Meet Our Model Search Winner!

It’s been over a year in the making, but after sifting through almost 200,000 entries of your beautiful children, Parenting and Ford Models have chosen the grand prize winner of our 2010 Model Search Contest!

Meet Alexandra, 3, from Cranford, NJ! She was a monthly winner in January 2010, and captured the judges’ attention immediately. We interviewed her mom Heather to find out how Alexandra (or Alex, as she’s nicknamed) feels about being a model and how to take a winning shot of your kid.

How did Alexandra react when you told her she’d won the Model Search contest?
When we told Alex, she said she was excited and asked if she would get some balloons as a present.

How does it feel to be the mom of a model?
There is nothing more exciting for a Mom than seeing the print work come out in the stores, online and in magazines. It's a lot of work for the Mom, but it's so much fun to have the memories in print.

When you snapped the winning photo of Alexandra, did you think it would be a winner?
I loved the red hood that she was wearing in the picture, the color looked beautiful against her fair skin. However, something about the light in this picture was very magical and I thought it captured an "essence", almost an ethereal quality. It was one of my favorite pictures of her as soon as I saw it.

What are your tips for taking great photos of your child?
It can be challenging capturing the various moods of a toddler! To get a great photo, it helps if Alex is not tired, she has to be in somewhat of a cooperative mood and usually it helps if Daddy is at the back of the camera acting goofy and making her laugh!

Plus:

• More Tips on Getting a Cover-Worthy Shot
• Secrets of a Baby Wrangler: How to Take a Winning Shot

Want to give your child a shot at modeling – and a cover of a magazine? Upload a photo of your child in our new Make My Kid a Model Cover Contest, and your child could win a one-year modeling contract with Ford and a cover of Parenting magazine!