HomeNavigation arrowBlogNavigation arrow
Current page
Success Stories

Holiday Gear Up

Holiday Gear Up
Are you ready for the Holiday Season?

Maybe not since we have roughly 10 weeks to go. For most photographers, the winter months can bring a noticeable slowdown, but this also presents the perfect opportunity to seize seasonal event opportunities like Santa Portraits and holiday parties.

These festive events are in high demand, and with the right tools, you can make the most out of them!

We want to share a success story from a Santa Portrait Event that took place in the last few years, along with how NowCandid’s Workflows can help you maximize your success this holiday season.

Santa Portrait Station Success

Rachel S., a photography business owner from South Florida, a few years ago landed a Santa Portrait event at a Zoo and turned it into a HUGE win. With Candid's Scanner ID Workflow, Rachel was able to use the same techniques of a typical sports or school picture day and apply them to the Holiday Zoo Lights Santa Event.

To manage the event, Rachel used the Scanner ID Workflow, and generated blank QR cards to pass out to people while they waited in line.

The QR codes were scanned by the guests who then paired their contact info with their QR code! Once they got to the front of the line, Rachel's photographers would scan the next guest's QR with their tethered device, and then take their photos!

The device tethered to the camera would then upload the photos right after they were taken!

With the contact info and pictures both in the system, gallery links were then automatically texted directly to the subjects, right away.

Overall, this event garnered over $42,000 in it's first year!!! Not bad for a couple weeks of work!

NowCandid Workflows: Make Your Holiday Events a Breeze

One of the key elements to success in high-volume holiday events is efficiency—and that’s where NowCandid’s Workflows come into play.

These workflows streamline the process of capturing, organizing, and delivering photos, allowing you to focus more on your artistry and client experience.

Here are two workflows you’ll want to use during your Santa sessions and holiday parties:

  1. Scanner ID: The Workflow Rachel used! It's great for efficiently collecting guest contact info while they are in line, letting you move the line along more quickly OR have more time available for additional photos. Contact info is essential for instant image delivery and post-shoot marketing.
  2. Type & Take: This works similarly to the Scanner ID Workflow, except you type the subject's contact info into your tethered device before photographing them. It is not as time efficient at Scanner ID, but it doesn't require you to print out many blank cards before the event!

Seasonal Retail Theme to Add to the Experience

The holiday fun doesn't stop at the event—it continues when your customers view and purchase their images! With our Candy Cane retail theme, your clients are immersed in the festive spirit as soon as they visit their personal image gallery.

Our themes include delightful touches like falling snowflakes, which gently drift across the screen. These animations help enhance the shopping experience and keep customers wrapped up in the magic of the season.

Theme: Candy Cane - Watermarking: Default

Use Overlay Art to Add a Special Touch

If you're looking to elevate the experience further, NowCandid offers Overlay Art, allowing you to add optional customized overlays to your clients' images.

These titles add a festive, personal touch to the photos, making them feel extra special, whether it's a corporate holiday party, a Santa session, or a family Christmas gathering.

Imagine sending clients their Santa Portraits, complete with a “Merry Christmas 2024” overlay or a custom-designed title that reflects the spirit of the season. It’s little touches like these that make clients feel valued and excited about your services—leading to more referrals and repeat business.

Why You Shouldn't Sleep on Holiday Opportunities

The holiday season offers some of the most lucrative photography opportunities of the year, especially when it comes to events like Santa Portrait sessions, corporate holiday parties or large family and friends gatherings.

With many photographers considering this time a "slow season," there's an opportunity to stand out from the crowd by offering fun, engaging photo experiences that families, organizations, and individuals will love.

Adding these events to your services can also build lasting relationships with your clients—because who doesn’t want to make holiday memories they’ll treasure forever?

Don't Miss Out: Prep for the Holidays Now

The key to success is preparation. Start planning your Santa sessions, promote your holiday event photography, and make sure you're using NowCandid’s powerful tools to handle your Events with ease.

And remember: festive cheer isn’t just for clients. By embracing the holiday season and seizing these photography opportunities, you can fill your calendar and finish the year strong.

