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Grad Season 2024 Mid-Season Report: Small Grads Outperforming Expectations

Grad Season 2024 Mid-Season Report: Small Grads Outperforming Expectations

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.

Small Graduations Leading the Way 🌟

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Why Are Small Graduations Excelling? 🤔

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?

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

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.

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.

What This Means for You 📊

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:

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.

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.

That's all for now!

Happy snapping,

Jack III

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Weekly Recap: NowCandid Docs Are Here (60+ Pages), Capture App 5.6, and Smarter Retail + Dashboard Tools
Feature Updates
May 1, 2026

Weekly Recap: NowCandid Docs Are Here (60+ Pages), Capture App 5.6, and Smarter Retail + Dashboard Tools

8
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Hey photo friends! 👋


This week’s updates are packed with improvements that make your day-to-day workflow smoother—especially if you like clear answers, fewer edge cases, and cleaner experiences across Capture, Retail, and the Dashboard.

The headline this week: NowCandid Docs are officially live inside the Dashboard—and they’re already huge. Let’s jump in. 💫

📚 NEW: NowCandid Docs (Built Into the Dashboard)

We’ve launched official, up-to-date NowCandid documentation directly inside the Dashboard. Just click “Docs” in the sidebar to open it.

Here’s what makes it special:

  • One dedicated place for everything: programs, workflows, Capture App, JerseyJotter, Candy Culler, and more
  • Over 60 pages of documentation already (with screenshots and even some videos)
  • Regular updates, with a timestamp on each page showing when it was last updated
  • Smart Docs search (use the search button at the top of the Docs sidebar)
  • Mobile supported: works fully inside the Mobile Dashboard app
  • Clickable images: click any image to preview it bigger
  • Table of contents + feedback: on larger screens, you’ll see a right-side table of contentsand a “Give Feedback” button to report missing info, typos, or confusing sections
  • Private by default: you can share a docs link, but the viewer must be logged in to access it

Preview of New NowCandid Docs
NowCandid Docs Image Timeline page preview
NowCandid Docs Jersey Jotter page preview

🍬 Candy got smarter (because Docs exist)

Candy now pulls from the new Docs when answering questions—so she can:

  • Share direct links to guides
  • Pull relevant screenshots and videos
  • Give more accurate, up-to-date help

Also, the Candy Navigation Assistant now uses docs search as the fallback destination if it can’t find a page you’re looking for—often with your question prefilled!

📱 Capture App 5.6 (iOS & Android) — Not OTA

Capture App v5.6 is now available for iOS and Android (this is not an OTA update).

What changed:

  • Fix: Android “Update Available” popup now correctly links to Google Play, not the Apple App Store
  • Feature: The app now rejects images under 1,000 pixels with an error popup (similar to the color profile error). The Dashboard already enforced this, but this prevents rare edge cases—like a camera outputting low-res images during capture.

🛍️ Retail Improvements (Better behavior, clearer checkout)

A few retail updates landed that improve clarity and fix edge cases:

  • BGR + PhotoTags fix: Background removed images in PhotoTag events will now show correctly even if the originals are marked invisible
  • Pay Later badges removed from the store sheet (the “Pay Later Options Available in Checkout” messaging still appears in package configurators for packages $30+)
  • Z-cropped images now show faceboxes (and the faceboxes are adjusted to the z-crop, too)
  • Checkout completion screen now shows your Business Logo (if you’ve added one)
  • Updated “Your order is complete” copy to note:
    • retouching may delay orders
    • physical products typically arrive in 7–14 business days

🖥️ Dashboard Updates (Clarity, savings, and better reporting)

  • Positive ID edge case fixed: Manually assigned images now show up correctly in an additional contact’s gallery
  • Client Outreach SMS savings: Non-standard encoded apostrophes now auto-convert to standard apostrophes to reduce segment costs
  • Auto Editor access fix: Resolved an issue preventing some users from accessing Auto Editor
  • New Candy Image Studio node: Traditional Black & White (distinct from the Black and White Film Print node)
  • Reports pages upgraded: Added titles and descriptions for better clarity
  • Participant List: Unmarketable Participants filter
    • You can now filter to show only unmarketable participants—or hide them
    • The download sheet now includes an “Unmarketable” column (Yes/blank)
    • “Unmarketable” can include opt-outs/unsubscribes, invalid contact info, etc.

🍬 Candy UI improvements

Candy received a bunch of UX upgrades, including:

  • Click images to preview larger
  • New table rendering
  • Scroll fades
  • Type without having to click/focus the input first

📱 Mobile Dashboard Improvements (No app update needed)

  • Fixed sidebar scrolling triggering “pull to refresh”
  • You can now slide/pull from the side to open the sidebar—no need to scroll to the top and tap the sidebar button

That’s the week! 💫

This release is all about reducing friction—with official docs inside the Dashboard, a tighter Capture App, better retail behavior for BGR and z-crops, and Dashboard refinements that improve accuracy, clarity, and even lower messaging costs.

Keep creating magic,

— The NowCandid Team 🍬

Keep More of What You Earn with NowCandid™
NowCandid 101
April 28, 2026

Keep More of What You Earn with NowCandid™

5
 minutes read

A lot of platforms are happy to look affordable at first—and expensive later.
We prefer the opposite.

NowCandid™ is built to support photographers long-term, which means our pricing is designed to be easy to understand, easy to plan around, and easier to live with as your volume grows. When you’re running real events—schools, sports, graduations, leagues—the last thing you need is a platform that nickel-and-dimes you for the core tools required to deliver and sell images.

