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Weekly Recap: Express Checkout Confirmations, Capture App Speed Testing, and a New Lightroom Classic Plugin

Weekly Recap: Express Checkout Confirmations, Capture App Speed Testing, and a New Lightroom Classic Plugin
Hey photo friends! 👋


This week’s updates are all about clearer customer actions, smoother retail performance, and new tools that speed up upload workflows. Plus, a strong round of Capture App polish (iOS & Android OTA) and some important Dashboard + Marketing fixes.

Let’s jump in. ✨

🛍️ Retail: Fewer Mis-clicks, Better Previews, Faster Feel

✅ Express Checkout confirmation (all express checkouts)

All express checkout flows now show a confirmation popup that clearly displays the shipping address selected, with options to place the order or go back. It also includes an invalid address popup.

Previously, people would sometimes purchase without double checking their express-checkout-method's default shipping address. So, this change is designed to reduce address mistakes and improve customer experience!

Confirmation popup now clearly displays shipping address confirmation.

🧠 Better UI + performance improvements

  • Improved local rendering (performance, memory usage, and task handling) — originally aimed to improve the retail experience on low-end devices, but it should make most devices feel faster!

  • Native “leave page” confirmation on supported browsers/devices (desktop + Samsung back button) when navigating away from an event page (refresh/back).

Leave page confirmation

🖼️ Clearer package download expectations + better pickers

  • Personal Gallery Downloads on store sheet and package editor now show “+X Images” in the configurator when there are more than 4 images—so customers don’t think they only get what’s previewed.

Personal Gallery Download "+X Images"

    • Personal Gallery Download products inside packages can now be clicked to preview contents.

    • Desktop product/package image pickers are now two columns (like mobile), allowing larger image preview during selection.

    Larger two column image previews

      • Image Filters landing popup now includes “Browse all photos without a filter” so customers who think they must pick a filter know they can also just browse!

      Image Filters landing popup

      🧩 Retail fixes worth noting

      • Fixed a slashed discount amount showing on week 3 when there is no higher amount.
      • Fixed a GalleryGuard edge case that could close the retail site on some Android devices that support mobile context menus when long-pressing.
      • Fixed a race condition where a Group-by-Face gallery loaded from URL params could show default results instead of the filtered view.
      • Fixed an edge case where manually assigned images marked as group could behave like non-group images on retail.

      📱 Capture App OTA: 5.6.1 & 5.6.2 (iOS & Android)

      🌐 NEW: Network Speed Test (5.6.1)

      A new Network Speed Test button is available in Resources. Tap Run Test to check download speed, upload speed, and latency to NowCandid servers (so results may differ from Google/Ookla). It’s a quick test (downloads 5 MB, uploads 2 MB) and is useful for diagnosing weak or congested service during events.

      Mbps is a standard measurement for connection speeds, and 1 megabit per second (Mbps) is 0.125 Megabytes per second (MB/s). So 8 Mbps is 1 Megabyte per second, max. For example, with images that are 10 Megabytes in size, a speed of 8 Mbps would take a minimum of 10 seconds to upload. When speeds are very slow, image uploads may be impossible due to uploads timing out and restarting. In these cases, open the app when you have a stronger connection and all your images will start going up!

      Network Speed Test

      🎪 Photo Booth + Selfie Check-In Station UI upgrades (5.6.2)

      • Photo Booth landing page updated to be more user-friendly (always-visible scrollbar, updated text, sticky go back/continue buttons, red/green emphasis, and a popup explaining why Continue is greyed out).
      • Selfie Check-In Station landing page updated with red/green Go Back / Begin buttons.
      • New dropdown icon beside Group Photo toggle (when an event has PhotoTags) to better display there are additional options to assign PhotoTags.
      • Fixed edge case cancel/continue behavior on Selfie Check-In Station when no contact info was entered.

      🧩 NEW: Lightroom Classic Plugin (Official)

      We’ve launched an official Lightroom Classic plugin to upload images to NowCandid events directly from Lightroom Classic.

      Key notes:

      • Lightroom Classic only
      • Same image rules apply (color profile, DPI, etc.)
      • Uses Capture App login
      • Only events within 60 days of event start date show in the selector
      • Image Details → Logs will show “Uploaded from NowCandid Lightroom Plugin”
      • Docs include guide/download/installation: https://app.nowcandid.com/docs/tools-more/lightroom

      Lightroom Classic Plugin

      Upload from NowCandid Lightroom Plugin

      🖥️ Dashboard: Upload & Roster Clarity + Small UX Wins

      • Event roster upload and PhotoRoster upload now warn about every unrecognized column, making it easier to spot misspellings (especially for optional columns).
      • Participant list page download now puts additional contacts into columns instead of rows.
      • Participant list download now puts merged contacts into their own row if they have different first/last names.
      • Image upload naming cleanup:
        • spaces/parentheses now automatically become underscores (e.g., Image (2)Image_2)
        • names ending in z now get a trailing underscore (e.g., ImagezImagez_)
      • Candy got even better at using the new Docs for responses.
      • Password reset now shows a clear “Your link has expired” screen (links expire after 24 hours).
      • Fixed participant filter inside another participant’s manual assign/unassign page not working properly.
      • Participant Details PhotoTag assignment UI: merged participants no longer incorrectly show PhotoTags as assigned.

