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Weekly Recap: Express Checkout Confirmations, Capture App Speed Testing, and a New Lightroom Classic Plugin

Weekly Recap: Express Checkout Confirmations, Capture App Speed Testing, and a New Lightroom Classic Plugin
Hey photo friends! 👋


This week’s updates are all about clearer customer actions, smoother retail performance, and new tools that speed up upload workflows. Plus, a strong round of Capture App polish (iOS & Android OTA) and some important Dashboard + Marketing fixes.

Let’s jump in. ✨

🛍️ Retail: Fewer Mis-clicks, Better Previews, Faster Feel

✅ Express Checkout confirmation (all express checkouts)

All express checkout flows now show a confirmation popup that clearly displays the shipping address selected, with options to place the order or go back. It also includes an invalid address popup.

Previously, people would sometimes purchase without double checking their express-checkout-method's default shipping address. So, this change is designed to reduce address mistakes and improve customer experience!

Confirmation popup now clearly displays shipping address confirmation.

🧠 Better UI + performance improvements

  • Improved local rendering (performance, memory usage, and task handling) — originally aimed to improve the retail experience on low-end devices, but it should make most devices feel faster!

  • Native “leave page” confirmation on supported browsers/devices (desktop + Samsung back button) when navigating away from an event page (refresh/back).

Leave page confirmation

🖼️ Clearer package download expectations + better pickers

  • Personal Gallery Downloads on store sheet and package editor now show “+X Images” in the configurator when there are more than 4 images—so customers don’t think they only get what’s previewed.

Personal Gallery Download "+X Images"

    • Personal Gallery Download products inside packages can now be clicked to preview contents.

    • Desktop product/package image pickers are now two columns (like mobile), allowing larger image preview during selection.

    Larger two column image previews

      • Image Filters landing popup now includes “Browse all photos without a filter” so customers who think they must pick a filter know they can also just browse!

      Image Filters landing popup

      🧩 Retail fixes worth noting

      • Fixed a slashed discount amount showing on week 3 when there is no higher amount.
      • Fixed a GalleryGuard edge case that could close the retail site on some Android devices that support mobile context menus when long-pressing.
      • Fixed a race condition where a Group-by-Face gallery loaded from URL params could show default results instead of the filtered view.
      • Fixed an edge case where manually assigned images marked as group could behave like non-group images on retail.

      📱 Capture App OTA: 5.6.1 & 5.6.2 (iOS & Android)

      🌐 NEW: Network Speed Test (5.6.1)

      A new Network Speed Test button is available in Resources. Tap Run Test to check download speed, upload speed, and latency to NowCandid servers (so results may differ from Google/Ookla). It’s a quick test (downloads 5 MB, uploads 2 MB) and is useful for diagnosing weak or congested service during events.

      Mbps is a standard measurement for connection speeds, and 1 megabit per second (Mbps) is 0.125 Megabytes per second (MB/s). So 8 Mbps is 1 Megabyte per second, max. For example, with images that are 10 Megabytes in size, a speed of 8 Mbps would take a minimum of 10 seconds to upload. When speeds are very slow, image uploads may be impossible due to uploads timing out and restarting. In these cases, open the app when you have a stronger connection and all your images will start going up!

      Network Speed Test

      🎪 Photo Booth + Selfie Check-In Station UI upgrades (5.6.2)

      • Photo Booth landing page updated to be more user-friendly (always-visible scrollbar, updated text, sticky go back/continue buttons, red/green emphasis, and a popup explaining why Continue is greyed out).
      • Selfie Check-In Station landing page updated with red/green Go Back / Begin buttons.
      • New dropdown icon beside Group Photo toggle (when an event has PhotoTags) to better display there are additional options to assign PhotoTags.
      • Fixed edge case cancel/continue behavior on Selfie Check-In Station when no contact info was entered.

      🧩 NEW: Lightroom Classic Plugin (Official)

      We’ve launched an official Lightroom Classic plugin to upload images to NowCandid events directly from Lightroom Classic.

      Key notes:

      • Lightroom Classic only
      • Same image rules apply (color profile, DPI, etc.)
      • Uses Capture App login
      • Only events within 60 days of event start date show in the selector
      • Image Details → Logs will show “Uploaded from NowCandid Lightroom Plugin”
      • Docs include guide/download/installation: https://app.nowcandid.com/docs/tools-more/lightroom

      Lightroom Classic Plugin

      Upload from NowCandid Lightroom Plugin

      🖥️ Dashboard: Upload & Roster Clarity + Small UX Wins

      • Event roster upload and PhotoRoster upload now warn about every unrecognized column, making it easier to spot misspellings (especially for optional columns).
      • Participant list page download now puts additional contacts into columns instead of rows.
      • Participant list download now puts merged contacts into their own row if they have different first/last names.
      • Image upload naming cleanup:
        • spaces/parentheses now automatically become underscores (e.g., Image (2)Image_2)
        • names ending in z now get a trailing underscore (e.g., ImagezImagez_)
      • Candy got even better at using the new Docs for responses.
      • Password reset now shows a clear “Your link has expired” screen (links expire after 24 hours).
      • Fixed participant filter inside another participant’s manual assign/unassign page not working properly.
      • Participant Details PhotoTag assignment UI: merged participants no longer incorrectly show PhotoTags as assigned.

