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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

      Related articles

      Weekly Recap: More Virtual Group Control, New Sports Backgrounds & Better BGR Tools 🏈✨
      Feature Updates
      August 14, 2026

      Weekly Recap: More Virtual Group Control, New Sports Backgrounds & Better BGR Tools 🏈✨

      5
       minutes read
      Hey photo friends! 👋

      Candy here with another weekly recap! This week brings more control to Virtual Group Builder, a much better home for Event Background Removal, new Candy Image Studio exposure tools, and—yes—27 new sports background sets. 😎

      Let’s jump in!

      🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Virtual Group Builder Additions

      Ask and you shall receive... sometimes! We’ve gotten some good feedback on Virtual Group Builder, and this week several new controls are here to make layouts easier to fine-tune:

      ↕️ Force subjects onto different rows

      • While dragging a subject, new Add to Row buttons appear over the other rows. Drop the subject there to explicitly move them where you want instead of relying entirely on automatic placement.
      • Previously you were limited to automatically determined rows, you still have those but can now override them!

      🔍 New logo size slider

      • Adjust your corner logos to be smaller or larger than the default.
      • Previously they could be considered a bit tiny, but this gives you a bit more control!

      🌫️ Individual cutout fade control

      • The Subject Inspector now has its own cutout fade intensity slider, separate from the global setting, so you can fine-tune individual subjects when needed.
      • This will let you tweak the cutout fade intensity for subjects in the front row or on the sides of the virtual group, in case you're wanting a very specific look.

      👥 Smarter merged-participant image selection

      • The Subject Image Picker will only show images from merged participants when they share the same name.
      • This typically does not matter, but in the case of a parent doing a Selfie Check-In of themselves and then of their child later, this will keep Virtual Groups working as expected!

      Just a few additions, but very useful ones when you’re trying to get a Virtual Group looking just right!

      Drag and drop subjects into other rows for more control than ever!

      New options to more quickly space out your subjects!

      When viewing subject details, adjust them by individual!

      Control the size of your logos!

      🏈 27 New Sports Background Sets

      Alright, shoutout to the random guy who told me (me being Candy, in case you forgot!) that he didn’t like the backgrounds. We heard you! 😂

      This week we’ve added 27 new sets of sports backgrounds, including a brand-new Sports – Locker Room background category.

      And, in case you missed it, last week we also added an AI Background Generator so you can create entirely new, modern backgrounds of your own.

      A quick reminder... you already have a lot of control over which backgrounds your customers actually see:

      🎨 Edit the default backgrounds in your Offers

      📤 Upload your own custom backgrounds at both the Offer-level and Event-level

      🤖 Generate new backgrounds of your own with AI

      🏈 Choose from our (now growing) collection of built-in choices

      We have a TON of default backgrounds—and yes, many have been around for a while—but you’re never locked into using them. You can build your own look for your business, and we’ll keep adding new options over time too.

      ✂️ New Dedicated Background Removal Page

      Event Background Removal now has its own dedicated Dashboard page, accessible from the Event Sidebar. It is not longer just a popup!

      The BGR toggle on Event Overview will take you there too, giving all of these controls a little more breathing room.

      On the new page, you can:

      ✅ Enable or disable Background Removal

      🖼️ Manage your Event Backgrounds

      🎨 See your Offer Backgrounds with a direct link to the Offer

      📊 See how many cutouts have finished and how many are still processing

      ⏳ Watch a live progress bar while Background Removal is working

      📂 See all valid Event folders and which ones are marked for Background Removal

      And if your Event is a new Event: ✂️ You can mark an existing folder for Background Removal even if it already contains images!!!

      🎨 Candy Image Studio: Better Exposure Fixes

      🌙 New Fix Underexposure node

      • Helps recover images that came out too dark.

      ☀️ Fix Overexposure greatly improved

      • The existing overexposure tool has been reworked for more reliable results.

      Utilize Candy Image Studio to fix images so they can sell, quickly and affordably!

      🏈 Jersey Jotter Progress Tracking

      New Jersey Jotter progress bar

      • When Jersey Jotter is active and still has unprocessed images, its dedicated page now shows processing progress—similar to Candy Culler and the new Background Removal page.

      This makes it much easier to tell whether recognition is still working through a large Event.

      🛍️ Retail Improvements

      Titled Luxe Prints now work with package prefill

      • Packages can now automatically prefill eligible Titled Luxe Print products just like other supported products.

      🖼️ Titled Luxe Print package rendering fixed

      • Fixed an issue where these products could render incorrectly inside packages.

      🤖 AI-generated backgrounds now render correctly on products

      🎨 Selected backgrounds now stay visible through the final product step

      • Fixed an issue where the chosen background could sometimes disappear on renders when reaching quantity and finish steps.

      📝 Several product descriptions updated

      • Some product descriptions have been refreshed for better clarity.

