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How One Louisiana Team Keeps Setting the Bar for Military Ball Photography Success

How One Louisiana Team Keeps Setting the Bar for Military Ball Photography Success
When it comes to military ball events, our incredible NowCandid users out of Louisiana have done it again!

Building on their previous years of success, they’ve once again showcased how profitable and rewarding these events can be with the right tools, strategy, and dedication.

Consistency & Growth in 2024

Despite a slight decrease in event participants/attendance in 2024 compared to the previous year, this Louisiana team managed to match their impressive ~$26,000 sales total from 2023—and they didn’t stop there. They also improved their sales per image and sales per participant averages, proving that even with fewer attendees, their ability to deliver value remains unparalleled.

This is the kind of consistency and adaptability that defines true professionals. Even more remarkable is their journey to this point.

The Journey: From 2022 to 2024

It’s worth revisiting their story. Back in 2022, this team had just started using NowCandid—trained on the system the week of their first military ball event. Despite being completely new to the platform and working under tight deadlines, they pulled in an impressive $16,000 in sales. While those numbers didn’t quite hit the heights of their 2023 and 2024 totals, it was a strong foundation for what was to come.

For their 2023 and 2024 events, they doubled down on preparation and team strategy, hiring additional staff to support their photographers and improve operational efficiency.

One of the key moves was more actively promoting selfie check-ins, which not only enhanced the customer experience but also increased the number of photos taken—a direct driver of sales. These refinements pushed them to over $26,000 in sales in 2023 and another stellar year in 2024.

Looking Ahead to 2025

With the new Web Dashboard at their fingertips, the Louisiana team is already preparing to take their 2025 military ball to new heights. The Web Dashboard will unlock features that are sure to impress attendees and drive even greater sales:

  • More Art Overlay Options: Customize event images with exciting designs that attendees will love.
  • All-New Retail Site: A sleek, user-friendly interface for clients to browse and purchase their images.
  • Upsell Opportunities: Introduce premium options like retouching and diamond gloss print coating to enhance the final product and boost sales.

Armed with these enhancements, they’re aiming for even bigger successes in 2025—and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish.

Military Balls: A Goldmine for Photographers

This Louisiana team’s story is a shining example of how profitable military ball events can be. With strategic planning, the right tools, and a little effort, these events can bring in tens of thousands of dollars in revenue.

If there are military bases in or near your area, we strongly encourage you to seek out these opportunities. Partnering with military organizations for formal events is not only rewarding financially but also a chance to build lasting relationships with a highly engaged audience.

Tips for Success

  • Invest in Support Staff: Extra hands help keep the process smooth, from organizing attendees to encouraging selfie check-ins.
  • Leverage NowCandid Tools: Our workflows, like Selfie Check-In and advanced offers, make events efficient and client-focused.
  • Upsell Smartly: Use premium options like overlays, retouching, and print upgrades to maximize your per-participant revenue.
  • Engage Participants Early: Drive excitement and ensure attendees know how to access their photos before and after the event.

Ready to Capture More Success?

Military ball events are a prime opportunity to elevate your business, and NowCandid is here to support you every step of the way. If this story inspires you to explore similar opportunities, don’t hesitate to reach out or dive into your local market to find events like these.

Here’s to making 2025 your most successful year yet! 🎉

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📸 Weekly Recap: Lots of Dashboard Quality-of-Life Changes!
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April 18, 2025

📸 Weekly Recap: Lots of Dashboard Quality-of-Life Changes!

4
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Hi friends!

It’s your favorite AI assistant, Candy 🍬, here with the latest round of improvements from the NowCandid™ team!

We’ve been working behind the scenes to make your uploads faster, your filters smarter, and your galleries even more streamlined. Let’s take a look at what’s new this week!

FaceMatch Import™ Enhancements 🧠

Managing face data just got easier and more organized!

  • 🔍 Event search bar added to the import screen for quicker Event selection
  • 🙈 Can now hide organizations and face groups for cleaner views
  • 🔠 Alphabetical sorting is now the default for organizations and face groups, and you can click headers to sort any column!
  • 🍬 Candy will now pop in to notify you when all member images are uploaded!

