Where & How to Enter Photography Contests

Do you have an adorable infant, cute toddler or do you just love taking photos? Have you ever considered entering them in photography contests? Baby contests are not just a great source for parental bragging rights, but many have great prizes. Some of the contests I have seen give out gift certificates for baby items, other allow one winner to receive cash awards. And some contests even offer scholarships! Other photography contests offer loads of excellent prizes - cash, household goods and more.
The main rules of submitting photos for contests is that you must own the rights and the picture will usually belong to the contest after submitted. All that means is that the contest can post them on their site and so on. If you have doubts about picture usage just make sure you read any fine print. I, personally, have never had a problem with any of the contests listed. So grab your camera and start capturing your favorite moments!

THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
This is an awesome contest to enter. There's no application fees but you are limited to only one picture per household, so make it a good one! With over $67,000.00 in Prizes you can't go wrong here! There's many examples of photos on their site if you want to get an idea of what they are looking for.
http://www.picture.com/contest/enter.asp?Suite=3671-305073

BETTER PHOTO.COM CONTEST
This contest is not just for the cutest kids, but feel free to enter your best baby snap shots. The thing I like about this site is that you can enter once a day and you don't have to be a professional photographer to win. In fact, Better Photo encourages amateurs and first timers to submit. BP offers some pretty cool prizes as well, like a totally free deluxe website - NICE! Or a Tamrac Sling Pack.. not bad for a free competition, huh?
http://www.betterphoto.com/contest.asp

CONTESTS FOR MOMS.COM
This site is pretty cool because children 0-5years can enter. Their contests are fun because they are based strictly on creativity & quality of photo. The prizes are, from what I have seen, a little smaller than some of the other sites, but every bit as good. In addition they have other contests, such as "The Hottest Mom".
http://www.contestformoms.com/babycontestphotos/

LACTAID MILK MOMENTS SWEEPSTAKES
Quickly create a totally free account then you can upload you babies special "lactaid milk moment" for your chance to win big prizes. Entry if totally free but make sure your pic is a good one because there will be lots of entries!
https://www.lactaidmilkmoments.com/

PHOTOGRAPHY LAUREATES CONTEST
PL offers another great competition. Winner takes home every bit of $6,500! Now this competition is a serious one. Photos are judged on technical quality, composition, flow, texture and light. Professionals and amateurs compete against each other. Some of the pictures on this site are really incredible. Totally worth checking out, and besides, entry is free!
http://www.photolaureates.org/upload.php

There's many other sites you can find but lots of them want you to pay a membership fee or a submission fee. That's why I tend to stick to the free contest sites.
So enter your heart out and see what happens! I have read many success stories about big winners off of online competitions, so why not give it a try?