ORGANIZED BY: Meredith Corporation

1. Who can enter?

TERRITORY: legal residents of the 50 United States, and the District of Columbia

ENTRANT STATUS: the parent or legal guardian of a child 3 months-24 months of age at time of entry

AGE LIMITATIONS: you must be 18 years of age or older

2. Competition info

ENTRY OPEN: 21st January 2010 – 31st March 2010 (at 11:59 p.m, CT)

ENTRY TYPE: online upload

ENTRY FEE: free

3. What should photos be about?

Photos of your child between the ages of three (3) months and twenty-four (24) months as of the date of entry.

Maximum 6 images per entry.

One entry per eligible child per household.  For entries of more than one eligible child in the household, the entry process must be completed separately for each child. No group entries.

> Judging Criteria

• overall appearance of the child as shown in the photo(s) (34%),
• personality of child as expressed through the photo(s) (33%),
• quality of photo(s) (33%)

4. Photo Requirements

AREA WHERE IT CAN BE TAKEN: anywhere

AGE OF PHOTO: Photos must be recent (taken within one month of entry for children under one year of age, and within three months of entry for children over one year of age)

IMAGE FORMAT: Photos must be .jpeg or .bmp image formats and cannot exceed 3 MB.

PHOTO EDITING: There is no information about any restrictions.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Photos must be taken by entrant or at entrant’s direction, non-professional, unpublished and may not have won any prize or award.

5. Legal Issues

> Your legal responsibilities

Photos must not contain material that violates or infringes the rights of another, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement.  Photos must not contain brand names or trademarks.

> Photo usage rights

Entrants authorize the Released Parties to use their name, voice, likeness, biographical data, city and state of residence and entry materials in promotional material and for advertising, public relations and editorial purposes in any media, worldwide, in perpetuity, or on a winner’s list, if applicable, without further compensation unless prohibited by law.  Sponsor is not obligated to use any of the above-mentioned information or materials, but may do so and may edit such information or materials, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, without further obligation or compensation.

6. Judging

JUDGES: There is no information who the judges are.

> Judging Process

There will be three (3) rounds of judging:

First Round – on or about April 20, 2010, ten (10) Semi-finalists will be selected from among all eligible entries by qualified judges appointed by Sponsor based on overall appearance of the child as shown in the photo(s) (34%), personality of child as expressed through the photo(s) (33%) and quality of photo(s) (33%).  Sponsor reserves the right to select fewer than ten (10) Semi-finalists if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries.  On or about April 21, 2010, potential Semi-finalists will be notified by email and/or telephone to confirm compliance with eligibility requirements and to submit by email, on or before April 28, 2010, at 11:59 p.m., C.T., five (5) additional non-professional photos of the child entered, taken between April 9, 2010, and April 28, 2010.

Second Round – on or about April 29, 2010, a qualified panel of judges appointed by Sponsor will select five (5) Finalists from among the ten (10) Semi-finalists by applying the same judging criteria as used in the First Round to the five (5) additional photos submitted by the Semi-finalists.

Third Round – on or about June 25, 2010, qualified judges appointed by Sponsor will select one (1) Grand Prize winner based on appearance of child as shown in the photo(s) from the photo shoot (50%) and personality of child as expressed through the photo(s) from the photo shoot (50%).  In event of a tie, the photos of the tied Finalists from the photo shoot will be re-judged according to the criteria listed above by an additional judge who will serve as the tiebreaker.

7. Prizes

Finalists (5x): a photo shoot prize package, consisting of a trip package for Finalist child and 1 parent/legal guardian to an American Baby photo shoot; includes:

• roundtrip coach-class air transportation for 1 adult and 1 child from a major U.S. airport nearest Finalist’s home to New York, NY
• ground transportation between airport/hotel/photo shoot location
• 3 days and 2 nights hotel (standard) accommodations at a hotel of Sponsor’s choice (single room, double occupancy)
• a daily stipend of $150.00 for food and expenses while in New York City
• All other expenses not listed including but not limited to additional meals, gratuities, incidentals, taxes, etc., are the sole responsibility of the Finalists.

Grand Prize winner: featured on the cover of a future issue of American Baby magazine

8. Useful Links

Need inspiration? See what images have already entered the competition!

Read official rules and faq yourself!

Ready to enter? Register here!

Official website of the competition:
http://www.parents.com/photos/photo-contests-1/ab-cover-contest-2010/

I cannot take any responsibility for changing of rules or mistypes in this article. This article has only an informative nature. For official rules always refer to the official website!

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