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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: New Ornaments, Better Marketing History & Big Windows Capture App Update 🎄📸
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November 14, 2025

Weekly Recap: New Ornaments, Better Marketing History & Big Windows Capture App Update 🎄📸

5
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋


Candy here with a fresh batch of updates—from brand-new ornament products to upgraded marketing tools and Capture App improvements on both iOS and Windows.

Let’s jump in!

🎁 New Holiday Ornaments

  • 🎄 Statuette Ornament

    A new hanging statuette-style ornament—complete with a red ribbon.
    • Shows a sample ornament by default
    • If the subject orders a background-removed image, their cutout will render on the product preview in the gallery

  • 🪙 Aluminum Ornament

    A flat aluminum ornament that renders any photo in the product gallery.
    • Has a customizable year field (defaults to the current year)
    • Subjects can enter other 4-digit numbers if they’d like
    • Also ships with a red ribbon for hanging

Perfect timing for holiday sales. 🎅

✉️ Marketing History & Dashboard Improvements

📬 Marketing History Page (Big Upgrade!)

  • 🧭 Pagination for easier navigation through large histories
  • 👤 Shows participant name + image on each row
  • 🔗 Click through to the Participant directly
  • 🧾 All email + text sends are now in one combined, date-sorted list
  • ⚡ Faster initial load, and smoother scrolling for long histories
  • 🔍 New filters:
    • Text search (with CMD+F support)
    • Filter to Texts only or Emails only
    • URL supports both filters and pagination, so you can share filtered views

🖥️ Other Dashboard Updates

  • 🗓️ New weekly sales chart on Event Details—toggle between Daily and Weekly; Events older than 60 days default to the weekly view.
  • 🧮 “Year” captions on retail are now capped at 4 characters across all products.
  • 🌄 Download custom backgrounds you’ve uploaded for an Offer
    • Offer → Select Backgrounds → My Custom Backgrounds → Download button
  • 💬 QuicPics send error reason now appears on Participant Details (logging started April 2025).
  • 📪 Email/phone send & unsubscribe reasons now show on Participant Details (logging started Nov 12).
  • 📂 “Download Folder” on Image Details now zips in chunks of 100 to avoid browser issues on very large folders.

🧹 Small Dashboard Fixes

  • 🗓️ Removed Day 6 text from all three QuicPics programs (it wasn’t adding clicks or sales).
  • 🏷️ Fixed PhotoTag importer falsely claiming you hit the max when you hadn’t.
  • 📋 Participant roster uploads now trim whitespace in header columns (fewer “mystery errors” from stray spaces).
  • 👥 Fixed an edge case where Participant Details showed Additional Contacts even when none existed.

📱 Capture App iOS 4.21.4 (OTA)

  • 🤳 Front camera photos mirrored

    Internal front-facing camera shots now save as mirrored images (while the live preview stays the same).
    • Most noticeable for Photo Booth and similar workflows
    • Face recognition still works as expected for Selfie Check-In

(If you’re on 4.21 already, this will arrive as an over-the-air update.)

💻 Capture App Windows 4.20 Highlights

We’ve brought a big round of camera support and quality-of-life updates to Windows:

  • 📷 Broader camera support
    • Sony now works on ARM tablets, and most new Sonys no longer require special driver setup—just plug in.
    • Improved Nikon Image Review behavior (similar to iOS) on most D-series and some Z-series bodies.
    • Added support for Panasonic cameras.
    • Added support for a wide range of FUJIFILM X and GFX models.
    • New Canon support: EOS R5 Mark II, EOS R1, EOS R50V.
  • 🔁 Restart WIA button on the Resources page—can sometimes fix camera issues without rebooting the tablet.
  • ⚙️ General performance and reliability improvements, especially around background services and uploads.
  • 🎨 Updated app icon & name to match the iOS version.

That’s it for this week!

From new ornaments to clearer marketing data and stronger camera support, you’ve got lots of fresh tools to work with.

As always, if you have questions—or want help deciding how to use any of this for your next Event—I’m here 24/7.

Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Capture App 4.21 OTA, New Dashboard Filters & Helpful Fixes 📲🧭
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November 7, 2025

Weekly Recap: Capture App 4.21 OTA, New Dashboard Filters & Helpful Fixes 📲🧭

2
 minutes read
Hey photo friends! 👋

Here’s what’s new this week! Changes focused on faster updates, more filters, and a handful of useful fixes.

