HomeNavigation arrowBlogNavigation arrow
Current page
GradPics

Wrapping Up Grad Season: Key Takeaways for Photographers Using GradPics Now

Wrapping Up Grad Season: Key Takeaways for Photographers Using GradPics Now

As we move past the mid-way point of graduation season, it's a perfect time to reflect on the key takeaways and strategies that can boost your photography business in these last handful of ceremonies.

The impact of using NowCandid's GradPics Now program has been significant for photographers working both large and small events. Here’s a look at what we've learned so far and how you can make the most of the remaining graduations.

Tips for a Successful Graduation Season

1. Prioritize Speed Over Extensive Retouching

In the fast-paced environment of graduation ceremonies, the quick delivery of photos can significantly boost your sales. Focus on capturing the best possible shots in-camera and ensure speedy delivery to clients.

2. Stick to SRGB Color Profiles for Retouching

If retouching is necessary, save images in an SRGB color profile. This ensures consistency and vibrancy across all viewing platforms, enhancing the overall appeal of your photos to clients.

3. Use Direct Flash to Enhance Image Quality

Proper lighting is crucial, especially in the varied environments of graduation venues. Using direct flash can help mitigate common lighting issues such as facial shadows, ensuring your subjects are evenly lit and stand out.

4. Be Prepared: Carry Extra Batteries and a Backup Camera

Always be prepared for the unexpected. Carry extra batteries and a backup camera to all events. This ensures uninterrupted shooting, even if your primary camera fails or batteries run out.

NowCandid Best Practices: Selfie Check-In Workflow

NowCandid's Selfie Check-In workflow is designed to streamline the graduation photography process, making it easier for photographers to manage large events and ensuring every graduate's moment is captured. Here's how to effectively use this feature:

  • Ensure Participation: Encourage every graduate to use the Selfie Check-In upon arrival. Consider assigning assistants to facilitate this process and ensure a smooth workflow.
  • Visibility: Utilize multiple QR code placements—signs, lanyards, and handheld QR code signs—to ensure no one misses out. This increases the chances of capturing every graduate.
  • Extended Reach: Gather information not just from graduates, but also their families. This expands your marketing reach and increases the potential for sales.

Highlighting Best Performing Graduations with NowCandid

The power of NowCandid's tools is evident in the outstanding performance of several recent graduation events:

  • An Oklahoma Medical College Commencement
    • ~150 graduates
    • ~$65 sales per graduate
    • ~$9,750 in sales

  • An Oklahoma Graduate School Commencement
    • ~115 graduates
    • ~$41.50 sales per graduate
    • ~$4,772.50 in sales

  • A Louisiana Medical College Commencement
    • ~175 graduates
    • ~$40 sales per graduate
    • ~$7,000 in sales

  • A Louisiana College Commencement
    • ~250 graduates
    • ~$37.50 sales per graduate
    • ~$9,375 in sales

  • An Alaska College Graduation Ceremony
    • ~100 graduates
    • ~$21 sales per graduate
    • ~$2,100 in sales

All these events were photographed in the last two months, showcasing the incredible potential of leveraging NowCandid for your graduation photography needs.

Ready to Elevate Your Graduation Photography?

There's still time to use NowCandid for your upcoming graduation events. If you have any questions or need help setting up an event, our experts Jack and Darwin are here to assist you.

Schedule a session with them today at https://calendly.com/nowcandid-training to ensure you're fully prepared to make this graduation season your most successful yet!

Related articles

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

Weekly Recap: Longer Face Matching™, New PhotoRoster Tools & Retail Tweaks!🗓
Feature Updates
June 6, 2025

Weekly Recap: Longer Face Matching™, New PhotoRoster Tools & Retail Tweaks!🗓

5
 minutes read
Hey friends! 📸

Candy here with another round of updates from the NowCandid™ world.

This week brings big improvements for Face Matching™ Events, new ways to re-use your check-ins across Events, and a couple of helpful tweaks to the retail site and image management tools.

Let’s dive in! 👇

⏳ Face Matching™ Now Lasts 60 Days!

That’s right—your Face Matching™ window has now doubled from 30 to 60 days from your Event's Start Date! 🙌

This means even more time for:

  • • Late uploads to still get matched 🔄
  • • Schools to send out the Selfie Check-In™ link after the Event 📬
  • Stragglers to find their photos 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️🧍

But here’s your friendly reminder: the faster you upload, the better your sales! 🏃‍♂️💸

📸 Every image uploaded goes through:

  • • Exposure correction automatically
  • • Optional cart-wide light retouching for customers
  • • Manual review for print color accuracy
  • • Intuitive cropping tools for end users

So don’t sit on your images to batch-edit them all—uploading sooner = more sales.

Every day that passes = potential sales slipping by. Speed matters!

🔁 Create PhotoRosters™ from Selfie Check-Ins!

This one’s a fun one for graduation season! 🎓

Now you can create a PhotoRoster™ directly from the Selfie Check-Ins™ of a previous Event.

Here’s why it’s awesome:

  • • Ran a great Prom with tons of Check-Ins? ✅
  • Reuse that same data to auto-create your graduation PhotoRoster™! 🎓
  • If participants Check-In again or get added via Tap-A-Face™, NowCandid™ automatically merges based on contact info = no duplicate galleries, no confusion!

Perfect for client relationships where you cater to all of their school's Events!

🧰 Misc. Improvements & Fixes

A few extra goodies for your workflow this week:

  • 🔠 New image name sort option on the Manage Images page (great for keeping sequences clean).
  • 📲 Prominent Selfie Check-In™ button added to All Images galleries (so folks can find their pics even faster!).
  • 🧾 A “non-refundable” tag has been added to the shopping cart & receipt for digital items to help set better expectations.
    • (Digital photography = no take-backs! This helps avoid confusion.)

That’s all for now! 🎉

If you have any questions about the new features, you can always reach me from your dashboard! 💬

See you next week for more enhancements and pro tips!

Cheers,

Candy

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

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.

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.

  • List One
  • List Two
  • List Three
  • List Four
  • List Five

This is a link

This is bold text