A hairdresser for 20 years, Shelly Devlin had never heard of NAHA the first 10 years of her career. Then she met Luis Alvarez and his team at Aquage. That meeting set the stage for this past year's first-time entry in the famed contest for hair stylists. Devlin agreed to give us a look at how she completed the styles for her 2009 entry, plus we got a sneak preview of work that she's considering entering in the 2010 competition.

Two of the images were shot during Aquage Academy classes as a demo for the students attending. The classes are held several times a year in Chicago and Miami. Taught by a group of Aquage educators, the two-day class includes a segment from Luis Alvarez on the dos and don'ts of photo shoots. That's when Shelly Devlin, or one of the other team members working on their NAHA portfolio comes in. The day we visited, Devlin shot the second photograph in her portfolio of work for the 2010 Fashion Forward category. Here's what she had to say.


Devlin's three NAHA finalist shots: Triangles, Squares and Circles.