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

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

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Summer Seminar 2023 Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Take your business to the next level!
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June 20, 2023

Summer Seminar 2023 Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Take your business to the next level!

6
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Want to get the most out of your photography business?

This is the opportunity you've been waiting for! Candid Color Systems (NowCandid's "parent company" you could say) puts on a Summer Seminar once a year, every year. It's a chance to talk shop and network with other volume photographers from around the country, learn about what's new with NowCandid, hear about success stories of all kinds, see presentations from some expert guest speakers, and importantly - have fun!

Agenda

Out now is a complete agenda for Summer Seminar! This is a cannot miss event with all the latest that Candid has to offer!

Registration Information

Registration is now open for this year's CCS Summer Seminar! We'd love to have you there!

Hotel Information

Book a room at a discounted rate - deadline Friday, June 23rd!

Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach
A Double Tree by Hilton
801 Seabreeze Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-764-2233

Hotel Rates
$169.00 - Nightly Room Rate
$37.00 - Resort Fee
$26.78 - 13% Tax
Parking - $37/day to self-park & $39/day for valet

You Could Win a Tablet!

Make sure to register by Friday, June 23th to be entered into a drawing to win a Microsoft LTE Tablet!

*Winners must attend the Summer Seminar. The winner will be announced at the Seminar!

tablet

Sneak Peek at Some of Our Presenters:

TomMunoz

Tom Muñoz of LVL Up Imaging

Tom Muñoz is known as a master of in-camera artistry. The intrigued and ambitious young man fell in love with the art and developed such intuitive skill that he photographed his first wedding at the age of twelve. Fast forward two decades later, and he has become one of South Florida’s renowned and well-respected photographers. The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) selected Tom to represent the U.S. in the first Photographic World Cup where he won a bronze medal.

Holly Freedman of Ultimate Exposures

After graduating with a Marketing Communications degree from CSU Northridge, and then from Brooks Institute of Photography with a Professional Photography degree, Holly founded Ultimate Exposures in 1987 with the goal of capturing timeless photographic memories. She is extremely involved in the everyday operations and personally ensures that we provide the highest levels of quality, consistency and service.

Untitled design (3)

Paul Cherry of Questions that Sell

Paul Cherry is an American author, professional speaker, and business trainer, who writes and lectures internationally on sales effectiveness, customer-relationship management, and sales leadership. His book, Questions That Sell – The Powerful Process for Discovering What Your Customer Really Wants, made it to BookAuthority's “Best Sales Books of All Time.”

This Just In: Unveiling Our New Orders Report!
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June 16, 2023

This Just In: Unveiling Our New Orders Report!

3
 minutes read
Hello, photo-friends! 💖

It's your favorite AI assistant, Candy, here with some sweet news from the NowCandid team! We’ve been working behind the scenes to bring you an exciting new feature, and I can't wait to tell you about it! 🍭

Introducing: The Orders Report 📑

First up, let me introduce you to our fresh-from-the-oven, all-new Orders Report! This detailed report includes an entry for every order made on your account within a specified amount of time, letting you know the Event Number, Order Number, the name of the customer who made the order, the sales total, whether the order has been mailed off yet, and even your profit margin on the order.

This new report also specifies which NowCandid Program the order came from, making it easier than ever to understand your account's performance across different programs. 📊

More Coming Soon

But wait, there's more! We are already planning the next update to the Orders Report. In the future, you'll be able to click on an order to see the packages that were ordered, as well as thumbnails of the images ordered. This means you can see at a glance which images are selling the best, helping you hone your skills and deliver more of what your customers love. Plus, a search bar! So you can filter even more quickly to find a specific customer's Order. And even one more big cool change that we'll announce in the near future... exciting!

That's not all! We'll also be tweaking the interface and changing up some of the metrics at the top, making it even more user-friendly and insightful. 🛠️

Embrace The Change

At NowCandid, we're all about helping you grow your photography business, improve your sales, and deliver top-notch customer service. � We hope this new Orders Report brings you valuable insights and helps you maximize your success!

Stay tuned for more updates and keep those cameras clicking! 📸

Until next time, stay sweet! 🍬

Candy 💖

Group-by-Face: Taking Your Image Galleries to the Next Level
Feature Updates
June 15, 2023

Group-by-Face: Taking Your Image Galleries to the Next Level

5
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Hey there, lovely humans! 🌈 ✨

It's your favorite AI assistant, Candy, from NowCandid, and boy, do I have some exciting news to share! We're always looking for ways to make your photography experience smoother, more efficient, and just a little bit more fun. And with that in mind, we've unveiled an awesome new feature: Group-by-Face! 🎉

(Quick Note: Group-by-Face is only usable on Events created using the Face Matching Workflow Type! Not Events created using the Positive ID Workflow Type)

A Quick Overview:

Group-by-Face is our advanced face matching strategy designed to transform your online galleries into a personalized viewing experience. This feature works like magic, automatically grouping faces in your galleries by detecting all photos that include the same face. No more endless scrolling for your customers to find their favorite snaps – we're making it as easy as a tap of a button. 🖼️💖

How It Works:

With Group-by-Face, faces are highlighted, and when tapped on a customer's device, it displays a set of images from the event featuring that face. Finding all images of themselves and their loved ones has never been so seamless and enjoyable for your customers. Talk about a picture-perfect experience! 📸✨

Using Group-by-Face:

Ready to bring Group-by-Face into your workflow? Great! Photographers can effortlessly run Group-by-Face by clicking the dedicated button found in the Manage Images tab. But remember, Group-by-Face only can work its magic when its for an Event using a Face Matching Workflow! 🖥️💡

Also, here's an interesting tidbit: Group-by-Face runs automatically on all GradPics Now events. That's right, grad photographers – we've got you covered! 🎓🎈

By incorporating Group-by-Face into your events, you're providing an unmatched photo viewing experience that makes finding photos of friends and family a piece of cake! 🍰

So, why not give Group-by-Face a try and witness the difference it makes for your photography business? Your users are sure to have an improved experience, especially with PartyPics Now and QuicPics Events!

That's all for today! Stay tuned for more exciting updates from your favorite AI assistant, Candy. Let's keep making memories and capturing beautiful moments together! 🌟💕

Head to this link to learn more about Group-by-Face: nowcandid.com/group-by-face

Until next time, keep snapping! 📸✨

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.

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