      🖼️ AI Edit + BGR Assignment Fix

      👥 BGR versions of AI edits now keep direct participant assignments

      • If the original non-AI image was directly assigned to someone, its Background Removed AI-edited version will now correctly inherit that relationship.

      📦 Order Details Fix

      📝 Package captions now display correctly

      • Fixed cases where Order Details did not show caption information for certain products contained inside packages.

      📱 Capture App 5.9.1 – iOS OTA

      📸 Photo Booth fix for iPad

      • Fixed the Photo Booth gallery strip being cut off on certain iPad models.

      That’s the week!

      More Virtual Group control, a much stronger Background Removal workflow, some useful exposure tools, and plenty of fresh sports backgrounds to work with.

      And if you still don’t like the backgrounds... now you’ve got plenty of ways to show us how it’s done. 😉

      Keep creating magic,

      Candy 🍬

      Weekly Recap: Reworked Titled Luxe Prints, Better Cutouts & Faster PhotoRoster Imports ✨📸
      Feature Updates
      August 7, 2026

      Weekly Recap: Reworked Titled Luxe Prints, Better Cutouts & Faster PhotoRoster Imports ✨📸

      4
       minutes read
      Hey photo friends! 👋

      Candy here with another round of updates! This week’s highlights include a fresh redesign for Titled Luxe Prints, a brand-new 4×6 size, continued Background Removal improvements, and some helpful Dashboard upgrades for PhotoRosters, Event Tags, and Positive ID workflows.

      ✨ Titled Luxe Prints Get a Refresh

      Titled Luxe Prints have been reworked to feel more like the classic PartyPics style while still keeping the premium embellishments that make them special.

      🖼️ Updated Titled Luxe Print design

      • Still embellished
      • Still supports 3 caption lines
      • Still includes 2 crests
      • Now has a more traditional PartyPics-style look

      🆕 New 4×6 Titled Luxe Print

      • Priced at $1.38
      • Includes both 2D and 3D renders
      • Joins the existing 5×7 and 8×10 sizes

      You can preview the updated product here:
      https://app.nowcandid.com/3d/titled-luxe-print

      ✂️ Background Removal Keeps Getting Better

      🟢 Green screen cutouts improved (again!)

      Overall cutout quality improved

      We’re continuing to tune Background Removal so cutouts look cleaner across more shooting conditions. Stay tuned for even more improvements!

      📱 Capture App 5.9.1 – Android

      📷 Full-quality internal camera capture

      • Android devices now use the full available quality of their internal cameras when shooting through the Capture App.
      • Previously, it was using a down-sized version!

      🖥️ Dashboard Improvements

      🪪 Faster Positive ID Scanner Card generation

      • The Scanner ID Workflow's Scan Card PDF Generator is now performs better, stalls less, and produces significantly smaller download files.

      ⚠️ Background artwork warning

      • When uploading an Event background, NowCandid can now detect text or logos and show an extra warning.
      • This reinforces the existing recommendation to avoid placing important text or branding on backgrounds where product cropping could cut it off. Use our Overlay features instead!

      Clearer Auto Editor folder naming

      • Manage Images now shows a sparkles icon for Folders containing AI edits, with clearer formatting for Folders created by the Auto Editor.

      📥 Import PhotoRosters directly from Participant List

      • Face Matching Events now have an Import from PhotoRoster button at the top of the Participant List page, letting you select and import a PhotoRoster without navigating away.

      🎨 Candy Image Studio & Auto Editor

      🖼️ Background Generator improvements

      • Outputs are now sized more appropriately for uploading back into an Event
      • Generated background sets match each other more consistently

      💰 Every node now displays its price

      • Previously, only discounted nodes showed pricing. Now every node clearly displays what it costs!
      • Expect more nodes with their own unique prices in the future! We will continue to build on and improve our Auto Edit & Image Studio tools.

      🧩 Predetermined node order

      • Nodes can no longer be drag-and-dropped into different edit "orders".
      • Their hierarchy is now set automatically so edits run in the best possible sequence without you needing to think about it!

      🛠️ Auto Editor UI refreshed

      • Several interface changes make setup and options clearer and easier to understand.

      📋 PhotoRoster Improvements

      👥 Multiple PhotoRosters per Event

      • Fixed an issue that could prevent you from importing more than one PhotoRoster into the same Event.

      💬 Clearer disabled export messaging

      • If Export is unavailable, clicking it now explains why.

      🚫 Empty PhotoRosters can’t be exported

      • A PhotoRoster must have at least one member with an image before it can be exported to an Event.

      🔐 Password-Protected Public Event Lists

      Event Tags now have an optional extra layer of privacy:

      🔑 Password-protect your Public Event List Pages:

      • ➕ Set a password while creating a new Event Tag
      • ✏️ OR add or remove the password using the Event Tag editor

      This works similarly to the password protection for your Private Image Download Galleries.

      🛍️ Retail Fixes & Protection

      🖼️ Fixed package editing edge cases where the Overlay step could be missing while choosing a new image

      🛡️ Additional GalleryGuard improvements

      That’s the week!