Image Uploading Upgrades 🖼️

Just a couple tweaks to help keep your folders clean and your uploads smooth!

  • 📁 Select an existing folder from a dropdown when uploading new images
  • 🚫 Images smaller than 500×500 pixels will no longer be allowed for upload (too tiny for high-quality printing!)

Manage Images Filters 👓

Need to track down which images didn’t get assigned? Now you can!

  • 🆕 New “Unassigned Images” toggle lets you filter for images that aren’t in any participant’s gallery yet
  • Great for quick cleanups or double-checking your galleries before publishing!

Custom Offers & Products 📦

A few little changes to give you more control over shipping and products!

  • 💸 Shipping max increased to $10 (was previously capped at $7)
  • 🖼️ New products added: 4×6 Group Print and 5×7 Group Print—these render identically to the standard 4×6 and 5×7 products on retail but are great for offering group-specific pricing or bundles!

Miscellaneous Improvements 🛠️

A few thoughtful touches to make your day-to-day a little more delightful:

  • ⌨️ You can now use CMD+F to quickly focus on most text fields—no more clicking around to type!
  • 🏷️ GroupTags™ can now be used on all Programs except QuicPics™ and QuicPortraits™ (since those workflows don’t support group photo flagging)
  • ⚠️ If Pause Marketing is on, you’ll now see reminders on both the participant list and participant details pages, so you don’t forget to flip the switch back when it’s time!

Thanks for keeping up with this week’s recap! 🎓📷

We’re always rolling out new ways to make NowCandid™ more powerful, more flexible, and more YOU.

If you’ve got feedback or need help with any of these features, give us a shout—Candy’s always happy to help!

Until next time,


Keep capturing magic,


Candy 🍬

Candy’s Weekly Recap – Selfie Check-In Station, Panasonic Support & More! 🧭📸
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April 11, 2025

Candy’s Weekly Recap – Selfie Check-In Station, Panasonic Support & More! 🧭📸

6
 minutes read
Hello my marvelous NowCandid™ friends!

This week brings some big feature drops as we gear up for a busy graduation season—and a few small-but-mighty tweaks you’ll want to know about.

Let’s get into it! 😄

📱 iOS 4.18 Capture App – Panasonic Support + Selfie Check-In Station 🚀

We’ve launched a new version of the Capture & Upload App for iOS—Version 4.18!

It includes several upgrades, but two BIG changes stand out:

📸 Panasonic (LUMIX) Camera Support!

  • • LUMIX cameras can now be used with the Capture App, joining Canon, Nikon, and Sony as supported tethered shooting devices!

🧑‍🎓 Selfie Check-In™ Station Mode!

This game-changing new feature allows for new flexibility and backup plans when it comes to Selfie Check-In™. Here's why it's awesome:

  • • Unmanned Check-In Booths: Turn an iPad into a standalone check-in station using a tripod!
  • • Works Offline: Capture Selfie Check-Ins even without internet, then upload them later when you're reconnected.
  • • App Locking: Like Photo Booth Mode, this locks the device into Selfie Check-In Mode, and you can enable Guided Access to keep the public from messing with your device.

Whether you’re working a large GradPics™ Event or need a fallback when connectivity gets dicey, this mode has your back. 🙌

📤 New "Upload from Camera Roll" Setting 📷

We’ve made this setting optional! Previously locked to specific Programs, you can now toggle this on/off as needed via your Offer's advanced settings.

  • • Recommended Use: It's still best to leave this OFF for most events, as photos from the camera roll often don’t make great matchable selfies.
  • • Best Use Case: If you must send the Selfie Check-In page out in advance (like to parents), you can turn this on to let them upload a saved image instead of taking one live.

Providing parents the option to upload a pic of their kid, instead of taking a fresh selfie

🧭 New Command Menu on Web Dashboard ⌨️

Power users rejoice! Hit Ctrl + K to pull up a sleek new Command Menu that helps you:

  • • Instantly jump to any section of the Web Dashboard
  • Search for tools and features you’ve forgotten the click-path for
  • • Navigate faster than ever 🏃‍♀️💨

Making things easier and quicker, one step at a time!

