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Holiday Gear Up

Holiday Gear Up
Are you ready for the Holiday Season?

Maybe not since we have roughly 10 weeks to go. For most photographers, the winter months can bring a noticeable slowdown, but this also presents the perfect opportunity to seize seasonal event opportunities like Santa Portraits and holiday parties.

These festive events are in high demand, and with the right tools, you can make the most out of them!

We want to share a success story from a Santa Portrait Event that took place in the last few years, along with how NowCandid’s Workflows can help you maximize your success this holiday season.

Santa Portrait Station Success

Rachel S., a photography business owner from South Florida, a few years ago landed a Santa Portrait event at a Zoo and turned it into a HUGE win. With Candid's Scanner ID Workflow, Rachel was able to use the same techniques of a typical sports or school picture day and apply them to the Holiday Zoo Lights Santa Event.

To manage the event, Rachel used the Scanner ID Workflow, and generated blank QR cards to pass out to people while they waited in line.

The QR codes were scanned by the guests who then paired their contact info with their QR code! Once they got to the front of the line, Rachel's photographers would scan the next guest's QR with their tethered device, and then take their photos!

The device tethered to the camera would then upload the photos right after they were taken!

With the contact info and pictures both in the system, gallery links were then automatically texted directly to the subjects, right away.

Overall, this event garnered over $42,000 in it's first year!!! Not bad for a couple weeks of work!

NowCandid Workflows: Make Your Holiday Events a Breeze

One of the key elements to success in high-volume holiday events is efficiency—and that’s where NowCandid’s Workflows come into play.

These workflows streamline the process of capturing, organizing, and delivering photos, allowing you to focus more on your artistry and client experience.

Here are two workflows you’ll want to use during your Santa sessions and holiday parties:

  1. Scanner ID: The Workflow Rachel used! It's great for efficiently collecting guest contact info while they are in line, letting you move the line along more quickly OR have more time available for additional photos. Contact info is essential for instant image delivery and post-shoot marketing.
  2. Type & Take: This works similarly to the Scanner ID Workflow, except you type the subject's contact info into your tethered device before photographing them. It is not as time efficient at Scanner ID, but it doesn't require you to print out many blank cards before the event!

Seasonal Retail Theme to Add to the Experience

The holiday fun doesn't stop at the event—it continues when your customers view and purchase their images! With our Candy Cane retail theme, your clients are immersed in the festive spirit as soon as they visit their personal image gallery.

Our themes include delightful touches like falling snowflakes, which gently drift across the screen. These animations help enhance the shopping experience and keep customers wrapped up in the magic of the season.

Theme: Candy Cane - Watermarking: Default

Use Overlay Art to Add a Special Touch

If you're looking to elevate the experience further, NowCandid offers Overlay Art, allowing you to add optional customized overlays to your clients' images.

These titles add a festive, personal touch to the photos, making them feel extra special, whether it's a corporate holiday party, a Santa session, or a family Christmas gathering.

Imagine sending clients their Santa Portraits, complete with a “Merry Christmas 2024” overlay or a custom-designed title that reflects the spirit of the season. It’s little touches like these that make clients feel valued and excited about your services—leading to more referrals and repeat business.

Why You Shouldn't Sleep on Holiday Opportunities

The holiday season offers some of the most lucrative photography opportunities of the year, especially when it comes to events like Santa Portrait sessions, corporate holiday parties or large family and friends gatherings.

With many photographers considering this time a "slow season," there's an opportunity to stand out from the crowd by offering fun, engaging photo experiences that families, organizations, and individuals will love.

Adding these events to your services can also build lasting relationships with your clients—because who doesn’t want to make holiday memories they’ll treasure forever?

Don't Miss Out: Prep for the Holidays Now

The key to success is preparation. Start planning your Santa sessions, promote your holiday event photography, and make sure you're using NowCandid’s powerful tools to handle your Events with ease.

And remember: festive cheer isn’t just for clients. By embracing the holiday season and seizing these photography opportunities, you can fill your calendar and finish the year strong.

Cheers, and may there be many holiday events in your future!

Candy 🍬

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Weekly Recap: Even Stronger Image Privacy & UI Polish 🔒🧰
Feature Updates
October 24, 2025

Weekly Recap: Even Stronger Image Privacy & UI Polish 🔒🧰

5
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋


This week we further tightened subject image provacy, and freshened up the UI across Dashboard and Retail.

