Hey photo friends! 👋

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Candy here with another weekly recap! This week’s biggest addition is a major upgrade to Client Outreach: you can now schedule texts and emails to send later. We’ve also added smarter Virtual Group tools, new Candy Image Studio looks, and a few useful retail and Dashboard fixes.

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Let’s jump in!

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📅 Client Outreach Can Now Be Scheduled

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You can now schedule Client Outreach messages to send at a future date and time instead of having to send everything immediately.

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⏰ Schedule texts or emails up to 60 days in advance

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📋 New Scheduled page to see upcoming sends

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❌ Cancel a scheduled outreach before it goes out

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💰 See estimated sends and cost before the scheduled time

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🔔 Get notified when it sends

• Dashboard Inbox notification
• Mobile Dashboard push notification

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This makes Client Outreach much more useful for planned reminders, follow-ups, announcements, and other messages you already know you’ll want to send later.

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👥 Import from multiple Events at once

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When building a Client Outreach list from Event contacts, you can now select multiple Events in a single import instead of adding them one at a time.

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🏈 Virtual Group Builder Gets Smarter

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Virtual Group Builder picked up several new controls this week:

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🔢 New Auto Order By Jerseys button‍

• Automatically reorder subjects based on their jersey numbers.
• This is powered by Jersey Jotter, but Jersey Jotter does not need to be enabled on the Event for you to use it.

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🧠 Improved Auto Headsize‍

• Automatic subject sizing should now produce better results.

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👤 Less disruptive participant additions‍

• Adding one participant now places them at the bottom-right of the bottom row instead of automatically rearranging the entire group.

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🌈 New Saturation slider‍

• Adjust an individual subject’s saturation from the Subject Inspector.

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🌑 Drop Shadow can now be disabled‍

• There’s a new toggle if you prefer the group without subject shadows. Drop Shadow behavior also works more naturally with Cutout Fade.

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🌫️ Simplified Cutout Fade‍

• Cutout Fade and Cutout Fade Intensity have been combined into a single control with improved defaults and results.

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↕️ More vertical positioning freedom‍

• Subjects can now be moved significantly farther downward when needed.

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🎛️ New Effects category‍

• Some related controls have been reorganized to make the Builder easier to navigate.

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🎨 New Candy Image Studio Looks

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Two new low-cost styles are available:

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🌸 Mayfair — 4¢‍

• A polished filter-inspired look with its own distinct color treatment.

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🌈 Lively‍

• Similar in spirit to Clarendon, but with a different look and feel. Give it a try!

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🛠️ Candy Image Studio fixes

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✨ Fixed some nodes not working through Quick Candy Image Studio on Manage Images

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🖼️ Fixed the Retouch node failing on especially large image files

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🖥️ Dashboard Improvements

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📣 Event Marketing History links are more visible‍

• Three important links on the page are now displayed as cards, matching the approach used elsewhere in the Dashboard.

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🏷️ Remove PhotoTags in bulk‍

• Select multiple participants on the Participant List page and use the new Remove PhotoTags button to clear their PhotoTags at once.

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📱 Mobile Dashboard

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No app update required:

• ⬅️ Previous Page
• ➡️ Next Page

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Both options are now available from the logo button / Quick Actions menu at the top of the Mobile Dashboard.

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🛍️ Retail & Quic Fixes

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📦 Group package visibility fixed‍

• Packages containing group products will no longer incorrectly appear when an Event has no group images.

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🤖 Auto Edited FreePics/FreePortraits images fixed‍

• Fixed an issue where Event-level Auto Edits with Hide Originals enabled were not being texted once the edited image was ready.

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That’s the week!

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Scheduled Client Outreach opens up a lot more ways to plan customer communication ahead of time, while the new Virtual Group tools should make sports layouts quicker and easier to fine-tune.

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Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬

When you've been in the event photography business for nearly two decades, you've seen just about everything.

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But every once in a while, a new tool comes along that changes the game.

