BabyGap is welcoming photos of kids age 4 and under from across the country in a contest to find the brand's next models. That last picture you snapped could be your tyke's ticket to stardom.

Tens of thousands of parents have already uploaded their smiling sweeties onto the BabyGap Web site. Judges will choose 10 boys and 10 girls as semifinalists on Nov. 4. Their irresistible images will then be posted for all of America to choose a winner from each sex.

So does your child stand a chance? "There are all different types of babies that are really, really cute," says Trey Laird, executive creative director for the Gap. "Some of the most memorable shots we've done, and the babies that elicit the most response, are babies who had their own little personalities."

Here's what Laird will be looking for. "There's a certain emotional factor - I call it the 'aw' factor - that really tugs at your heart," he says. "It's trying to find that uniqueness and that charm and that sweetness."

The two finalists will pose in a professional photo shoot and be featured in the window of their local BabyGap and in Child Magazine. The captivating kids also will score a $5,000 college fund, a year's supply of clothing from the store and a camera prize pack.

According to Child Magazine editor-in-chief Miriam Arond, the biggest mistake parents make is submitting a shot that has too much background and too little of their baby.

"The quality of a photograph will probably end up influencing the choices," she warns. "One of the photos that was sent here, it looks like bins of dirty laundry in the background. That's probably not the ideal thing to send. Something that shows the child in a clean, simple background is generally best."

Judges couldn't comment on the babies vying to be BabyGap's freshest face, but Laird revealed what's worked for models in the past.

"There's a photo we did of a little Japanese girl, and she had these little rosebud lips and they were pursed up," he recalls. "It was all about her lips. She doesn't look like the generic baby. She's a character and she was amazing. And everybody that looks at that photo just dies.

"There's another little boy that we shot earlier this year that looks like an old man, but in a really charming way," Laird adds. "He had on a little swimsuit and he had a big belly [that] was hanging out. He has a serious look on his face and he just meant business."

If you think your darling stands out among the tons of toddlers already on display, visit babygap.com to upload a photo.

"There aren't really any rules," Laird says. "I don't think there's any one pre-determined look. It's really more of a uniqueness, a character and an individuality - as much as that can be formed in a baby."

Source: The New York Daily News