Are friends, family and even strangers telling you how beautiful or engaging your young baby is?

If your baby has very expressive features, a great smile or a contagious laugh, you may want to consider taking your baby to baby casting calls. Babies are filmed for print advertisements, television commercials, television shows and movies, so there are many opportunities for your baby to get some screen experience. But what exactly is involved in finding appropriate baby casting calls?

Finding a casting call in 2014 for your baby requires good internet research skills. Your best bet is to get online and start searching for casting calls in your local area. Then decide how far you are willing to travel to get to a casting call, and widen your search appropriately. If you know of a city nearby where many movies are filmed, you should include that city in your search.

Occasionally you may hear an ad on your local radio station, claiming that a talent agency in your area is seeking new talent. Once you go,you may find that everyone is accepted as ‘movie star’ material; however, in order to proceed, you are asked to invest hundreds of dollars in professional photography ‘head shots’. You could find yourself investing hundreds of dollars needlessly, because the agency is really just there to get your money. If you decide to go on one of these casting calls, do your research ahead of time. Again, here the internet is your friend. Look up the agency, along with words such as ‘scam’ and ‘complaints’ to see if people have complained about this company before.

Once you’ve located baby casting calls that are legitimate, the next stage is getting your baby through the interview process without a meltdown. Be prepared to stand in long lines, awaiting your turn. This is when the time of day comes into play: If the casting call lasts all day, be sure to go during the window of time when your child is the well-rested. Dress your child in comfortable clothing, bringing a couple of change of clothes. Be sure to put your child in a complimentary color of outfit, nothing too bold, as you want to enhance your baby’s features, not overwhelm them.

The casting call may require you to produce a head-shot: For this, you don’t have to pay for extravagantly priced professional photographs. A good close up on your baby’s facial expression is what they are looking for, printed on quality paper and cropped to show your baby’s face. Be sure to put your contact information on the back of the photo in case it gets separated from your baby’s information sheet.

What should you bring to the baby casting calls?

Get your nicest diaper bag, filled with the normal items you would take for a day long trip: Diapers, wipes, formula, bottles, clean clothes, snacks (including some protein bars for yourself), water bottle for yourself, and several toys. Be sure to bring the toy that always gets a smile from your baby; something that squeaks often gets a good expression as well. Don’t forget the head shot.

Remember: Even if the baby casting calls don’t develop into film time for your baby, don’t take it personally. Casting companies are looking for a particular ‘look’ for each part they are casting, and your beautiful baby may not suit the part. In all cases, enjoy the experience, make it fun for your baby, and who knows, maybe you’ll get a call back sometime in the future!