      The refreshed Titled Luxe Prints are the star of this update, with better Background Removal, easier PhotoRoster importing, and more control over Event Tags rounding things out.

      Keep creating magic,

      Candy 🍬

      Weekly Recap: Better AI Edits, New Background Removal Workflows & Virtual Group Undo/Redo 🎨✨
      Feature Updates
      July 31, 2026

      Weekly Recap: Better AI Edits, New Background Removal Workflows & Virtual Group Undo/Redo 🎨✨

      3
       minutes read
      Hey photo friends! 👋

      Candy here with this week’s updates! The biggest changes are in Candy Image Studio and Auto Editor, where several popular edits now cost less, produce more consistent results, and work more naturally with Background Removal workflows.

      We’ve also added undo and redo to Virtual Group Builder, improved green screen cutouts, and cleaned up a few retail download issues.

      Let’s take a look!

      🎨 Candy Image Studio: Better Results & New Lower-Cost Edits

      Several Candy Image Studio nodes have been reworked with more consistent output quality and new discounted pricing.

      Improved Black & White edits — now 4¢

      • Both existing Black & White nodes have been rebuilt to produce more reliable, consistent results.

      Improved Retouch — now 6¢

      • The Retouch node now produces much more consistent results and is available at a lower price.

      🎞️ New 35mm Film node — 4¢

      • The previous Film Style node has been replaced with a new and improved 35mm Film treatment.

      📸 New Clarendon node — 4¢

      • Apply a look inspired by the familiar Clarendon-style social media filter.

      💳 More flexible edit pricing

      Some nodes now display their own lower price. Candy Image Studio charges based on the highest-priced node included in the edit.

      For example:

      • An edit using only a 4¢ node costs
      • If that same edit also includes a standard node, normal 2K or 4K pricing applies

      This lets simpler edits cost less when you're not using the more advanced edits!

      ✂️ New Background Removal Options for AI Edits

      Candy Image Studio and Auto Editor now work more closely with Events using Background Removal folders.

      🖼️ Candy Image Studio can send an edit into Background Removal

      • When editing an Event image, a new option appears beneath Mark Original Invisible if the Event has Background Removal folders enabled.
      • Select Mark Destination Folder as Background Removal Folder to upload the edited image into a folder that will also process it for background removal.

      ⚙️ Auto Editor adds a Background Removal size option

      • If Background Removal folders are enabled, you can choose Background Removal. Edited images will then upload into a folder marked for Background Removal.

      🛠️ Auto Editor folder fix

      • Auto Edits now run properly on original images inside folders marked for Background Removal. Auto Editor still does not run on the completed cutout images themselves.

      All of the new node pricing and quality improvements in Candy Image Studio also apply to Auto Editor, since Auto Editor is powered by the same system.

      ↩️ Virtual Group Builder: Undo & Redo

      Virtual Group Builder now supports familiar keyboard shortcuts:

      • ↩️ Undo: CMD/CTRL + Z
      • ↪️ Redo: CMD/CTRL + Shift + Z
      • ↪️ Redo: CMD/CTRL + Y

      This makes it much easier to experiment with layouts and quickly reverse an adjustment.

      🖼️ Manage Images Improvement

      ⬇️ Download Original for BGR and AI images

      • The Manage Images lightbox now includes a Download Original button for Background Removal and AI-edited images.

      You can access the original file without needing to leave the lightbox or track it down manually.

      ✂️ Background Removal Improvement

      🟢 Better green screen cutouts

      • Background Removal now handles images more effectively when the background is only partially green screen instead of completely green.

      🛍️ Retail Download Fixes

      📥 Improved QuicEvents press-and-hold downloads

      • Download behavior is more reliable on desktop and Android for Events without artwork.

      🖼️ Free Gallery Download resolution fixed

      • Free Gallery Downloads on QuicEvents now correctly deliver full-resolution images instead of medium resolution.

      🧲 Photo Magnet artwork fix

      • Photo Magnets will no longer be ordered with Event artwork when Use Artwork by Default is enabled, since artwork is not supported on that product.

      📱 Mobile Dashboard 4.1 for Android

      💰 New “Cha Ching” notification sound

      • Weekly order notifications on Android now include the same Cha Ching sound effect already available on iOS.

      👉 Swipe to open the Sidebar

      • Swipe inward from the left edge of the screen to open the Sidebar, matching the iOS experience.

      🤖 Google Play compatibility updates

      • The app also includes required changes for the latest Google Play requirements.

      That’s the week!

      Lower-cost AI edits, stronger and more consistent results, and better Background Removal integration should make Candy Image Studio and Auto Editor more useful for both one-off fixes and larger Event workflows.

      Keep creating magic,

      Candy 🍬

      Let’s get in touch

      If you’re a photographer looking to add NowCandid™ services to your wheelhouse, set up a call with us!

      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