Nailpro Italy

I was really excited to learn, today, that one of my "off the wall" sets of nails made the cover of Nailpro Italy. Italy always has been and always will be the fashion capital of the world. To see that they liked my work and used it on their cover is REALLY flattering. Anyway here is the link but I am sure it will only work for Aug 08 http://www.nailpro.it/

If you've ever been interested in doing a cover of Nailpro or Nails Magazine, it is actually not as difficult as you may think it is. They are always looking for qualified technicians to grace their covers. I got extremely lucky for my first cover. Nails magazine gave Tony Cuccio a cover to show his new system Acrygel (November 2004) so naturally he asked me to do the nails for the cover shot. So call that #1. Get with a manufacturer as their educator and the opportunity might just fall in your lap.

#2 I highly suggest joining Beauty Tech's Nailtech board or Mailing list. My very first article came from an editor reading a post of mine about my custom manicure table. She emailed me directly and we because fast chat friends. She later left writing for Nails to work with Animal rights. About 8 years later I met her at Nails. Believe it or not, we recognized each others voices and went..."are you??". You just can't make this stuff up.

#3 ASK! No one ever moved forward in their career if they were afraid to ask for what they want. Just do some fabulous sets, take really great quality pictures and send them to the editors. Stephanie (Nailpro) and Hannah (Nails) are great. These women are so warm and inviting.

#4 talk to Cover Techs and ask them how they got into doing the shoots.

#5 be extremely thankful. Those magazines can launch your photoshoot career. I'm not saying you should give everything away, however recognize what you're getting in return. I have never gotten paid for a cover, nor have I expected to. The Publicity is totally worth it. Because, to this day, I am still thankful... I know that I make their job easy. Don't walk on set with the attitude that you're a super star. Be as flexible as possible because things can and will go wrong. You've got to adapt.

My last bit of advice.... get trained for print work. The camera really does add ten pounds. Salon nails are not Print nails. You are only looking to make that set stay on for a day. Not until her next fill. Work super thin (before the point of breaking) and super wet! Working wet creates less air bubbles.

As promised here's the image from the Italy Cover. It was also the Nailpro USA Cover in August of 2007.

Elaine
(writing from Valencia, CA today)