Whether you've done a great color, leading edge cut or knockout event hair, having it published isn't as hard as you may think. In years past, there were only a handful of places to get your work seen, including the legendary Oro Magazine, where Tony and Guy first made an impact on hair fashion. Here is a list of steps to be aware of when submitting your best hair photography:

The first step to getting your hair work published is finding excellent models. The best models are not necessarily the ones with the plushest hair. Finer to medium hair seems to be the choice of most photographers. This may be a factor of the way light plays inside hair styles with finer hair, whereas thicker hair can look like a brick of hair under strobe lights. Great models are discovered anywhere, in beauty schools, client lists and across the counters of Tully's Coffee and Macys.

Choose the publications you want to submit your work to by picking the type of work that most closely resembles the work you are able to do - and enjoy doing. Start modestly - enter cover contests for distributorship magazines and regional hair publications. Submit online and to grocery store hair magazines that feature celebrity and series of hair photos from a variety of sources. Later, when you have accumulated some tear sheets, work with local professional model agencies. These relationships can lead to work with Modern Salon, Launchpad and even Vogue and Elle.

Do all the hair work - cut and color - the day before the shoot and try a few passes at the look you want to shoot that day, too. You may wish to change up the look during the shoot, but start off on the good foot with as strong a look as you can pull off.

Shoot your best work first and pick only your strongest pictures to submit. You are judged by your weakest work and not your full body of work. One bad picture will send you to the reject pile and an offering of one or two good pictures trumps everything else.

Follow the submission guidelines for the chosen publication exactly. Include a smaller black and white headshot of your stylist (or yourself) and a short paragraph bio. They may not require this, but it doesn't hurt to put a face on your work. It is also a good idea to create a letterhead for any correspondence you send them. After repeated submissions, they will begin to recognize your offerings and give them a more serious look.

Most publications will not tell you if they did not immediately accept your work. Many will hold good work for a more appropriate issue and some are part of a larger network of publications that focus on specific types of hair. Sometimes work sent to Passion could find a home in Inspire. Not one print publication will send you a rejection notice. After you send one submission into you target magazine or website, begin work on your next submission.

You can build a career as an editorial hairstylist, become recognized as a leader in hair artistry in your regional market and get picked up by major product companies as a show stylist by building a portfolio of publication in magazines that feature hair styles. It worked for many of the big names in today's beauty industry, such as Tony & Guy, Bumble&bumble and Oribe, and it can work for you as well. Remember to plan ahead, put your best work out and keep submitting.

(read another article on hair photography at Capelli d'Oro and submit your own work for publication.)

Edward Paul 2011