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

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

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Weekly Recap: Apple Pay Everywhere, Capture App 4.22 & Clearer Check-Ins 🍬📱
Feature Updates
December 19, 2025

Weekly Recap: Apple Pay Everywhere, Capture App 4.22 & Clearer Check-Ins 🍬📱

3
 minutes read

Hey photo friends! 👋


Candy here with a new batch of improvements across the Dashboard, Retail checkout, LiveLoop™, and the iOS Capture App. The biggest headline this week: Apple Pay now works across basically all major browsers, plus a feature-packed Capture App 4.22.

🛍️ Retail: Apple Pay in More Browsers

🍎 Apple Pay is now supported on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox

  • 🍎 Including on Windows and Chromebooks. More shoppers can check out faster with fewer steps.

🧾 Manual checkout fixes

  • ✅ Fixed an edge case where “Shipping address is same as billing” still forced shipping entry
  • 🧹 Fixed an edge case where a prefilled participant email had trailing whitespace and blocked checkout

📱 Capture App iOS 4.22

📷 Fujifilm file names now match the camera’s file name

  • Helpful for keeping filenames consistent with what you see on-camera.

📺 AirPlay shows the latest/selected image by default

  • Think of it like a one-device, real-time mini slideshow. There’s also a Resources toggle if you prefer AirPlaying the full app UI instead.

🧩 Folder naming rule update: No underscores in folder names

  • Underscores are now reserved internally, so the app will prevent using them in folder names going forward.

🏷️ Selfie Check-In Station can require PhotoTag check-in

  • Matches the web behavior and is controlled via your Custom Offer Advanced Settings.

🫥 Check-in reference images hidden from the shooting strip

  • Keeps the strip cleaner and focused on the images that matter for sales.

🖥️ Dashboard: Clarity & Capability Updates

🏷️ Additional Contact badges on PhotoRoster page

  • Additional contacts now show a badge there, just like on the Participant List page.

🚫 Legacy Events can be marked invisible

  • The visibility toggle is now available on legacy event details pages too.

🍬 Candy got smarter and more capable

  • Improvements across: main Candy, Compare Report Candy, Image Timeline Candy, and Mini Candy.

📊 Compare Report improvements

  • ✍️ Fixed a typo
  • 🧠 More intelligent summary output

🧾 Reports fix: Hidden events no longer appear in the specific event selector

🌀 LiveLoop™ Fix

🧼 Cutout preview edge case fixed

  • Cutouts won’t show with a checkered background during the “in-progress” phase. LiveLoop™ now also excludes anything from a TKO destination folder, which resolves that temporary display issue.

✅ Check-In Label Updates

🧑‍🏫 Non-sports Events now use clearer labels

  • “First Name” → Photo Subject’s First Name
  • “Last Name” → Photo Subject’s Last Name

That’s the scoop for this week!

Between broader Apple Pay support, a stronger Capture App release, and clearer participant tools, a lot of little friction points just got cleaned up.

Keep creating magic,
Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Horizontal 3D Plaques, Event Calendar View & PhotoTag LiveLoop Links 📅🌀
Feature Updates
December 12, 2025

Weekly Recap: Horizontal 3D Plaques, Event Calendar View & PhotoTag LiveLoop Links 📅🌀

5
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋

Candy here! This week’s updates are big on visual workflows: more orientation options for our 3D products, a new Calendar view for Events, and PhotoTag-powered LiveLoop™ links for better slideshow control.

Let’s jump in!

🖼️ Big Product Upgrade: Horizontal Orientation for 3D Plaques & Prints

End customers now have more flexibility when ordering these 3D-rendered products:

🎓 Graduation Plaque now supports a new horizontal design

  • • 🔄 Customers can switch orientations during the live 3D render
  • • 🖼️ Updated 2D render support included as well

🪧 Premium Plaque now supports a horizontal design

  • 🔄 Orientation can be switched during the live 3D render

🖨️ Premium Print now supports a horizontal design

  • 🔄 Orientation can be switched during the live 3D render

✍️ Caption preview fix: Premium Print/Plaque now correctly reflect the default “Line 2” in the 3D render before a shopper enters their own text

These updates make it easier to sell premium products even when the “best” shot isn’t a perfect vertical crop.

📅 New Dashboard Event Calendar View

Prefer a more visual way to plan and review your schedule?

🗓️ Event Calendar is now available via the calendar button on the Event List page

👀 Great for spotting what’s coming up at a glance, instead of scanning a long list

🌀 LiveLoop™: PhotoTag Links

LiveLoop™ just got more flexible:

🏷️ PhotoTags now have LiveLoop links

  • • Found in a couple places on the PhotoTag page in the Dashboard
  • • Pulls in new images automatically, just like a normal LiveLoop™

🧾 Cleaner titles & history

  • • LiveLoop page now shows the Event name in the title bar, history, and links
  • • PhotoTag links show as: PhotoTagName – EventName

Perfect for running separate slideshows per team, division, day, or group without juggling multiple Events.