      Upload Roster now warns about every unrecognized column.

      📣 Marketing Fixes

      • Fixed edge cases where galleries that were only AI-edited images could cause follow-up email marketing issues and show as 0 images on Participant List.
      • Fixed Day0 marketing edge case not starting if gallery is just AI-edited images.
      • SMS gallery links now include “View photos:” before the gallery URL to reduce confusion where some users thought the gallery link was an unsubscribe link.

      That’s the week! 💫

      Between the Lightroom Classic plugin, the Capture App’s new Network Speed Test, and retail improvements that reduce confusion (and improve performance), this week was packed with practical wins you’ll feel right away.

      Keep it sparkly,

      Candy

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      Jowdy Photography Scores Big with NowCandid 🏈📸
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      September 26, 2024

      Jowdy Photography Scores Big with NowCandid 🏈📸

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      Hey there, photography enthusiasts!

      We've got an exciting success story that combines the thrill of NFL action with the power of NowCandid's innovative software. 📷✨

      Touchdown for Jowdy Photography and NowCandid!

      Jowdy Photography, the Official Photographers of the Dallas Cowboys, recently took their game day photography to the next level by integrating NowCandid into their operations.

      The result? An astounding 103% increase in sales per image at their very first game day event using our platform! 🏆

      "We saw a huge increase in sales per image at our first game with NowCandid, and we're planning to continue using it for every game moving forward," said Jeff Jowdy, Founder of Jowdy Photography. "The software has completely changed our approach to game day photography."

      Game-Changing Technology

      By leveraging NowCandid's cutting-edge features, Jowdy Photography streamlined their workflow and delivered a seamless experience for fans.

      Our platform's real-time image delivery and flexible workflows gave fans instant access to their photos through private, user-friendly galleries.

      Not only did this enhance the fan experience, but it also significantly reduced post-event labor costs. Talk about a win-win! 🎉

      Unlocking New Opportunities

      With NowCandid, Jowdy Photography has opened doors to new ventures that were previously off the table. "There were business opportunities that we didn’t pursue before because they weren’t profitable or photographable," Jeff explained. "Now, with NowCandid's tools and workflows, those ventures have become entirely possible."

      From high school graduations to corporate events, our flexible and intuitive platform allows photographers to handle events of all sizes and types. This versatility is what drew Jowdy Photography to integrate NowCandid into more aspects of their business.

      Looking Ahead

      We're thrilled to see Jowdy Photography's continued success as they capture unforgettable moments at game days and beyond. Their partnership with NowCandid highlights the power of innovative photography solutions in revolutionizing the fan experience while driving business growth. 🚀

      Join the Winning Team!

      Are you ready to elevate your photography business like Jowdy Photography did?

      Discover how NowCandid can transform your workflow, boost your sales, and delight your clients.

      Visit NowCandid.com to learn more!

      About Jowdy Photography

      Founded in 1987, Jowdy Photography has become a leader in digital photography for corporations, associations, special events, and large venues.

      Their extensive knowledge of photography, coupled with their utilization of the latest technology, enables them to deliver a unique blend of quality, creativity, and personalization to their customers' finished products.

      Stay tuned for more success stories and tips on how NowCandid can help you capture life's best moments while growing your business.

      Happy shooting! 📸💕

      Big News: Introducing GroupTags for SportsPics! 🌟
      Feature Updates
      September 12, 2024

      Big News: Introducing GroupTags for SportsPics! 🌟

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       minutes read
      Hey, sports photographers!

      Candy here, and I’m super excited to share a brand-new feature designed to make your SportsPics Events even easier to manage—introducing GroupTags! 🎉⚽🏀⚾

      So, what exactly are GroupTags? 🤔


      GroupTags is a feature made specifically for our SportsPics Program!

      When you’re managing a big sports shoot with group photos, GroupTags helps you stay organized and deliver a smoother experience for your clients.

