Baby Contest

Beautiful Baby Contest - Ingredients For a Good Baby Photo

By Lyn B Green

A baby photo can grab attention very easily - it is cute, innocent, sweet and straight from the heart. A baby contest is where cute babies are chosen for prizes typically from photographs that are sent in. A baby photo is very difficult to capture as a baby is apt to keep moving and changing positions, expressions and so on. To enter a beautiful baby contest, a baby photo has to be unique, exclusive plus beautiful. It is important to capture the baby in a natural pose and in sharp focus so that the baby photo looks good.

For a baby contest the image to be captured should satisfy certain criteria to emerge as a winner. It is not enough if the subject, in this case, the baby is beautiful - the baby photo should capture and enhance that beauty for every one to see. In a beautiful baby contest it should be remembered that hundreds of cute baby pictures will be vying for the prizes. So a baby photo should have some unique traits if it has to stand out in a crowd. What are these traits? How do we ensure that these traits show up in the baby photo we capture?

The baby's eyes are really large and clear. It is common knowledge that the only body parts that do not grow after birth are the eyes. Given that, naturally the baby's eyes are disproportionately large when compared to the rest of its face. They show innocence and wonder. When they fill with tears or when they smile the expression is there in total.

When the baby eyes are captured in all their beauty half the baby contest is won. It is critical to avoid "red eyes" when pictures are being taken. Cameras have the red eye reduction option that should be used. Usually when there is artificial light being used red eye comes. So it will be a good idea to capture baby photo for baby contests in natural light - outdoors or near doors/ windows where plenty of natural light flows in. It should be kept in mind that babies are constantly moving and changing subjects. An expression or action that was there an instant back may never appear again. So a camera should always be at hand and the photographer has to be alert to capture any unique expressions.

The person taking a baby photo needs to be very patient. Some times they may have to wait for days on end to get just that right picture. Of course some effort has to be taken if the baby picture has to make an impression in the beautiful baby contest! As babies are moving and shaking their arms and legs all the time, motion blur can appear causing the whole picture effect to be spoiled. To reduce this problem, a high iso speed along with a large aperture can be used. It also helps to shoot a number of pictures in quick succession to ensure that the best can be chosen. Now coming to the other important aspect in a baby picture - the background we see that it has to be simple to have a telling effect. A simple plain background will focus the viewer's complete attention on the subject - in this case the baby. A cluttered back ground with lots of toys or flowers or a very colourful background will take away the focus from the baby. So when taking a baby photo, zooming in on the baby is crucial. This means most of the photo will show the baby leaving very little or no space for the background to show up in the picture. Even if a background has to be there it can be a plain wall or a light, single coloured cloth which will serve to keep the attention of the beholder on the baby and only the baby. In a beautiful baby contest after all, it is obviously the baby who has to be projected!

The amount of spare space in the photo should be kept to a minimum because the greater the spare space greater the distraction from the subject. The proportion of the space between the baby and the background should be minimum - to keep the subject from "floating" and always keeping the baby and the play of expressions in sharp focus.

Baby Photo Contests are a fantastic way to get your baby noticed, to add to their college fund, and to have a lot of fun along the way. For one of the simplest contest to enter (with a great prize of $2500 every month) enter your baby's photo at the Great American Photo Contest. You can submit multiple photo's, and the cutest one wins each month.