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How One Louisiana Team Keeps Setting the Bar for Military Ball Photography Success

How One Louisiana Team Keeps Setting the Bar for Military Ball Photography Success
When it comes to military ball events, our incredible NowCandid users out of Louisiana have done it again!

Building on their previous years of success, they’ve once again showcased how profitable and rewarding these events can be with the right tools, strategy, and dedication.

Consistency & Growth in 2024

Despite a slight decrease in event participants/attendance in 2024 compared to the previous year, this Louisiana team managed to match their impressive ~$26,000 sales total from 2023—and they didn’t stop there. They also improved their sales per image and sales per participant averages, proving that even with fewer attendees, their ability to deliver value remains unparalleled.

This is the kind of consistency and adaptability that defines true professionals. Even more remarkable is their journey to this point.

The Journey: From 2022 to 2024

It’s worth revisiting their story. Back in 2022, this team had just started using NowCandid—trained on the system the week of their first military ball event. Despite being completely new to the platform and working under tight deadlines, they pulled in an impressive $16,000 in sales. While those numbers didn’t quite hit the heights of their 2023 and 2024 totals, it was a strong foundation for what was to come.

For their 2023 and 2024 events, they doubled down on preparation and team strategy, hiring additional staff to support their photographers and improve operational efficiency.

One of the key moves was more actively promoting selfie check-ins, which not only enhanced the customer experience but also increased the number of photos taken—a direct driver of sales. These refinements pushed them to over $26,000 in sales in 2023 and another stellar year in 2024.

Looking Ahead to 2025

With the new Web Dashboard at their fingertips, the Louisiana team is already preparing to take their 2025 military ball to new heights. The Web Dashboard will unlock features that are sure to impress attendees and drive even greater sales:

  • More Art Overlay Options: Customize event images with exciting designs that attendees will love.
  • All-New Retail Site: A sleek, user-friendly interface for clients to browse and purchase their images.
  • Upsell Opportunities: Introduce premium options like retouching and diamond gloss print coating to enhance the final product and boost sales.

Armed with these enhancements, they’re aiming for even bigger successes in 2025—and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish.

Military Balls: A Goldmine for Photographers

This Louisiana team’s story is a shining example of how profitable military ball events can be. With strategic planning, the right tools, and a little effort, these events can bring in tens of thousands of dollars in revenue.

If there are military bases in or near your area, we strongly encourage you to seek out these opportunities. Partnering with military organizations for formal events is not only rewarding financially but also a chance to build lasting relationships with a highly engaged audience.

Tips for Success

  • Invest in Support Staff: Extra hands help keep the process smooth, from organizing attendees to encouraging selfie check-ins.
  • Leverage NowCandid Tools: Our workflows, like Selfie Check-In and advanced offers, make events efficient and client-focused.
  • Upsell Smartly: Use premium options like overlays, retouching, and print upgrades to maximize your per-participant revenue.
  • Engage Participants Early: Drive excitement and ensure attendees know how to access their photos before and after the event.

Ready to Capture More Success?

Military ball events are a prime opportunity to elevate your business, and NowCandid is here to support you every step of the way. If this story inspires you to explore similar opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out or dive into your local market to find events like these.

Here’s to making 2025 your most successful year yet! 🎉

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Weekly Recap: Easier Shopping, Bilingual Check-Ins & More!
Feature Updates
May 30, 2025

Weekly Recap: Easier Shopping, Bilingual Check-Ins & More!

2
 minutes read
Hey there! 👋

Candy here with your weekly dose of NowCandid™ updates!

We’ve rolled out some helpful new features to make check-ins smoother, shopping more intuitive, and checkouts faster. Let’s take a peek! 👀

🌍 ¡Check-In en Español!

We’ve added Spanish language support for all customer check-in pages, including:

  • • Selfie Check-In™
  • • Simple Check-In
  • • Scan Card Check-In

The system will auto-detect the user’s browser language and serve the Spanish version when appropriate.

