Summer is the season of festivals, fairs, and vibrant outdoor events. From community gatherings to large-scale festivals, the atmosphere is alive with excitement and celebration. Typically, these events feature photo stations with intricate, themed backdrops, encouraging attendees to snap selfies or burdening another guests with the "Will you take our photo?" ask. While this DIY approach captures some fun moments, it often falls short of providing high-quality, shareable images, and can be momentarily disruptive.

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As a NowCandid photographer, you have a unique opportunity to pitch your professional photography services to event organizers, offering an upgrade that will elevate their event and create lasting memories for attendees. Here’s how you can effectively pitch your services:

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The Advantages of Professional Photography at Events

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1. Well-Composed, Shareable Images

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‍Professional photographers capture well-cropped and well-lit images that attendees will be excited to share on their social media profiles. These high-quality photos can enhance the attendees' experience, providing them with well-composed images that stand out from typical smartphone selfies.

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2. Real-Time Delivery

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‍Using NowCandid’s advanced technology, photographers can deliver images in real-time via a link through text message or email. Attendees receive their photos quickly, allowing them to share their professional photos instantly on social media, boosting the event’s visibility and engagement.

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3. Enhanced Event Promotion

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By providing stunning images, you help event organizers promote future events. High-quality photos can be used in marketing materials, social media campaigns, and promotional content, showcasing the event’s atmosphere and encouraging higher attendance in the future.

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4. Fun and Excitement

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‍Adding a professional photographer brings an element of fun and excitement to the event. Attendees will enjoy posing for professional shots and seeing their photos displayed in real-time with our LiveLoop feature, creating a dynamic and engaging experience.

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How to Pitch Your Services

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1. Highlight the Professional Touch

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‍Emphasize the difference between DIY photos and professional photography. Explain how your expertise and equipment can capture moments that truly reflect the spirit of the event, with better lighting, composition, and clarity.

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2. Showcase Real-Time Sharing

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‍Demonstrate how NowCandid’s technology allows for real-time image delivery. Show examples of how quickly attendees can receive and share their photos, enhancing their event experience and increasing social media engagement.

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3. Provide Visual Examples

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‍Share a portfolio of your work from previous events, highlighting the quality and creativity of your shots. Visual examples can be a powerful tool in convincing organizers of the value you bring to their event.

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4. Offer a Unique Selling Proposition

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‍Present a unique selling proposition (USP) that sets you apart from other photographers. This could, again, be NowCandid's LiveLoop feature, where images are show on large event screens. It could be your ability to quickly process and deliver photos.

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5. Demonstrate the Marketing Benefits

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‍Explain how professional photos can be used for future event promotion. Provide case studies or examples of events where professional photography significantly boosted marketing efforts and attracted more attendees.

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Conclusion

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By pitching your professional photography services to summer event organizers, you can transform their photo stations into dynamic, engaging experiences that attendees will love. Professional images not only enhance the attendees' experience but also provide valuable marketing material for future events.

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Reach out to local event organizers and showcase how NowCandid can add fun and excitement to their events, delivering high-quality, shareable images that attendees will cherish. Let’s make this summer season unforgettable with photography that captures the essence of every celebration.

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Ready to Capture the Good Times?

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If you have any questions or need further assistance in pitching your services, feel free to reach out to our support team. We’re here to help you succeed and make every event a picture-perfect success!

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.

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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.
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Tips for a Successful Graduation Season
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1. Prioritize Speed Over Extensive Retouching

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‍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.

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2. Stick to SRGB Color Profiles for Retouching

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‍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.

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3. Use Direct Flash to Enhance Image Quality

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‍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.

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

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‍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.

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NowCandid Best Practices: Selfie Check-In Workflow

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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:

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• 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.
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• 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.
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• Extended Reach: Gather information not just from graduates, but also their families. This expands your marketing reach and increases the potential for sales.

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Highlighting Best Performing Graduations with NowCandid

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ready to Elevate Your Graduation Photography?