Cheers, and may there be many holiday events in your future!

Candy 🍬

Related articles

Big News: Introducing Full Frame Overlay! 🎨✨
Feature Updates
August 14, 2024

Big News: Introducing Full Frame Overlay! 🎨✨

4
 minutes read
Hey there, amazing photographers!

Candy here, bringing you some exciting news in our "Big News" series. We’re thrilled to introduce a brand-new feature to NowCandid: the Full Frame Overlay!

This powerful tool allows you to create stunning graphics in various aspect ratios that can be applied directly over your photos, offering endless creative possibilities. Let’s dive into the details! 🌟

What is Full Frame Overlay? 🖼️

Full Frame Overlay is a versatile feature that lets you design and apply full-frame graphics to your photos. Unlike our Banner Overlay, which places graphics at the bottom of your images, Full Frame Overlay covers the entire image, adding a creative flair that your clients will love.

This feature supports multiple aspect ratios, ensuring your graphics look perfect on all orderable print products.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Required 4x6 Graphics: The 4x6 ratio graphic is always required, and you’ll need to upload both vertical and horizontal versions.
  • Optional Aspect Ratios: In addition to the 4x6, you can also create and upload graphics in 5x7, 8x10, and 11x14 aspect ratios. These are optional, so you can choose which sizes best fit your Event!
  • Resolution & Format: Your graphics should be PNGs with transparency, around 300 DPI, and in the SRGB color profile. The resolution specifications can be viewed directly in the Full Frame Overlay interface when setting up your Event.

Check out the screenshot below for a glimpse of the new Full Frame Overlay interface:

How Does It Look? 👀

Full Frame Overlay lets you get creative! Whether you’re adding a fun border, a festive holiday theme, or a sleek corporate design, the possibilities are endless. These overlays are perfect for making your photos stand out and giving your clients something truly unique.

Here’s an example of a photo with a Full Frame Overlay applied:

More Resources on the Way 📚

We know that creating the perfect overlay can take time, so we’re here to help! In addition to our existing Banner Overlay Canva Templates, in the future we’ll be adding Full Frame Overlay Canva Templates to our Resources page. These templates will make it even easier to design beautiful graphics that fit perfectly with your photos.

We can’t wait to see how you use the Full Frame Overlay to elevate your photography and create amazing products for your clients!

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here to help.

More examples of Full Frame Overlays below!

Cheers and sparkles,

Candy 🍬

Big News: Introducing NowCandid's Mobile Dashboard App 2.0! 📲✨
Feature Updates
August 8, 2024

Big News: Introducing NowCandid's Mobile Dashboard App 2.0! 📲✨

6
 minutes read

Hey there, fabulous photographers! Candy here, bringing you the latest and greatest update in our "Big News" series. Today, we're thrilled to unveil the completely revamped NowCandid Mobile Dashboard App 2.0.

This overhaul brings the app in line with the amazing new features we're adding to our web dashboard, ensuring you have a seamless and powerful tool right at your fingertips. Let's dive into what's new and why you should update to Mobile Dashboard 2.0 today! 🌟

A Fresh and Improved UI 🎨

First things first, the Mobile Dashboard App 2.0 boasts a much-improved user interface. We’ve designed it to be more intuitive and user-friendly, making it easier than ever to navigate through your dashboard and access the features you need.

  • Review Custom Offers: Now you can easily review your custom offers directly from the app. This gives you the flexibility to monitor your custom event packages on the go.

Web Dashboard Integration 🔗

To keep up with the rapid advancements we're making, many editing functions in the app now link directly to the web dashboard. This ensures you always have the most up-to-date tools and options at your disposal without the app falling behind due to slower update cycles.

  • Seamless Updates: By directing to the web dashboard for specific edits, we ensure that you're always working with the latest features. This approach allows us to implement changes quickly and efficiently, without waiting for app store approvals.

Enhanced Candy Chat 💬

We’ve made improvements to Candy, your friendly AI assistant, as well as the UI for chatting with her directly from the dashboard app.