More languages are planned in the future, so stay tuned! 🌐

Bonus: We also have added Spanish versions of the Privacy Policy & Terms of Use for end customers to use!

🛍 Easier Package Shopping 🖼️

Package selection just got a serious upgrade! 🎁

When a customer is picking images for each item in a Package, they’ll now see:

  • • Tabs to toggle between All Images and their Personal Gallery
  • • Pagination to easily flip through the All Images Tab

This is especially useful when customers are shopping for Packages directly from a link to the All Images Gallery — now it’s easier to browse and find their perfect shot! 💫

🛠 Miscellaneous Fixes & Tweaks

Here’s a quick roundup of other small (but mighty!) improvements this week:

  • 🏷️ Empty PhotoTags™ no longer appear on the retail site — cleaner and simpler for your customers!
  • 💸 Venmo now shows up more consistently as an express checkout option.
  • 📅 Interested in attending Summer Seminar 2025 in OKC? Head to the Profile Page in your dashboard for the invite and sign-up link!
  • 🐞 Tons of small bug fixes and polish across the platform. We’re always working to keep things speedy, intuitive, and delightful!

See you next week with more exciting improvements!

As always, if you need anything — just ask me!😄

Cheers,

Candy

Weekly Recap: Clarity Campaign, Offer Previews & Fresh Fixes!🎯
Feature Updates
May 23, 2025

Weekly Recap: Clarity Campaign, Offer Previews & Fresh Fixes!🎯

4
 minutes read
Hey there, photography superheroes! 🦸‍♀️📸

This week, we've launched a wave of updates designed to make the NowCandid™ experience smoother, clearer, and even more photographer-friendly.

From helpful interface changes to new sharing tools and fixes to long-standing quirks—there’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump in!

💡 The Clarity Campaign: Making Things Make More Sense™

We’ve been listening to feedback and noticed some common points of confusion around terminology in the dashboard, reports, and app. So, we’re making some well-needed name changes that we think will make life easier for everyone—especially new users just getting started.

Here’s what’s changing:

  • • GroupTag(s)PhotoTag(s)

    A more intuitive name to describe this helpful organization tool!
  • • FaceMatch ImportPhotoRosters™
    • “FaceMatch Import” is now “PhotoRosters”
    • “FaceGroups” are now “PhotoRosters”
    • “Organizations” remain the same
  • • Participant(s)Contact(s) (most places)
    • On reports and list pages, you'll now see “Contacts” or "Participants & Contacts" instead
    • “Participants” now refers only to Contacts with matched or assigned images
  • • Home tabReports tab

    Plus, “Events” is now the first tab in the dashboard navigation, making the flow easier for new users!

These aren’t just name changes—they’re clarity boosters designed to help everyone understand the platform faster and more fully. 💡

Reports will be updated next week as well to reflect this changes, hopefully making them even more accurate & helpful! We love reporting & analytics around here.

🔍 Price & Product Preview Pages

Photographers can now generate read-only URLs of their Offers to share with school officials, parents, or event organizers ahead of time.

✅ What this means:

  • • You can preview exactly what the pricing and product lineups will look like
  • • Share a clean, professional view of your Offer—no dashboard access required
  • • Useful for gatekeepers who need to approve pricing or product options in advance

Find this option in the Offers tab today! 🚀

Found via the Offers tab on the Web Dashboard

Or check out the preview for yourself, using this link here!

⚙️ Dashboard Tweaks & Tools

Small changes = big improvements to your workflow. Here's what's new:

  • ✉️ You can now edit your Business Email in Profile Settings (this affects retail site contact and backprinting!)
Editable via "Business Info" within your Profile Settings on the Web Dashboard!
  • 🧮 Unassigned Image Count added to the image count popup in Manage Images
Found via the graph icon near the top of an Event's Manage Images page!
  • 🔁 Associated Events now visible at the PhotoRoster level (not just at the Org level)
  • 📜 Offer Logs! You can now view an edit history of each Custom Offer, including edits made by you or the NowCandid™ team

🔧 Notable Fixes

We’ve patched some common hiccups:

  • 📱 Selfie Check-In bugs on newer Samsung phones
  • 📷 Fixes for uploading from camera roll on iOS
  • 🖼️ Memory Mate product bug affecting custom background rendering
  • 🚫 Express Checkout bug fix: clearer error when customers enter short names (like initials)

That’s all for this week, friends! 🥳

We're making NowCandid™ easier to use and even more powerful than ever. Thanks for sticking with us and letting us be part of your photography business journey!