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For Matt Nassif of Joe Photo Tampa, that tool has been NowCandid's Auto Editor.

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Nearly 20 Years of Capturing Memories

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Joe Photo Tampa has been photographing events across Florida for almost 20 years. Matt credits much of that journey to his longtime friend and mentor, Ed Kempf of Impact Photography/Joe Photo Iowa.

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Back in 2007, Ed introduced Matt to Candid Color Systems, inviting him to visit Oklahoma and see everything CCS had to offer firsthand. That visit marked the beginning of a partnership that continues nearly two decades later.

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"I'll be going into my 20th year this fall and feel incredibly blessed to have CCS as my lab. I'm also grateful for my mentor Ed, who has guided me throughout the years."

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When NowCandid was just getting started, Matt was there from the beginning. After reconnecting with Jack at a photography conference in Las Vegas in early 2020, he became one of the platform's original beta testers, working closely with the development team to help shape the software.

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Today, Matt has been using NowCandid for six years and believes Joe Photo Tampa is one of the platform's largest users.

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Taking a Chance on Something New

When Matt first learned about the Auto Editor through a NowCandid newsletter, he immediately saw an opportunity.

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One of his long-time clients was celebrating their 20th anniversary, with more than 600 guests expected to attend. Rather than offering another standard event experience, Matt wanted to surprise attendees with something they'd never seen before.

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The result?

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A huge success.

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More than 180 guests participated in the Auto Editor experience.

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"It was a TOTAL hit."

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Like many photographers, Matt admits he was initially hesitant because of the AI component.

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"My biggest hesitation was simply not knowing anything about AI."

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Fortunately, a little guidance helped turn uncertainty into excitement.

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Creating an Experience Guests Remember

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By his third Auto Editor event, Matt had found his rhythm.

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"What surprised me the most is how fun, different, and interactive the Auto Editor is."

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Guests weren't just participating. They were bringing their friends back to experience it themselves.

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"Guests would receive their character on their phone, then come back with more friends so they could try it too. That's a win-win for Joe Photo Tampa!"

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The response from event hosts has been equally enthusiastic.

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"My customers loved the product, and their guests were showing off their images and posting them online."

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More Than a Fun Feature: A Business Opportunity

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While the guest experience has been exciting, the business results have been just as impressive.

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At Matt's second Auto Editor event, one guest loved the experience so much that she booked Joe Photo Tampa on the spot for another event just 72 hours later.

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"The product sells itself."

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Matt also sees Auto Editor opening doors in an increasingly competitive market.

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"This is an upsell product that can definitely compete with the photo booth world."

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Instead of simply taking another picture, photographers can offer clients an interactive experience that guests talk about long after the event ends.

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Advice for Fellow Photographers

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Matt's advice for photographers considering Auto Editor is simple:

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"If not now, when?"

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He encourages photographers to spend some time experimenting before introducing it to clients.

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"Try it at the office. Test it. Learn what prompts work best for your style and events."

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He also offers one important reminder:

"AI isn't perfect. It takes some patience to learn what works best. Once you get your prompts dialed in, it becomes an incredible product."

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A Photographer Who Loves What He Does

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Whether it's corporate events, parties, or celebrations, Matt simply loves photographing people.

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His photography style?

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Fun. Outgoing. Professional.

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And when it comes to camera gear...

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"I bleed Nikon."

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Thank You, Joe Photo Tampa!

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Matt has been an incredible partner to NowCandid from the very beginning! From helping beta test the platform to embracing new features like Auto Editor and sharing honest feedback along the way.

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We're incredibly grateful for photographers like Matt who continue to push the platform forward while creating unforgettable experiences for their clients.

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Thank you, Matt, for being part of the NowCandid family. We can't wait to see what you create next.

Photographers do not just need software.

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They need a workflow that helps them capture images, connect those images to the right customers, sell products online, fulfill orders, and support the customer experience after the sale.

