Of course there are countless contests that parents want to enter their bundles of bubbling joy into. How will you determine which ones are the very best to enter your child into, and how are they judged?

Photo Taking Tips

Taking the perfect photograph can be difficult to do, but you’ll want to follow some of the following tips to increase your chances of having a photograph that is unique and memorable. Also keep in mind that every contest has its own unique rules, so you’ll want to read the terms very closely.

1. Your child should always be the center focus of the shot and looking at the camera directly. These shots will capture your child’s personality in the best way.

2. Get close to your child. Close-ups will give the judges the best view of your little one. This is especially good for shots that show emotions such as smiles, giggles and laughter.

3. Keep background noise and clutter to a minimum. This includes items in the background as well as items on your child too. The judges want to see your baby.

4. Choose proper lighting. Children tend to photograph best when outdoors during sunrise or sunset. If it is midday try to use shaded areas to your advantage with your baby facing away from the sun if possible

5. If shooting indoors avoid using the camera’s flash. Try to place your child near a window that allows a good deal of light in instead. Flashes can easily wash out babies skin due to the harsh lighting. On another note it can also make smaller children upset.

6. Get down at your baby’s level to bring the viewer more into the moment and for shooting the best angles.

7. Use professional lighting equipment in the home. This can be a bit more expensive and challenging, but if you’re determined it will help to achieve perfect lighting conditions within the home.

8. Hire a professional to shoot your photographs. This is a very viable options as contests frequently allow professional pictures. However, as the parent you are responsible for obtaining the rights, and there are typically fees involved.

9. Shy away from shots that include other people. The judges only want to see your little one.

Taking the perfect shot is the next step. Some parents are very lucky and will get the right shot on the first try, but many parents will find they take dozens of different photos a day. One point to keep on your mind is that you will have to think like a judge. If you think like a parent then it will be more difficult to pick out that winning photograph.

Picking The Right Contest

There are two types of baby photo contests, and what is being judged is usually told to contestants up front. One type is where the judges judge the photograph itself, and the other is where the skill of the photographer is judged. This should be listed in the rules of the contest, but if it isn’t you should contact the host for clarification before entering.

The judges of each contest can vary greatly, and this is typically stated in the contest rules or conditions. Some will use professional child talent agencies, popularity voting, employees or other outside sources. It’s very rare that you will ever get to meet the actual judges, so there is much mystery behind what they are looking for in photographs of children and babies.

Which contests are the best to enter? There are so many contests out there on the internet that it can be difficult to choose which ones to enter. Below there will be a list of the top five choices, but make sure you read all the rules thoroughly prior to submitting photographs for judging.
Also never judge a contest based on the prize alone as there are some great contests out there, but they may not have the largest or flashiest prize. Better yet, take multiple different photographs and enter them all with a unique picture.

Top Baby Photo Contests For 2012

1. The Cute Kid Contest (sponsored by Gerber)
2. BabyZone Photo Contest
3. American Baby Cover Contest
4. Babytalk Baby Cover Contest
5. Baby, You Should Be In Pictures!

If the official Gerber contest isn’t running right now you can also enter the Gerber-sponsored Cute Kid Contest.

Click here for more info.

The Gerber Contest 2011 is open to families who have babies between the ages of one day to 48 months and are residents in the United States. Parents are encouraged to take photos of their baby in different categories to be submitted. The number of entries allowed per child is only one per category. The following categories that you can enter a picture of your baby are the following: birth, supported sitter, sitter, crawler, toddler, or preschooler. Pictures of naked children or kids in the bathtub are not allowed in the contest.

The Gerber Contest 2011 will most definitely attract millions of parents who want their child to be chosen to get the grand prize. That is why determining the winner is done by a panel of judges where they choose the grand prize winner based on the overall appeal of the child’s photo submitted. Among the factors that they will be looking into include the child’s expressiveness in the picture as well as whether the photo is consistent not only with the heritage of Gerber but also with its mission–the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy program.

As for the Milestone Prize Winners, the public has the right to cast their votes for their favorite Gerber baby photo. Those who got the highest number of votes will be announced as winners. So if you have already submitted a photo of your baby and would like to get as many votes as you can, ask for help from your family, relatives, friends, officemates and others by liking the photo of your baby. Keep in mind that competition is fierce at this point so if you can ask help from others, then feel free to do so.

