Photo: Blogs.babble.com Above link to product review. Coverage from ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas September, 2009

Today's prompt in Gwen Bell's Best of 2009 Blog Challenge is STARTUP. She asks: What's a business you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

I'd like to tell you guys about a genius little product called the ShutterBuddy™. It's the brainchild of some dear friends. Now, these two didn't just decide they wanted to start some kind of business, and then look for a marketable idea. This Atlanta husband and wife team — successful professionals in their respective fields and parents to a sweet little girl — added entrepreneurship to their busy lives this year because they had a great idea.

It was quite a discovery:

They figured out how to get baby's undivided attention for a photograph every time.

You're probably familiar with how hard it is to get the littlest ones to cooperate for a photo session — for as long as cameras have been around, grownups have been jumping around behind them trying to get babies to look into the lens. In fact, if this is a first holiday for your little one, you might even have done this dance recently.

[editor's note: I am currently envisioning every parent I know imitating Napoleon Dynamite behind a tripod. Join me. This fantasy is flippin' sweet.]

Though I'm sure your moves are attention-getting, this strategy doesn't always work. The ShutterBuddy™ uses the science of infant vision development and pattern recognition to hold baby's gaze for a picture. No dancing or arm waving required.

I don't have babies in my life to photograph, but I've seen first-hand how this simple yet brilliant attachment works. It gets my vote for best STARTUP of 2009. And, though you didn't ask, best baby shower gift going forward.