🖥️ Dashboard Improvements

🧹 New “Clear” button in Manage Images select mode (clear selections without re-entering select mode)

📋 PhotoRoster uploads improved:

  • • 📞 Additional phone columns now ignore parentheses (like main phone)
  • • 🔀 Columns can be in any order (matching Event roster upload behavior)

🔗 Fixed Image Details lightbox link for images manually removed on Participant Details

🧾 Positive ID Code PDF sorting updated:

  • • A–Z participants with no PhotoTag
  • • Then PhotoTags A–Z (participants A–Z inside each)
  • • Then blank cards at the end

🛍️ Retail & Check-In Updates

🚫 Invisible Events are now truly inaccessible

  • • If an Event is marked invisible, its retail site + check-in pages now show an “Event is no longer available” screen

🌎 Positive ID check-in phone formatting helper

  • • If an existing registration code has a phone without “+”, we’ll append “+1” to default to US country format (unless it already starts with “+” for another country)

🧩 Fixed a retail site crash when the Statuette Ornament was included in a package

🛡️ iPhone GalleryGuard now loads faster

🛠️ Misc Fixes & Improvements

🖨️ Backprinting updates for existing Events when your business info is updated (previously it was locked to whatever info existed when the Event was created)

✉️ Fixed a strange edge case where email-only participants wouldn’t send if another email in the queue contained “.@”

✅ Improved email validation across all web check-ins

That’s the week!

Between horizontal premium product designs, PhotoTag-level LiveLoops™, and a Calendar view for Events, you’ve got a lot more control over how things look and how you run the day. 💫

Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Upgraded Grad Plaque, Retail Polish & More🎓✨
Feature Updates
December 5, 2025

Weekly Recap: Upgraded Grad Plaque, Retail Polish & More🎓✨

5
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋


Candy here. This week’s headline is a big glow-up for the Graduation Plaque, plus some helpful tweaks to marketing tools, downloads, and retail previews. Here’s what changed.

🎓 Graduation Plaque: New Look, New Render

The Graduation Plaque just got a major upgrade:

  • 🆕 New physical product with an updated finish and feel
  • 💰 Cost increase of $0.48 to match the upgraded production
  • 🌀 New live 3D render on the store sheet (like the Premium Print/Plaque experience)
  • 🖼️ 2D render on the checkout sheet for performance
  • 🔻 Diamond Press upsell removed (was available on the previous version, may return in the future)

You can spin and inspect the new design in 3D here: 👉 Preview the new Graduation Plaque in 3D

Perfect for seniors and ceremonies where your customers want a keepsake that really feels special.

🔒 Private Image Download Gallery

The Private Image Download Gallery now has a new landing popup.

It’s there to help Event Organizers understand why using this tool can be more secure and efficient than receiving all of the Event's images in bulk via a single large download.

📊 Dashboard Updates

📈 Marketing History chart improvements

  • Chart is now hidden when empty, so no more blank space
  • You can switch between Daily / Weekly / Monthly views

📑 Participant Download spreadsheet upgrades

  • Now includes each participant’s retail gallery URL
  • Handy if you’re doing third-party marketing or need to drop direct links into outside tools or messages

🛍️ Retail Site Improvements

🔘 Photo Button render updated

  • New live render that is larger, cleaner, and has no background
  • Matches the style of other renders
  • Render assets are about 15% smaller (faster loads)

⬇️ Press-and-hold download wording fixed

  • Previously, when there was no paid full-res product, the popup said “medium res” even though it was actually full resolution
  • Now correctly says “free download” in that situation

📸 Press-and-hold download fixed on QuicPortraits

  • Press-and-hold works properly again on QuicPortraits Events

🖼️ Luxe Prints artwork fix

  • Store sheet no longer shows artwork overlays on Luxe Prints (since art isn’t available on that product, yet!)

🧱 3D render cropping fix

  • Horizontal previews for 3D renders on the store sheet now use a center crop, not a full-fit that squished the image in the render, whoops!

🧩 Misc / QuicPics GO

👥 Group image flagging in QuicPics GO!

  • You can now flag images as Group Photos in QuicPics GO! via the Dashboard
  • Works similarly to other non-Quic event programs and keeps group images organized for marketing and gallery behavior

That’s it for this week!

One very fancy Graduation Plaque, and some nice quality-of-life fixes on the retail side.

Keep doing great work,

Candy 🍬

Let’s get in touch

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