The prizes that are at stake include $50,000, which is dedicated to your child’s education as well as $10,000 in cash. These are not the only prizes that you can take home if your child won the jackpot prize since there are other bonuses included as well. As for the category winners, each of the lucky ones will be receiving an Apple iPad as their prize. This competition definitely has something for everyone so why not get a photo of your baby and join the Gerber baby contest today?

Parents who are looking for a way to get their baby exposed will probably enjoy this photo contest by Gerber. With Gerber Contest 2011, not only will you get to capture your baby’s finest moment but you can also get to receive some amazing prices as well.

How to Enter a Baby Contest 2011

Now, if you and your baby like to join a baby contest 2011, then here are some helpful tips:

• The first thing that you need to do is to search online since most of the photo contests these days are posted on websites. Make sure that the photo contest that you will be joining is legitimate by doing a short background check on the site or by simply choosing to join only the well known competitions.
• Once you’ve found the contest that you wish to join, download all the requirements and make sure that you meet all of them. Prepare your baby for the photo session and pick the best photo that meets the standards of the contest that you will be joining.

How to Prepare for a Baby Contest 2011

The big star for this baby contest 2011 is your little one and so, you have to do a good job in preparing your baby for the challenge. Since this is a photo contest, you need to make sure that when you bring your baby to the studio for a professional photo shoot the little one is in a good mood so that he or she will be all smiles and giggles for the camera. Schedule the photo session on the day that your child is least stressed and set a time when the baby is still not cranky like in the morning, perhaps.

The day before the photo shoot, it helps to do a little research. Look through ads with baby models and see what kind of poses they want to see. Base the theme of your baby’s photo shoot from these ads but be sure to input a new and unique element to it. At the same time, pick out your baby’s clothes before hand and make sure that each of the clothing articles fit your baby well while at the same time goes well with the photo theme too.

Bring your baby to set prepared. In order to do so, make your baby feel relaxed the day before the photo shoot. If the shoot is scheduled in the morning, then it is best to make you baby rest early the night before so that your baby will feel totally refreshed in the morning. If your child is on the verge of throwing a tantrum while you are doing the photo shoot, then take time to rest. Play with your child until he or she is in a happy mood again.

Madison won the 2009 cute kid contest! Beautiful pic!

The Cute Kid contest is one of the longest running and most respected cutest baby/kid contests online. It is the best cutest baby contest 2012 to enter because of how often they give out prizes month in and month out.

They’re sponsored by Gerber and hold monthly as well as yearly contests. In this post I want to give you a behind the scenes look at the The Cute Kid online contest.

I’m gonna answer some frequently asked questions about the contest and give some examples of past winning pictures so you can get an idea of what to shoot for with your little one.

I also want to break down a few of their rules and guidelines so you know what to expect before submitting your photo.

Who Are The Judges?

• The judges are made of entertainment and modeling industry people. They include talent agents, casting agents, talent scouts and other industry professionals.

What Are The Judges Looking For in Each Picture? (Taken From Their Website)

• Appearance
• Charisma
• Expression
• Image concept/setting
• That special something

What Are The Age Categories?

• Baby (Birth to 12 months)
• Toddler (12-24 months)
• Pre-K (2-4 years)
• Big-Kid (4-8)
• Pre-Teen (8-12)

• Multiples (twins,triplets..)

When Does The Judging Begin For Each Month?

• Judging starts on the first day of the “next month”. In other words if your child is entered in January, judging begins on Feb 1st.
• Also whichever month you enter you child in, that’s the month he/she will be judged. So even if you enter on December 31st, you will be entered into the December contest.

When Are The Winners Announced?

• Winners for the cute kid photo contest are announced 10-14 days after the winning photo has been selected in each category. Winners are informed by phone or email.
• Prizes are then given within 2 weeks of the announcement.

What Are The Prizes?

• Grand Prize - Goes to the cute kid of the year (Like Madison in the pic above): $25,000 College Tuition Fund, Modeling Contract with Wilhemina Kids & Teens, Personal “2010/2011 cutekidoftheyear.com website, Huge national press release and exposure and more…
• Monthly Prizes – $1,000 US Savings Bond – goes to overall monthly winner. $500 us Savings bond to each category (age) winner. All finalists are automatically entered into the grand prize “Cute Kid of the Year” contest.
• Each and every photo entered is seen by industry experts and agents who are always on the lookout for fresh faces to cast in modeling jobs and acting roles.

