportsPics Check-In labels now say Athlete First Name and Athlete Last Name
  • 🏠 Clicking the NowCandid logo in the top-left of the Dashboard now takes you Home
  • 🐞 Bug fixes: Better performance and clarity around PhotoTags, merged participants, personal gallery downloads, and marketing with hidden/BGR images

That’s the roundup! 💫

Keep being amazing,
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.

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.

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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.

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