      Upload Roster now warns about every unrecognized column.

      📣 Marketing Fixes

      • Fixed edge cases where galleries that were only AI-edited images could cause follow-up email marketing issues and show as 0 images on Participant List.
      • Fixed Day0 marketing edge case not starting if gallery is just AI-edited images.
      • SMS gallery links now include “View photos:” before the gallery URL to reduce confusion where some users thought the gallery link was an unsubscribe link.

      That’s the week! 💫

      Between the Lightroom Classic plugin, the Capture App’s new Network Speed Test, and retail improvements that reduce confusion (and improve performance), this week was packed with practical wins you’ll feel right away.

      Keep it sparkly,

      Candy

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      Photographing Homecoming Weekend with NowCandid: A Photographer's Playbook
      Events
      August 12, 2025

      Photographing Homecoming Weekend with NowCandid: A Photographer's Playbook

      8
       minutes read
      High school homecoming weekend is packed with photo-worthy moments

      From the parade and pep rally to the big game, homecoming court, and the dance. For photographers, it’s a whirlwind. But with NowCandid™, even a small team can cover it all efficiently and profitably.

      Below is a quick look at each event, the opportunities it presents, and the NowCandid tools that help you make the most of them.

      🎉 Homecoming Parade – Kicking Off the Celebration

      • • Selfie Check-In™: Let parade participants register with a quick selfie before kickoff. Face Matching will tag them automatically later.
      • • Roam & Shoot: Focus on faces & emotional moments, not journalistic shots. The system will do the rest!
      • • PartyPics™: Upload images in real-time for attendees, parents and students to view instantly.

        💡 Every identified face is a potential sale. Automation ensures you don’t miss anyone.

      📣 Pep Rally – Spirit & Smiles

      • • Selfie Check-In™: Continue building your attendee database for the weekend.
      • • LiveLoop™: Display photos on the big screen in real-time to build excitement.

        💡 More personalized photos = more likely purchases.

      🏈 Football Game – Under the Lights

      • • Face Matching™: Match images to fans, players, and band members automatically.
      • • JerseyJotter™: You can even let fans filter photos by jersey number for easy finds.
      • • Live-Upload: Deliver shots before halftime!
      • • LiveLoop™: Show photos on the big screen during breaks for instant crowd buzz.

        💡 Thousands of game photos become searchable and personal, boosting sales.

      👑 Homecoming Court – Crowning Moments

      • • Prepare: Add nominees to Face Matching™ ahead of time with Selfie Check-In™!
      • • Background Removal: Instantly turn sideline shots into elegant portraits.
      • • Live-Upload: Provide those crowning shots well before the night’s over.

        💡Court images have built-in demand, your social pics will encourage bigger package sales!

      💃 The Dance – A Night to Remember

      • • Selfie Check-In™ at the Door: The best time to get Check-Ins!

        • Even if someone checks-in again, that's no problem! Get everyone to do it as they funnel into the dance.
      • • Digital Backgrounds: Offer multiple themed or elegant options for portraits, our real-time background removal makes it easy.
      • • Photo Booth + LiveLoop™: Between NowCandid's Photo Booth Mode & LiveLoop™, you have multiple upsell options that create more photos and more positive energy!

        💡 Multiple background choices can lead to one image being purchased multiple times!

      🚀 Why It Works

      NowCandid™ turns homecoming into a personalized, real-time, high-volume photography experience—without extra staff.

      • • Efficiency: Automation handles matching, sorting, and delivery.
      • • Delight: Participants see their photos fast and without searching.
      • • Profitability: More sellable images, quicker turnaround, and premium offerings = better margins.

      A typical homecoming weekend is jam-packed with memories in the making.

      For a photographer, it used to mean juggling notebooks of names, printing hundreds of proofs, or spending days in post-event labor. Now, with tools from NowCandid™, a single photographer (even operating solo) can confidently cover the parade, pep rally, game, court, and dance – and do it in a way that’s both fun for students and profitable for the business.

      By using features such as Selfie Check-In™ and Face Matching™ to ensure everyone’s identified, QuicPics™ and LiveLoop™ to deliver excitement in real time, and Photo Booth and AI-powered backgrounds to offer creative products, you transform the event photography workflow from chaotic and labor-intensive to smooth, high-tech, and engaging.

      In short, NowCandid’s software and workflows allow you to capture the full spirit of homecoming

      Every candid laugh, every triumphant cheer, every dance floor twirl – and get those images into the hands of the people who will cherish them, almost as fast as the memories are made.

      This means happier clients, more sales, and a homecoming weekend where the photographer can enjoy the process as much as everyone else enjoys the photos.