Examples of past monthly winners:

Quick Tip: Notice how all the pictures are close ups the cute kid contest judges particularly like close ups!

Good Luck with your cute kid contest 2010 entries! Next stop your victory of the cutest baby contest 2011!

Maggie Sue's Parenting Cover

The 2010 edition of the Regis and Kelly baby contest has come and gone, but in preparation for next year let’s take a look at what baby won and how the contest works!

The 2010 winner of the Regis and Kelly baby photo contest was 3 year old Maggie Sue Romeo form Braselton, Georgia. She won with a picture taken in her backyard. Her parent’s were stunned when she took home the incredible $125,000 College tuition prize, sponsored by Gerber.

On top of that Maggie Sue was featured on the cover of the “Parenting -Early Years” magazine.

The four runners up were also treated to prizes. Gerber and Regis and Kelly Live divided up $100,000 amongst the babies for college tuitions and a year of free Gerber stuff worth $1000.

The top ten finalists received prizes as well.

Unfortunately it looks like Regis and Kelly won’t be doing the contest this year Why not enter the Cutekid’s baby photo contest instead? It’s the most established online contest, sponsored by Gerber. (NEW: Right now they’re giving away a free 1 year subscription to “Parenting” magazine…)

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Photos were submitted by parents for months leading up to January 29th, 2010. The actual contest judging phase started on January 29th and ran until March 1st. Then, on March 2nd, semi finalists were notified by telephone. Only three attempts were made.

So next year be sure to check your emails and answer your phones! If they can’t get in contact with you they go to an alternate.

Here are the guidelines for last years contest. They should be similar for the 2011 Regis and Kelly Beautiful baby contest:

Contest Rules

Your baby must be between six and forty eight months old by January 2010. Only United States or Canadian residents are eligible. The picture submitted has to be non-professional. It has to be a recent picture between one and two months old. Twins or triplets have to be one picture together. The photo needs to be no larger than 2000×1500 pixels.

Maggie Sue's Winning Photo - Simple and Natural

Parenting magazine and Regis and Kelly Live both judge the baby photos in order to come up with 10 semi finalists.

From those ten semi finalists the public judges and picks 5 finalists. Those 5 finalists are then flown to New York to do a professional photo shoot for the cover of the magazine.

The five finalists also appear on the Regis and Kelly show live in March during “beautiful baby week”.
Regis and Kelly Baby Contestto Home Page

I hope you enjoyed my cutest baby contest video

Thanks!
~Jack

Hope you liked my gerber baby contest video :0

Thanks!
~Jack

Cheap Baby Clothes

Second hand stores are your friend! You’ll find that your baby outgrows an outfit before he/she has the chance to break it in, so “new” clothes will be “old” in no time. Raising a child can cost a fortune, so being sure find cheap baby clothes can be an important way to limit the damage on your wallet. Take your babies’ outgrown clothes and sell it. Then shop for next season’s wardrobe. With a little effort, you should be breaking even, no problem! You can easily find second clothes in great condition and at a fraction of the cost of purchasing new. Buy one or two new outfits (from the sale rack of course!) and then bargain shop the rest.

Quick Tip:

If you’re buying for an unborn baby that is on the way, remember to buy for the season he or she will be born in, not the one you’re shopping in!

Garage Sales

Don’t look down your nose at garage sales. They can be a treasure trove of great bargains for second hand cheap baby clothes. If your nice neighbor down the block puts up a “yard sale” sign, get down there! You can often find great quality items for around a buck.

If you’re hesitant, don’t be. Once the tags are off, all clothes are secondhand anyway. After all, it’s a lot easier to watch your child spit up on his $1 sleeper than one you bought for $15. Estimated savings: $400/year. Be careful not to purchase too many clothes in newborn sizes, as they won’t fit within a few weeks.

Hand Me Downs

The ultimate in cheap baby clothes! Graciously accept hand-me-downs from friends and relatives. For those well-worn items that aren’t quite “going out in public” material, save them for pajamas, messy art projects, and just plain bumming around the house/rolling around in the mud outfits.

