Have you opened a new salon or renovated your space in the past two years? You could win our sister publication Salon Today's Salon of the Year competition! The competition celebrates salon and spa design by naming the 20 most gorgeous spaces each year, and the overall winner will be featured on the cover of the magazine.

To enter, just go to www.salontoday.com/featured/salons-of-the-year and enter online or download an application. In the application, you'll need to tell Salon Today a little bit about your space and design choices. The application also requires 10 images that show off your salon design.

The magazine offers these tips about submitting images:

• Hire a Pro: Salon mirrors and lighting are just two of the challenges when it comes to capturing the ambiance and impact of salon design, and both can really throw an image off. To show your salon in the best light, find a pro with specific experience in photographing interior environments.

• Consult Your Peeps: If you hired an architect or interior designer to create your design, ask them for pointers on the shoot. They might have specific suggestions on camera angles that will showcase the salon in its best light, and might even be able to recommend a photographer.

• Focus on the Design: Your images should showcase your design. Please make sure there are no people, extra products or clutter in your shots, although product is encouraged in images of the retail area.

• Set the Stage: Imagine you are looking at your salon through the camera’s lens. Remove anything that might detract from your salon design, such as floor mats or protective plastic on chairs.

• Be Holiday Neutral: Since the SOTY competition deadline is in January, many salons schedule shoots in the late fall when the salon is decorated for the holidays. Unfortunately, holiday decorations date an image, and look odd when printed in a June issue. Schedule your shoot before the salon is decorated or remove decorations during the photo shoot.

• Plan Ahead: Schedule your shoot early, well before the January 31st deadline for Salons of the Year. You will need adequate time to review and edit the images and compile your application. And, you want to allow time to reshoot, if the photographer doesn’t do your salon justice.

• Repurpose Your Beauty: While there’s certainly a cost involved with hiring a professional photographer to document your new look, consider how you might be able to use the resulting images on your website, on social media pages and in marketing pieces.

Salons are eligible if they have been newly opened or renovated between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017. The competition entry deadline is January 31, 2018. If you have questions about your eligibility or the application process, please contact Joyce Alverio at 847-415-8037 or email her at joyce.alverio@bobit.com.

Good luck!