Here’s what’s new:

📋 Dashboard

  • 🏷️ Clearer overlay labels: Event List & Event Details now show Banner or Full Frame thumbnails instead of a generic “graphic overlay” text label only.
  • 🧩 Overlay importer: Now a tidy 2-column layout instead of one at a time, to more quickly let you seek out a specific event's overlays to reuse.
  • 📥 Participant download sheet (big data friendly): Handles very large folder/frame totals without breaking.
  • 🧭 Smarter participant pic choice: If a participant was merged from multiple sources, the sheet now prioritizes the non–Roster record for their participant pic (instead of the silhouette).
  • 🖼️ Retail cover editor: See a preview of the cover photo on retail before saving (not just after).
  • 🔔 Auto-resume marketing alerts: If marketing has been paused too long, you’ll get an inbox + push when it auto-resumes (first Friday after 20 days).
  • 👤 Participant Details upgrades:
    • 🖼️ Higher-res non-BGR images & backgrounds
    • 💡 Lightbox UI and previews that match Manage Images
    • 🟠🟥🟩 Thicker status borders + bold assignment text
  • 🏷️ PhotoTags popup: New All / Assigned / Unassigned tabs for faster tagging.
  • 🧾 Merged participant awareness:
    • Order counts on Participant Details and Participant List now include merged participants
    • Marketing count shows which contact info each message went to
  • Performance wins:
    • Participant List scales better with hundreds or thousands of people
    • PhotoRosters FaceGroup list is snappier with large rosters
  • 🪟 Updated popups: Smoother UI with animated width/height changes.

🛍️ Retail

  • 🖥️ Small desktop fix: Layout issues resolved for some compact screens.
  • 🛡️ Harder to lift images: Retail page changes to defeat "allow right click" browser extensions to continue to try and protect images & privacy.

🔒 Image Privacy & Other Fixes

  • 🔒 Enhanced privacy on retail: Images are now even safer from link guessing or misuse while the experience stays the same.
  • Fewer auth requests: Both Dashboard and Retail make fewer calls when refocusing windows, resulting in improved performance!
  • 🧩 Private Download Gallery: BGR cutouts/backgrounds load correctly again.
  • 🔎 Search released images: Now supports BGR and hides not-visible images.
  • Clearer “active” events: Event List now shows “Live on Capture App” to indicate capture-ready status, as opposed to "Active" which caused confusion related to Face Matching.

That’s the scoop! 💫

Less friction, clearer signals, and stronger protection—so you can spend more time shooting and selling.

Keep being amazing,
Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Sharper Images, A New Workflow & Capture App 4.20.10 📸✨
Feature Updates
October 10, 2025

Weekly Recap: Sharper Images, A New Workflow & Capture App 4.20.10 📸✨

3
 minutes read
Hey photo friends!

This week’s updates are focused on clarity, quality, and efficiency—from sharper image previews across the board to a brand-new Face Matching Workflow, Roster Check-In.

Let’s take a look! 👀

🏅 New Workflow: Roster Check-In™

Made for sports and other rostered shoots when you want Face Matching™ + a roster in one workflow.

How it works:

1. Upload a roster to the Event (via the Dashboard, under your Event's Participants & Contacts page)

2. In the Capture & Upload app, log into your Event and choose Roster Check-In™ as your shooting mode

3. Pick a name from the roster (or add one via Type & Take)

4. Take a quick reference photo (using the device's camera or a tethered camera)

Done! Future image uploads, from the Capture & Upload app or from the Dashboard, will automatically match to that person and market them their new gallery.

Note: Requires Capture & Upload App 4.20.10

📋 Dashboard

  • 🏷️ PhotoTags on Tap-A-Face: You can now set PhotoTags when creating a participant via the manual Tap-A-Face available on the Image Details page
  • 🖼️ Higher-resolution images across key pages, including:
    • Manual Assign Images page
    • Image Release Gallery
  • 🎨 Overlay importer now shows full-frame previews (previously only banners)

🛍️ Retail Site

  • 🧖 Confirmation popup when adding Retouch items to the cart—provides extra info to the subjects about the retouching process
  • 😊 Face Finder now shows higher-resolution previews for better clarity

🔒 Private Image Download Galleries

  • 🖼️ Higher-res image previews for a sharper, more polished experience

📱 iOS Capture App 4.20.10 (coming Oct 10–13)

  • 👥 New Workflow: Roster Check-In™ — streamline your workflow by checking in subjects directly using a roster and the Capture & Upload App
  • 💬 UI updates:
    • Most error popups replaced with native dialogs for cleaner alerts
    • Login popup stays open on invalid login (no more accidental closures)
  • Performance boosts everywhere:
    • Less memory usage for uploads
    • Faster image details popups and Name Lookup lists
    • Better performance for image previews across the shooting page, film strip, image gallery, and FM Roster Check-In

🧩 Smaller Fixes & Improvements

  • 📸 Faster image loading:
    • Participant list and event overview now use smaller thumbnails
    • PhotoRoster™ Selfie Check-In™ imports now load quicker
  • 🗂️ BGR folder fixes: Group status button behavior corrected for edit folder popups
  • 📍 Tap locations on Image Details page now align correctly
  • 🖼️ Higher-res thumbnails on Manage Images (even in the smaller grid view)
  • 💌 Email-only participants now receive new image alerts after placing an order
  • 🧠 Watermark improvement: Retail site static watermarking now shows the word “Copyright” instead of your business name — this helps prevent AI tools from removing it as platforms are adding copyright-protection safeguards

That’s everything for this week! 💫

From sharper previews to smarter check-ins, these updates make every step of your workflow a little smoother (and crisper!).

Keep being amazing,
Candy 🍬

Turning Shipping Into a Smart Strategy with NowCandid™
NowCandid 101
October 6, 2025

Turning Shipping Into a Smart Strategy with NowCandid™

5
 minutes read

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.

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

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