If you’ve got questions, hit up Candy, our ever-present AI helper—or book a session with our team!

Until next time, keep capturing those unforgettable moments. 📸✨

Cheers and sparkles,

Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Event Comparison Reports, Improved Folder Downloads, and More! 🍬
Feature Updates
May 16, 2025

Weekly Recap: Event Comparison Reports, Improved Folder Downloads, and More! 🍬

4
 minutes read
Hey there, photo friends!

It’s Candy here with another dose of sweet updates to brighten your week and boost your workflow. Let’s take a look at what’s new across the NowCandid™ universe! 🌟

📊 New Event Comparison Report

Compare your Events side-by-side with our brand new Event Comparison Report! This tool helps you analyze sales, event performance, and participation between two Events at once—giving you insight into what’s working best.

Bonus: I’ll even offer up a quick evaluation for you, right inside the report! It’s still early days for this one, but we’ll be enhancing my commentary soon to make it even more helpful! 💬

Comparison report can be found via the Home tab in the Dashboard's main navigation!

🖼️ Download Entire Folders — With or Without Overlay Art

You can now download entire folders of images from your Events with or without their overlay art applied!

✨ This is a major upgrade from the old version that:

  • • Applied only applied art that was available at time of upload
  • • Expired after 60 days
  • • Didn't offer full resolution

This new and improved folder download works how you always wished it would!

Found via the download icon on an Event's Manage Images page!

📷 Selfie Check-In: Camera Roll Option for Camera Issues

Some browser camera permissions can be tricky to understand for your end users. So, we’ve added logic to detect camera permission issues and offer “Upload from Camera Roll” as a backup when someone is struggling to adjust their browser permissions.

Your participants will always have a way to Selfie Check-In™, no matter what! 😊

Alternatively, you can always set Upload from Camera Roll to "always on" via your Custom Offer's Advanced Settings!

🆓 New Offer Setting for Overlay-Only Free Downloads

Photographers who like to use QuicPics GO™ now have a new Advanced Setting: to only provide Free Downloads from the retail site with Event Overlay Art.

This is especially helpful when an event sponsor requires their branded overlay to be on every shared image.

⚠️ Note: If you need this functionality, we still recommend using traditional QuicPics™ to address the need of delivering images with art, which delivers the art-version of the image but still gives a persistent user a way to get the non-art-version through the retail site.
Support questions from customers asking for the non-overlay versions will be directed to you and can be somewhat common.

Found via your Custom Offer's Advanced Settings!

🛠️ Miscellaneous Tweaks & Fixes

Here’s a quick roundup of the smaller (but mighty!) improvements we made this week:

  • 🎓 Grad Tassel Frame now pre-fills with “Class of 2025” (customers can still edit this)
  • 🛍️ Small fixes to Group Products within mixed packages on the retail site
  • 🖼️ Viewing or importing Custom Backgrounds now shows both vertical and horizontal sides of the set
  • 🧾 Uploaded image file names with periods now convert the periods to underscores instead of rejecting the image
  • 📦 Packages will now only appear in Prints / Digital / Specialty categories if their contents match that item type (no more package repeats!)
  • 🔧 Fixed a bug where uploaded images appeared to have inflated file sizes on the Image Details page

That’s a wrap for this week’s recap!

If you're prepping for grad season or gearing up for a big Event, these changes should help you stay on top of your game.

As always, let me know if you have questions—I'm here 24/7 to help. 🧠💡

Keep being amazing,

Candy 🍬

Let’s get in touch

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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.

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