Clothing Swaps

Join a clothing swap with other parents. – This is a great way to recycle all of your used baby items. Try to get together about 4 times a year, and when you bring 5 items, you get to take 5 items or less. If you can’t find one in your area, start one! It’s a great way to network with other parents and make new friends!

Don’t buy your infant tons of expensive clothes! They really only need comfortable pyjamas, or better yet just a diaper if the weather is warm. There will be plenty of time to dress your little one in all the adorable outfits available, but when they are infants, they should be comfortable.

“Onesies” are great examples of cheap baby clothes! Fight the urge to buy every adorable outfit you see for baby, because frankly, they’re all adorable. Be sure to request the essentials for shower gifts, shop resale for extra items and if you must buy new, head to the sale racks.

Big Department discount stores like Walmart, Best & Less etc often have great sales where you can get a truly gorgeous baby outfit for $3 or less. If you need to, make those outfits last for months longer by adding snap lengtheners (a panel to lengthen those onesies) and cutting those sleeper feet off. Converting sleepers over can be a real money saver.

Use the resources you have available. It is a personal preference, but ask yourself – Do you have any friends with children? Are they willing to loan your outgrown clothes in exchange for the same at a later date? Are you involved in a church with many children? Don’t be afraid to let your needs be known. Many times I’ve heard of people with items to share and no knowledge of whom to share them with. Most people with children are well aware of the financial burden and are more than willing to help.

Final Quick Tip:

For newborns, buy baby clothes one size larger than “newborn” and then fold up the sleeves. You just doubled the life of your outfit! Hope you’ve found these cheap baby clothes tips useful.

Thanks!

~ Jack

This cute baby contest video and others can also be found on my cutestbabycontest youtube channel

I hope you enjoyed my baby photo contest video

Thanks!

~Jack

As a parent I’m pretty sure you are certain you have THE cutest baby on the face of the planet! Nobody’s kid even comes close and any cutest baby contest around is as good as in the bag….

Right!?

But… Before you go jumping into the first cute baby contest you find there are a few things you should  keep in mind. Why not give your little cutie the chance to shine in the greatest way possible!? These handy tips will help you find the cutest baby contest that is right for you and your child.

With the advent of digital photography it is easier than ever to enter cute baby contests online. All you have to do is upload a picture!

But what should you be looking for in a beautiful baby contest?

What Prizes Are On Offer?

• First the fun part! What are the different prizes that can be won from the contest? Is there one grand prize or are there multiple prizes for different categories? Do they have lots of different category prizes and a grand prize? What type of prizes are there? Money, services, possible talent scouting, toys, gift certificates… Some of the bigger cute baby contests have pretty fabulous prizes that can lead to greater things like acting work in commercials and tv shows. So be sure the contest you and your cutie are entering is worth while!

Example of a Past Cutest Baby Contest Winner - They Like Close Ups!

Who’s Gonna Be Judging The Photos?

• If you’re looking at entering a simple free beautiful baby contest then a panel of judges made up of other internet goers is not a big deal. But if you’re paying a small fee then you should be assured that your child’s photo is being reviewed by reputable, professional judges. Being judged by professional talent scouts is a great way to gain massive exposure for you child. Many contest winners have gone on to modeling and acting careers!

What Are The Age Categories?

• Make sure you know what age categories the contest covers in order to be sure your child fits. Often contests are broken up into different categories, offering prizes for all the different age groups.

How Big Is The Cute Baby Contest?

• Smaller contests are great for fun and for practice, but if you have any interest in getting some serious exposure for your child in terms of modeling or acting or are interested in great prizes then you should do a little research and find out what are the larger and more reputable contests online.

Be Sure To Read The Privacy Policy

• It’s always a good idea to know exactly what the contest will be doing with your child’s photos. You don’t want to enter a cutest baby contest only notice a month later that your child’s photo has been plastered all over the internet in advertisements and you haven’t been compensated!

Cutest Baby Contests Aren’t Just For Babies!

• Remember that these contests often have categories for kids up to 12 years old!

Make Sure The Contest Applies To Your Geographic Location

• Don’t enter a contest that only allows the submissions from the U.S. when you live in Australia!

Because cutest baby contests are so popular with parents all over the world, tons of them can be found online. There are yearly contests running and monthly contests so you’ll always have a chance to enter your little cutie!  Just be sure to take into account these tips I’ve just shared with you in order to give your child the best opportunity to shine as bright as they deserve!

~ Jack