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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.

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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!

We have talked about graduations a lot in our blog posts lately, as we try to help photographers be as prepared as possible for graduation season this year. And now, it's time to look at some numbers, and see what kinds of Events are performing well so far. After which, we'll discuss the findings.

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Small Graduations Leading the Way 🌟

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As the title implies, small graduations (graduations in the 50-250 graduate range) have been some of the top performers so far this grad season. While some larger graduations have more total sales overall thanks to the large number of participants, certain smaller graduations have sales per graduate averages that blow large graduations out of the water.

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Below are a few examples of GradPics Now graduations that have taken place in either April or May of this year. Keep in mind these are sales so far and being these Events are recent, these numbers will continue to rise.

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Note: Many details have been removed, summarized, or approximated to preserve privacy for all parties involved with these Events.

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• An Oklahoma Medical School Graduation
  • ~100 graduates
  • ~$48 sales per graduate
  • ~$4,800 in sales

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• A Kansas Medical School Graduation
  • ~150 graduates
  • ~$49 sales per graduate
  • ~$7,350 in sales

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• A Texas Ring Ceremony
  • ~200 graduates
  • ~$46.50 sales per graduate
  • ~$9,300 in sales

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• A Louisiana High School Graduation
  • ~75 graduates
  • ~$31 sales per graduate
  • ~$2,325 in sales

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• A Small Arkansas College Graduation
  • ~250 graduates
  • ~$31.50 sales per graduate
  • ~$7,875 in sales

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5 quick examples, 5 different locations, and even some variety in terms of the type of ceremony. But all of them were relatively small. And yet, their sales per graduate averages far exceed the $20 sales per graduate benchmark we expect photographers to hit when doing a good job of implementing GradPics Now's best practices.

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Why Are Small Graduations Excelling? 🤔

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Are these more intimate graduation ceremonies more conducive to better photography? OR, is this a question of staffing? Perhaps it is simply easier to execute Selfie Check-In well, and take more pictures per graduate when there are fewer graduates to photograph. Several of these top-performing Events are related to medical schools; could that demographic have a lot of overlap with photo-buyers?

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As always, the answer is likely a mix of all the above. However, I suspect that the most influential factor is the staffing.

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Many photographers, especially those using NowCandid, are either just branching out into graduations for the first time or are just beginning their journey of scaling up and growing their photo business. To maximize your graduation sales, you need good quality pictures and a lot of them. Getting a strong image per graduate count is one of the best ways to improve your sales and sales per graduate averages - second only to doing a good job with Selfie Check-In for the Event.

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Photographers that are new to graduations or still working to grow their business likely cannot send a large enough staff to large graduation ceremonies to cover them as effectively as the same staff could cover a smaller graduation. With a better photographer-to-graduate ratio, it becomes easier to focus on getting good pictures and increasing your image per graduate averages, and thus, better sales per graduate averages.

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What This Means for You 📊

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All in all, following the best practices we have outlined in our recent graduation-related posts are the best ways to increase your graduation sales and to provide both yourself and your customers with a smooth, streamlined graduation experience:

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• Pro Tips for GradPics Now Users: Get the Most Out of Your Graduation Photography
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• Darwin's Quick Tips for Mastering Graduation Photography
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• Grad Season Preparation: Schedule a Pre-Grad Chat with Jack
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• Why GradPics Now?

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But perhaps we have not talked enough about proper staffing, as the exceptional averages at certain smaller ceremonies outshining NowCandid's larger ceremony averages are noteworthy.

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And of course, maybe most importantly of all, is to realize that small graduations can be extremely lucrative when care is put into them! So, consider booking some of the smaller graduations you may have shied away from in the past. Plus, it can be helpful to avoid putting all your eggs into just a few large graduations you have. Schools can be fickle, and you never know when one may decide to switch providers.

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That's all for now!

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Happy snapping,

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Jack III