When preparing for your cover shoot, keep in mind that NAILS doesn’t generally include models’ faces, so you’ll want to plan mostly hands-only shots.

Don’t get too caught up in the props and the background - your image should be about the nails, after all.

Make sure the image is composed with room for the NAILS title and headlines around the outside. It usually works best if the interest is near the center of the image.

Your nail work should be very clean, paying special attention to the outer edges of the nail. Are your sidewalls and cuticle area pristine? If not, clean them up and ask a retoucher for assistance.

Look back at past winning covers and notice what they did well. The contest is usually for the January cover, so think about what makes sense for January/ new year imagery.

NAILS is a magazine for other nail technicians, so your nails should wow and inspire the target audience.

Just try it! You never know what you’re capable of until you try it for yourself.