      Here’s how it works:

      1. Before your Event

      You can set up as many GroupTags as you need within an Event. These GroupTags could be team names, league divisions, or even different sports if you're covering all of one school's teams over the same weekend. 🏆

      2. Once you’ve started photographing

      Anytime you mark a photo as a Group Photo (either on the Capture & Upload App, or on the Web Dashboard), you’ll have the option to assign a GroupTag to it. 📸

      3. Once They Visit the Retail Site

      Your subjects will be able to choose from the GroupTags you set up, and easily find their group shots!

      As soon as they arrive to the retail site via their person gallery link, they'll be prompted to choose a GroupTag.

      4. Mission Accomplished!

      And once they select a GroupTag, they'll see their personal images, in addition to their Group Photos!

      How does this help your clients?

      To recap:


      When your customers open the link to their personal gallery, they’ll be prompted to select their GroupTag—whether that’s a team name, division, or whatever you’ve set up for the Event.

      With their GroupTag selected, their Group Photos will show up right alongside their individual images, making it super easy for them to see everything at once! 🖼️

      Plus! GroupTags automatically fill in the GroupTag Name on products like Memory Mates, Bag Tags, and more when ordering. How cool is that? ✨

      Need to make changes? No problem!


      GroupTags are easy to edit after the Event if you need to fix a mistake or assign a Group Photo to multiple GroupTags. And don’t worry—if there’s ever a typo or minor error, your customers can still browse and shop while you fix it in the background! 🛍️

      Works with all Workflows!


      Whether you’re using Face Matching or Positive ID Workflows, GroupTags are a fantastic way to organize your Group Photos for large sports leagues or any big SportsPics Event. ⚡

      Quick Recap:

      As a reminder, marking a photo as a Group Photo will only allow it to be purchased on Group Photo Products, allowing you to sell them on different prints at different prices, prevent the sale of digital downloads for Group Photos, and allow them to be selected on multi-image products like Memory Mates.

      We hope GroupTags makes your next SportsPics Event even smoother!

      As always, feel free to reach out with any questions. 💌

      Until next time, happy shooting! 🏅📸

      Cheers and sparkles,


      Candy 🍬

      Big News: Introducing QuicPics GO! 🌟
      Feature Updates
      August 30, 2024

      Big News: Introducing QuicPics GO! 🌟

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      Hey, fabulous photographers! 🎉

      Candy here with some sparkling news about a brand-new program that's just been added to the NowCandid family—introducing QuicPics GO! 🚀

      You all know and love our QuicPics program, where you get paid upfront by an event organizer and deliver free downloads to your photo subjects throughout the event, all while still offering them the option to purchase physical products. It’s a fan favorite for those looking to provide an engaging, modern experience!

      So, what’s new with QuicPics GO? 🤔

      Well, the “GO” in QuicPics GO stands for Gallery Only! That’s right, this new program is designed to streamline the process by delivering just the image gallery link to your subjects—no individual MMS image files sent directly to them.

      The QuicPics GO Gallery provides multiple ways for your subjects to download their free images, as well as the opportunity to purchase optional photo products, making sure they still have plenty of options to enjoy and share their favorite moments! 🎁

      While this may be a less flashy approach, it’s perfect for those who are looking for a more cost-conscious solution, while still utilizing NowCandid's convenient Workflows & technologies to deliver free downloads to guests. 📷✨

      Why choose QuicPics GO?

      Affordable Pricing:

      QuicPics GO offers a budget-friendly option with a fee of only 6 cents per image at this time of launch — that’s significantly lower than the 20 cents per image fee for standard QuicPics. Perfect for events where cost-conscious clients are looking for a great value!

      Simple Experience:

      While QuicPics provides that cool, interactive experience of receiving images via MMS throughout the event, QuicPics GO keeps it simple with just one link to the image gallery. It’s less flashy, but it gets the job done!

      So whether you're working with a budget-conscious client or just looking for a way to offer a simpler service, QuicPics GO is here to provide that perfect middle ground. 🎈

      Important Note:

      Just like with QuicPics, you’ll need to have a credit card on file with your NowCandid account to use QuicPics GO. This ensures a smooth, hassle-free experience for everyone involved. 💳

      Streamlined Free Checkout for QuicPics GO! 🚀

      We’ve made grabbing your free QuicPics images easier than ever! While easy downloads are available directly from the site, we’ve also simplified the checkout process for those who prefer it. 🎉

      Now, instead of filling out billing and shipping info for a $0 cart, all your subjects need is a cell phone number and email address to complete the free checkout.

      Quick, convenient, and hassle-free—just the way it should be! 🖼️📲

      We’re thrilled to bring you this new addition, and we can’t wait to see how you’ll make the most of it!

      As always, if you have any questions or need a little help, just reach out. We’re here for you! 💌

      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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