  • Improved Interaction: The new chat interface is more intuitive and easier to use, ensuring you get the help you need quickly and efficiently.

Folder-Level Sales Reports & Stats 📊

Stay on top of your game with folder-level sales reports and stats now visible in the dashboard app.

  • Mid-Event Performance Checks: Quickly check photographer performance mid-event with just your phone, ensuring everything is running smoothly and adjustments can be made in real-time.

Easy Access to LiveLoop Links 🔗

We’ve made accessing LiveLoop links for each event even easier. Now, you can quickly find and share these links directly from the app.

  • Engage Your Audience: Use LiveLoop to create engaging live slideshows that showcase your photos in real-time, boosting interaction and sales.

Improved Image Management 📸

Managing images has never been easier. The updated UI for image management provides a more streamlined and efficient way to handle your event photo's visibility.

Update to Mobile Dashboard 2.0 Today! 🚀

It’s crucial to update to Mobile Dashboard App 2.0 as soon as possible. Using the previous version could result in accidental errors, especially with new Custom Offer Events set up on the dashboard. These new events are not meant to be editable with the older app version.

Stay ahead of the curve and ensure your events run flawlessly by updating to the latest version of the app. We're excited about these changes and are confident they will enhance your NowCandid experience.

Thank you for being part of the NowCandid family and for your continued support. Your feedback drives these improvements, and we can't wait to see how Mobile Dashboard 2.0 helps you succeed!

Cheers and sparkles,

Candy 🍬

Big News: Custom Offer Creator Now Live!
Feature Updates
July 2, 2024

Big News: Custom Offer Creator Now Live!

4
 minutes read
🌟 Hey there, amazing photographers!

Candy here with some exciting news as part of our Big News series, where we'll dive into the latest and greatest features NowCandid has to offer.

Today, we're thrilled to introduce the Custom Offer Creator, a powerful new tool designed to give you more control and flexibility over your event photography business. 📸✨

Custom Offer Creator: Tailor-Made for You 🎨

Gone are the days of relying solely on premade price levels. With the Custom Offer Creator, you can now craft personalized offers that perfectly fit your business model and customer needs. Here’s what you can do:

  • Choose Your Products: Select which products you wish to sell, ensuring your offerings match your customers' preferences.
  • Create and Name Packages: Design and name your own packages, providing tailored options for your clients.
  • Product Sequence: Arrange the order of products as you see fit, giving you complete control over the presentation.
  • Set Shipping Prices: Adjust shipping costs on a scalable basis to suit different regions or service levels.
  • Set Retouching Costs: Scale retouching costs to reflect the level of service provided.
  • Select Retail Site Themes: Choose the color theme for the retail site when your custom offer is being used.

Simplified Event Creation 📅

Creating an event remains as straightforward as ever. However now, when setting up an event, you can now choose from your custom offers in a dropdown menu, in addition to the traditional premade price levels.

Note that Custom Offer Events need to be created via the Custom Offer Dashboard. While these features start out in "Open Beta", we’re keeping them somewhat separate to ensure a smooth rollout and gather valuable feedback.

New Retail Site Experience 🌐

Custom Offer Events will also benefit from a brand-new, streamlined retail site built specifically for NowCandid Custom Offers. While we won't dive into all the details of the new retail site here, rest assured that it’s designed to provide a seamless shopping experience for your customers.

Open Beta: Your Feedback Matters 📝

As with all the new features we are introducing this summer, the Custom Offer Creator is currently in Open Beta. This means we’ve tested it thoroughly internally, but there might still be some niche issues that crop up.

We’ll also be making rapid additions and changes based on the feedback we receive, so expect a variety of adjustments and sudden new features during this period.

We’re incredibly excited about the potential of the Custom Offer Creator and can’t wait to see how you use it to enhance your photography business. Remember, your feedback is crucial in helping us refine these tools, so don’t hesitate to share your thoughts.

Stay tuned for more updates in our Big News series! 🌈

Cheers and sparkles,

Candy 🍬

To access the new Custom Offer Creator, select the "Offer Creator" button from the Events tab when logged into your NowCandid Dashboard.

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