August 2021 Monterey Bay Parent Magazine

7Tips for a Winning Cover Kids Entry
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 usually have a few things in
common: casual styling, great lighting, natural smiles, and simple
backgrounds.
If you’re planning on entering your child in this year’s contest
(see details to the right), here are seven tips that will help you
choose the best photo to enter. Best of luck to all entrants!
Face front. Be sure your child is looking directly at the camera. Eye contact is
1. essential, and we want to see your child’s entire face in the frame.
Keep it casual. Catch your child playing or when they’re quiet and involved
2. in an activity. Don’t try to dress them up, style their clothing, and expect a
relaxed photo.
Lighting is the key. Photos with dark shadows or with your child squinting
3. 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.
Watch the background. A
4. 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.
Your child’s personality
5. should shine. A twinkle in the
eye, a little bit of a smirk, missing front
teeth, or a huge grin – little extras
make one cute kid stand out from all
the other cute kids.
In focus, please. Blurry and
6. 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’ll have a hard
time telling what your child looks like.
Don’t take it personally. Every
7. 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 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.
EDUCATING CHILDREN IN MONTEREY COUNTY SINCE 1967 • WE MAKE LEARNING CHILD’S PLAY!
• Offering Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten
• Open to ages 2-5
• We work on developing reading readiness,
introducing number concepts, and creating
social adjustment using a theme-based
curriculum
• Science, language, social studies, and
nature curriculum
• Open 7:30 am to 6 pm
• Call for rates
Now enrolling
for 2021-22
school year.
831-883-2616
www.missbarbaras.com
10 montereybayparent.com MONTEREY BAY PARENT • august 2021