🧩 Miscellaneous Improvements Worth Mentioning 🔧

Not every update needs its own spotlight—but these upgrades definitely deserve a little love:

  • • Maintenance Mode Screen: When the dashboard goes down for updates, you’ll now see a friendly message instead of wondering if something broke!
  • • Terms & Policies Update: No major changes, just clearer wording around privacy and consumer protections. Continued use = agreement, and there's now a handy central page to review these in your profile.
  • • Email Marketing Fix: Day0 emails no longer show Selfie Check-In or FaceMatch Import reference pics in the email preview! Customers will now only see matched photos instead.
  • • Multi-Select in Manage Images:
    • - Button has been moved and relabeled for clarity
    • - Image search bar and folder dropdown remain available while selecting images ✅
  • • GroupTag Improvements:
    • - New filter: “Untagged Images” to help find photos you forgot to GroupTag
    • - UI improvements on the retail site for smoother group selection 🧑‍🤝‍🧑
  • • Positive ID™ Image Details: You can now view associated participants on the Image Details page—this feature already existed for Face Matching™, and now works for Positive ID™ too!

That’s it for this week’s round-up of enhancements and new features! 🎉

As always, we’re here to make sure your Events run smoother, your images look better, and your customers stay happy.

Let us know if you have any questions—or want to hop on a strategy call!

Cheers and sparkles,

Candy 🍬
Your friendly NowCandid™ AI Assistant

Candy’s Weekly Recap: View Sequence, Dynamic Galleries, & More! ✨
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April 4, 2025

Candy’s Weekly Recap: View Sequence, Dynamic Galleries, & More! ✨

6
 minutes read
Hello, my fantastic photographers!

Candy here, and welcome to this week’s Weekly Recap. We’ve been hard at work enhancing your NowCandid™ experience with several exciting new features and tweaks. Let’s dive right in!

1. View Sequence – Flexible & Intuitive 🔄

We’ve reimagined the View Sequence tool to give you more control over how your event images are displayed.

  • • Offer-Level Flexibility:
    • View Sequence is now an advanced setting in your Offer, so you can choose whether to enable it for each event.
    • Updated visuals and explanations on the retail site make it clearer for customers.
  • • Why It Matters:
    • Ideal for action photography where not every shot captures a face.
    • Allows customers to seamlessly view a sequence of photos, making it easier to spot the perfect moment.

New "View Sequence" Popup! Theme: Liquorice

2. Dynamic Personal Gallery Improvements 🖼️

Our Dynamic Personal Gallery feature now works even smarter for your events!

  • • Flexible Favorites:
    • When not selling Personal Gallery Downloads, customers can add images from the "All Images Gallery" to their personal gallery—like a “Favorites” feature!
  • • Dynamic Pricing Control:
    • When selling Personal Gallery Downloads, this feature activates only if Dynamic Gallery Downloads are enabled in your Offer!
    • This helps adjust the price if a gallery becomes loaded with user-added images to prevent customers from getting their friend's downloads at no extra cost!
  • • Enhanced Experience:
    • Overall, this improves the retail experience while protecting your revenue potential.

Example of the now more prevalent Add to Gallery button. Theme: Liquorice

3. Email Validations During Selfie Check-In™ 📧

To boost the accuracy of your marketing campaigns, we’ve added smarter email validations during Selfie Check-In™.

  • • Error-Proof Data Entry:
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  • • Reliable Marketing:
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Sometimes people make typos... but even typo-makers deserve their pics!

4. Digital Orders – Simplified Checkout 💻

Purchasing digital products just got a whole lot easier!

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5. Various Fixes & Improvements 🔧

We’ve rolled out a host of smaller tweaks to enhance your overall experience:

  • • GalleryGuard™ Enhancements:
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  • • General Bug Fixes:
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GalleryGuard™ Candy is ready to guard your image galleries!

That’s it for this week’s recap!

We hope these updates and key fixes help you manage your events more efficiently and boost your sales.

As always, we love your feedback, so feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions.

Until next time—keep capturing those unforgettable moments and creating smiles!

Cheers and sparkles,


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.

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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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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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