Each year when our staff looks over the hundred-plus photos we receive in our Cover Kids contest, there are always a few standouts. The ones that catch our eye immediately usually have a few things in common: casual styling, great lighting, natural smiles, and simple backgrounds. This year, in addition to the nine models editors choose, readers will be able to choose the 10th cover model from all of the submitted entries.
If you’re planning on entering your child in this year’s contest, here are seven tips that will help you choose the best photo to enter. Best of luck to all entrants!
1. Face front. Be sure your child is looking directly at the camera. Eye contact is essential, and we want to see your child’s entire face in the frame.
2. Keep it casual. Catch your child playing or when they’re quiet and involved in an activity. Don’t try to dress them up, style their clothing, and expect a relaxed photo.
3. Lighting is the key. Photos with dark shadows or with your child squinting into the sun won’t portray them in the best light (pun intended!). Photos taken during the “golden hour,” which is the hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset, offer the best lighting. If you’re indoors, bounce light off walls or put your child near a window. Be sure to avoid backlighting, which results in a photo where the child is darker than the background.
4. Watch the background. A simple beach, open grass at the park, a hiking trail – all offer simple but beautiful backdrops for a good photo. Avoid busy street scenes, signs, or crowded street scenes. And, definitely avoid a bunch of distracting people in the photo with your child.
5. Your child’s personality should shine. A twinkle in the eye, a little bit of a smirk, or a huge grin – little extras make one cute kid stand out from all the other cute kids. Missing teeth, a mud-covered shirt, a child photographed in the crazy outfit they chose themselves all add up to a distinctive entry that will get noticed.
6. In focus, please. Blurry and low-resolution photos are pretty much the worst offenders. We print photos out to 5 x 7 to choose the finalists. If we print your photo and everything is fuzzy, we have a hard time telling what your child looks like.
7. Don’t take it personally. Every year we have to make a choice, and there are always kids we wish we could choose. If your child isn’t chosen, it’s not because they aren’t adorable, it may be because we have enough sibling groups or we need a child of a different age. We try to vary the chosen models by gender, age, ethnicity, city, and sibling groups that will work for specific cover themes. We promise that your child is cover material; we simply don’t have room for all of the kids who enter.
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