      Here’s to using technology to work smarter, wow your customers, and make homecoming (and many more events to come) a win-win for everyone involved!
      Weekly Recap: Tap-A-Face from the Dashboard & Smarter Roster Contacts 👤✨
      Feature Updates
      August 8, 2025

      Weekly Recap: Tap-A-Face from the Dashboard & Smarter Roster Contacts 👤✨

      3
       minutes read
      Hey there, photo friends!

      This week’s updates are small but mighty—because behind the scenes we’re cooking up some bigger projects that we can’t wait to share with you soon.

      For now, here’s what’s fresh in your NowCandid™ Dashboard:

      👆 Tap-A-Face… from the Web Dashboard!

      You’ve always loved Tap-A-Face in the field—now you can do it right from your Dashboard.

      From any image’s Image Details Page, head to the Participants tab and click the new Add via Tap-A-Face button. From there:

      1. Click a spot on the image where a face is
      2. Enter the contact info for the person

      This will instantly create a new Participant in your Event, kick off Face Matching™, and start marketing their gallery right away. 📸💌

      Manage Images -> Details, Logs, and More-> Participants -> Add via Tap-A-Face

      📇 Roster Contacts, Upgraded

      Contacts you add through Rosters are now much easier to work with! They’ll behave just like your regular Contacts & Participants—meaning:

      • They’re fully editable
      • They can be assigned multiple images without the previous first-image requirement

      No more clunky workarounds—just smoother, faster contact management. 🙌

      This change will also improve adding Contacts via the "Create Participant" button, as well as Contacts who add themselves to the Event via a Positive ID Event's Simple Check-In.

      These kinds of Contacts will just show a silhouette for now, which we may adjust down the line!

      That’s it for this week!

      Stay tuned—because some very cool things are coming your way soon. 👀✨

      Keep being amazing,

      Candy 🍬

      Weekly Recap: PhotoCoach Support, Acrylic Puzzles & More! 🧠🧩
      Feature Updates
      August 1, 2025

      Weekly Recap: PhotoCoach Support, Acrylic Puzzles & More! 🧠🧩

      4
       minutes read
      Hey there, photo friends!

      Candy here with some sweet new updates from your NowCandid™ Dashboard.

      We've got a powerful new coaching tool, a fun new product to sell, and a bunch of workflow-boosting fixes to round it out.

      Let’s dive in! ✨

      🆕 New Feature: PhotoCoach

      Introducing PhotoCoach—your new secret weapon for improving the quality of your photographers’ photos over time! 🧠📷

      With PhotoCoach, you can:

      • • Review images from your Events and flag them with issues like "Acceptable," “Duplicate,” “Exposure Issue,” “Cropping Issue” and more (and make your own categories too!)
      • • Track photographer photo quality over time
      • • Send automatic feedback reports to your photographers with a breakdown of image counts & issue counts

      It’s perfect for helping your team take more sellable images—leading to happier clients and stronger sales!

      Find it now under Tools & More on your Dashboard and start coaching like a pro. 💪

      Note: PhotoCoach is not new for CORE™ users (CORE™ is our sister-software at Candid Color Systems™), but it's new to NowCandid™! And it's had some feature improvements recently so it is now web-based! Woo!

      It takes a little getting used to, but once you are, it's super easy and super fun!

      🧩 NEW: 8×10 Acrylic-Backed Puzzle

      Puzzle fans, rejoice! 🎉 You can now sell a 56-piece acrylic-backed 8×10 puzzle, complete with cute live-rendered previews on the retail site.

      Why customers will love it:

      • Unique gift or keepsake
      • Durable acrylic & display-worthy

      Even the little detahced pieces in the top right live-render, yay! - Theme: Liquorice

      🔗 URL Filtering Just Got Smarter

      Now when shoppers apply filters on the retail site, those filters update the URL automatically—making filtered views shareable with friends & family!

      Not much more to say about this one, just a cool touch! :)

      🛠️ Misc Tweaks & Fixes

      A roundup of small but mighty changes:

      • 📥 Dynamic Personal Gallery Downloads can now be purchased by shoppers via Favorites!
        • A great addition for action sports—gives customers a “buy all” option that scales with the number of images selected, even when shopping from an All Gallery.
      • 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Group-by-Face filter popup now shows only unique faces
        • Applies to new Events only—re-run Group-by-Face on past Events if needed!
      • 🗂 BGR Folders are editable again via the “Edit Folder” option
      • 🖼 Retail site now scrolls past the cover photo if a filter is selected from the initial popup
        • A smoother experience when arriving to an All Images gallery
      • 🧍‍♀️ Selfie Check-In button transforms post-Face Matching
        • It now becomes a second Retail Site button after expiration
      • 🧾 Invoice History tool now displays all past invoices, not just recent ones

      That’s everything for this week! 💫

      Whether you're giving photo feedback, selling puzzles, or just tidying up your workflow—we’ve got your back.

      More soon!
      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