The Simple Part: Two Fees, No Subscriptions

With NowCandid, your costs are straightforward:

  • 5% e-commerce fee
  • 3% payment processing fee

That’s it.

There’s no subscription fee and no onboarding fee, so you’re not paying monthly just to keep your account active—or paying extra just to get started.

The Important Part: No Surprise Add-Ons

Many platforms charge extra for the features that actually make your events run smoothly. NowCandid includes the tools high-volume photographers rely on without tacking on separate line items.

Here’s what you don’t pay extra for:

  • No fees on sales tax collected
  • No extra charge for background removal
  • No extra charge for automatic exposure correction
  • No extra charge for image storage
  • No extra charge for automated SMS + email marketing tools
  • No extra charge for white-labeling
  • No extra charge for Face Matching™
  • At least 20 years of image hosting included

That’s the difference between a platform that adds tools later and a platform that includes the tools up front.

Why This Matters for Real Photographers

When the platform includes the tools you actually need, two good things happen:

1) You keep more margin on every order

If your costs don’t balloon as you scale, more of every sale stays with you—without you having to raise prices just to cover software overhead.

2) Your workflow gets simpler

You don’t have to stitch together multiple services (and multiple bills) to accomplish basic event goals like:

  • identifying subjects
  • delivering galleries quickly
  • protecting images
  • marketing via text/email
  • selling through a modern checkout

Those pieces are part of the core system—because they’re not “extras” in real event photography.

The Takeaway

NowCandid is built to support photographers—not squeeze them. Our pricing model is intentionally structured so that the platform remains sustainable for your business as you grow, and so that more of what you earn stays with you.

If you want a platform that’s designed for high-volume reality—and doesn’t charge extra for the essentials—NowCandid is built for you.

Pricing Disclaimer

Pricing, fees, and included features listed in this article are accurate as of the original publication date and may change over time. For the most current pricing and terms, please contact our team.

Weekly Recap: Auto Editor (Beta), Pay Later Badges, and Faster Manage Images
Feature Updates
April 24, 2026

Weekly Recap: Auto Editor (Beta), Pay Later Badges, and Faster Manage Images

5
 minutes read

Hey photo friends! 👋
This week’s updates bring a mix of AI editing power, cleaner review tools, and a small boost to retail conversion clarity—plus a helpful Android Capture App fix.

Let’s jump in. 💫

🧠 Auto Editor (BETA)— AI Edit an Entire Event or Folder

We’re rolling out an Auto Editor (Beta) that can automatically AI-edit:

  • • All images in an event, or
  • • All images in a specific folder

Auto Editor is powered by Candy Image Studio (same nodes, same pricing), and edited images keep their existing matches—just like when you run Candy Image Studio on an event image.

Important notes:

  • • You are billed per image edit.
  • • This is a BETA feature—we recommend testing on yourself (or doing one-offs in Candy Image Studio) before relying on it for a real event.
  • • Auto Editor can run up to 60 days after the event start date, similar to other event workflows.

Common use cases

  • • Light face retouching
  • • Fix subject lighting
  • • Reduce glare on glasses
  • • Remove alcohol
  • • Add green screens

Fun use cases

  • • Automatic glamour looks
  • • Anime style
  • • Chibi style
  • • Anything you can build with a custom text node

Where to find it

  • • On an Event page in the Dashboard sidebar, near JerseyJotter and Candy Culler
  • • The folder selector will show whether you’re running an Event Edit or a Folder Edit
  • • The Event List will show an Auto Editor attribute for events that used it (and includes an Auto Editor filter)
  • • EMP also shows the Auto Editor attribute on its event list page

🎨 Candy Image Editor + Manage Images Improvements

A few upgrades landed that make AI editing and review smoother:

  • • New node: Alcohol Remover is now available in Candy Image Editor.
  • • Replace uploaded images more easily (non-event images): you can drag a new image onto the one you already uploaded to replace it, instead of starting over.
  • • New “Preview Original” option on Manage Images lightbox for AI-edited images uploaded from Candy Image Studio
    • • You can also toggle this view using \.
  • • Manage Images search is faster (image searching performance improved).
New Alcohol Remover Node

Preview Original Image Option

📣 Client Outreach: URL No Longer Required for Texts

Client Outreach texts no longer require a URL, but the system will show a warning if you try to send one without a link.

One important reminder: the number Client Outreach texts send from is different than the number used for automated event marketing—so recipients may not have any message history for context when they receive it.

🏷️ PhotoTags Page: Clearer Counts

The Event PhotoTags page now shows Contacts and Participants as separate columns for better clarity.

🛍️ Retail: Pay Later Badges (more visible financing options)

Retail now shows Apple Pay Later and PayPal Pay Later badges on the store sheet for items $30 or more.

A few notes:

  • • Pay Later options have always been available—this change just makes them more obvious to customers.
  • • This UI may be temporary and could be removed at any time.

Reminders on existing Pay Later availability:

  • • Klarna & Affirm are available through Apple Pay for orders $35+
  • • Some credit cards offer Pay Later through Apple Pay (eligibility varies)
  • • Klarna, Affirm, and Zip are available through Google Pay for orders $35+
  • • PayPal Pay Later (Pay in 4) is available for $30+
  • • PayPal Pay Later (Pay Monthly) is available for $49+

🤖 Android Capture App 5.5: Duplicate Image Fix

The Capture App on Android (v5.5, Google Play) now fixes an issue where some cameras were sending duplicate images to the app.

That’s the week! 💫

Between the new Auto Editor (Beta), smoother “preview original” review flows, and clearer Pay Later messaging on retail, this update is all about saving time and helping customers convert with less friction.

Keep creating magic,
— The NowCandid Team 🍬

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

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