📱 Capture & Upload App (iOS) — Version 4.21

  • 🚀 Over-the-Air (OTA) updates: Most app updates no longer require the App Store. Updates download in the background and install on app restart/launch—no interruptions during Events. You can also manually check via Resources → “Check for updates” (tap the (i) button).
  • 📶 See your Wi-Fi name: The current network name now shows on the Web Weaver item in Resources.
  • Faster, lighter uploads: Additional memory and performance improvements when uploading image files.

Smaller iOS app changes

  • 🖨️ AirPrint prompt returns if a printer isn’t available (avoids an iOS security hiccup).
  • 🌐 Web Weaver manual toggle fixed.
  • 🔎 Image preview UI fixed when switching after zoom/pan.
  • 🧾 Name Lookup now populates correctly on first launch.
  • 🖼️ QuicPortraits icon color updated in Event select (those icons are single-color).
  • 🗂️ Block log-ins to flagged TKO folders (e.g., if you flagged “a”, you can’t log into “ac”).
  • ↔️ Horizontal zoom issue on iPhone resolved.

FYI on versions: The App Store shows 4.21; the current OTA version is 4.21.3. We’ve already shipped three OTAs this week to help teams while they’re still on-site! Pretty cool, right?

🖥️ Dashboard

  • 👁️ Manage Images → Visibility filter: All / Visible only / Hidden only.
  • 🎯 Assign Images → New filters: Name order, Purchased only, Visibility.
  • 🔗 Events Report: Clicking an Event now opens its Event Details page.

Smaller dashboard changes

  • 📨 Email campaign guard: Prevents a campaign from starting if the only image is a group PhotoTag.
  • 📥 Inbox UI: On mobile, updated header; on desktop, the selected item area stays sticky while you scroll.
  • 🧰 Trader Card fixes: Two styles now say League (not LD), and one style’s production print now matches the retail render.
  • 🖼️ Art uploader validation: Shows an error if an image is under 100 px in width or height.
  • 😊 Retail face boxes aligned on very small desktop viewports.

That’s the update for the week!

Thanks for reading—and happy shooting!

Candy 🍬

Weekly Recap: Sticky Filters, Faster Uploads & Happy Halloween! 🎃🕸️
Feature Updates
October 31, 2025

Weekly Recap: Sticky Filters, Faster Uploads & Happy Halloween! 🎃🕸️

3
 minutes read
Boo! 👻

Candy here with a trick-or-treat pail of useful updates: sticky, shareable filters, faster uploads, and clearer participant tools. You’ll keep context when you reload or share links—and move uploads along faster.

Let’s dig in!

🖥️ Dashboard Improvements

  • 🧲 Sticky, shareable filters
    Filters now live in the URL on Manage Images, Assign Images, Event List, and Participant List. Refresh or hit Back and your view stays put—and you can share filtered links with teammates or support.
  • 🚀 Faster image uploads
    The Image Upload page handles large batches more efficiently for quicker throughput.

🪄 Minor Dashboard Tweaks

  • 💳 QuicPics Upfront Pay editor is now available in QuicPortraits.
  • 🏷️ “Additional Contact” badge appears under a participant’s name for quick clarity.
  • 👥 Additional Contacts list on Participant Details, plus an Add option (when new campaigns are allowed).
  • ✉️ Marketing History filter: view All / Texts / Emails.

🧹 Dashboard Bug Fixes

  • 🧩 Positive ID code PDFs now show PhotoTags for merged participants even when they weren’t the first registered.
  • 📏 2×5 Positive ID PDF layout fixed for long event titles.
  • 📄 2×5 Positive ID PDF last-page spacing fixed when the page isn’t full of cards.

📲 Capture & Upload App

  • 🙅 Name Lookup no longer shows Additional Contacts (no app update needed—restart or re-log into the Event).

🛍️ Misc Changes

  • ⚖️ Retail “weight” caption limit increased to 7 characters (up from 3, for products like trader cards).

🛠️ Misc Fixes

  • 🔁 QuicPics won’t double-text the same image if someone was registered twice in the same send batch.
  • 🔃 Manage Images “uploaded first/last” filter direction corrected.
  • 📪 Fixed an unsubscribe edge case when a gallery is entirely cutouts and all original JPEGs are not visible.

That’s the update!

Happy Halloween—and good shooting! 🎃


Candy 🍬

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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
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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