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That is where NowCandid is different.

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NowCandid is backed by Candid Color Systems, a company with its own professional photo lab, fulfillment operation, software tools, and decades of experience supporting high-volume photographers. That means we are not just a software platform connected to someone else’s lab. We are part of a company that helps support more of the full process — from capture to customer order to finished product.

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And for photographers, that matters.

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A Real One-Stop Shop

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Many photography platforms focus on software first. They help photographers build galleries, collect orders, or send customers to an online shopping experience. But when it comes to printing and fulfillment, they often rely on third-party lab partnerships.

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NowCandid is built differently.

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Because NowCandid is part of Candid Color Systems, sales flow through a company that actually has its own professional photo lab. That gives us a more complete view of the process and a stronger ability to support photographers from start to finish. Your workflow does not stop when a customer clicks “order.” That order still needs to be produced, fulfilled, shipped, and supported. With NowCandid and Candid Color Systems working together, the software and fulfillment side are more closely connected.

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Why Software + Fulfillment Matters

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When software and fulfillment are separated, things can get complicated.

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If a photographer has a question about an order, product, shipment, or customer issue, the answer may depend on multiple companies. The software provider may point to the lab. The lab may not have full visibility into the retail or customer experience. Support can become fragmented, and accountability can get fuzzy.

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NowCandid helps reduce that disconnect. We can see and support more of the full customer journey. From the event setup to online ordering to lab fulfillment, our team has a broader view of what is happening and a better ability to help. That does not just make support easier. It makes the entire experience feel more connected for your customers.

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Built to Help Photographers Keep More of What They Earn

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A connected software and lab model also helps us keep the photographer’s bottom line in mind.

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When a platform has to rely heavily on outside fulfillment partnerships, those additional layers can affect pricing, margins, support, and flexibility. With NowCandid, sales are driven through Candid Color Systems’ lab, which helps us control more of the process and pass savings on to photographers where possible.

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The goal is simple: give photographers a powerful platform without stacking on unnecessary complexity.

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NowCandid helps photographers sell prints, downloads, packages, and products online while keeping fulfillment connected through the same company behind the platform.

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One Platform. More Accountability.

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Photographers already have enough moving pieces to manage.

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They are planning events, managing equipment, working with schools, leagues, graduates, families, and event organizers, training staff, uploading images, answering customer questions, and trying to sell more photos.

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They should not have to wonder who is responsible when software, retail, production, and fulfillment do not line up.

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NowCandid’s one-stop shop approach gives photographers a more connected path:

• Capture and upload images
• Match photos to the right customers
• Deliver galleries by text or email
• Sell prints, downloads, packages, and products online
• Fulfill orders through Candid Color Systems’ professional lab
• Support customers with more complete visibility into the process

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It is not just about convenience. It is about confidence.

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Why This Matters for High-Volume Photography

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For high-volume photographers, small workflow problems can become big problems fast.

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A delay in fulfillment, a product question, a customer support issue, or a disconnected order process can impact hundreds or thousands of customers during a busy season.

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That is why a true one-stop shop matters.

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NowCandid is designed for photographers who need more than a gallery. It is built for photographers who need a complete path from photo day to payday — with software, sales, marketing, fulfillment, and support working together.

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The NowCandid Difference

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NowCandid combines flexible photography workflows with online photo sales, automated marketing, customer galleries, AI-powered tools, and professional lab fulfillment through Candid Color Systems.

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That makes NowCandid more than just software.

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It is a connected capture-to-commerce solution backed by a company that understands both the technology and the lab side of high-volume photography.

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For photographers, that means fewer disconnected systems, clearer support, and a more complete platform built to help them capture, sell, and deliver with confidence.

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Ready to See How NowCandid Works?

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If you are looking for photography software that connects more of the process — from capture to online sales to fulfillment — NowCandid was built for you.

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‍Click here to open a free account today and see how a true one-stop shop can help simplify your photography workflow.