We continue our series on newborn safety with this video in which I address the phenomenon of purple fingers (or other extremities) that you may see in your newborn photography sessions, especially when posing in a prop.

Prefer to read about newborn safety?

Purple fingers is something very common that happens during newborn sessions, but is completely preventable.

This is something that happens with our newborn sessions because babies have immature circulatory systems. This causes their fingers to go purple, especially when they’re in certain poses or wraps or certain positions.

My advice to you is if you ever see the baby’s fingers starting to go purple, you need to move that baby right away. Circulation is so important so make sure that they are safe (because it’s really alarming to a parent when they see their child’s fingers starting to change color!) Be sure to break that position.

Purple fingers can often happen when you have baby in a chin on the wrist kind of pose, tushy-up pose, or any of those positions were baby’s fingers are going to be constricted or upright by their face.

Your job is is to move that baby! The image is never more important than the child, so please promise me that you’re going to move that baby and break that position and not keep shooting when you see it happen. I want you to be as safe as possible!

If you’re serious about newborn photography and would like to continue working with me, I would love to share with you our signature class: the Newborn Essentials Masterclass. We deep dive into newborn posing, lighting, editing, newborn safety, studio considerations and posing with parents and with toddlers. We go through all the things that you need to know to be a successful newborn photographer. It’s an amazing program and I would love to invite you to come join me there!