Should you use the camera flash when clicking your baby’s pictures?

Whenever there is bright light, the pupil in the eye constricts for protection. The pupillary reaction in newborn babies – those who are less than a month old or even preterm — is not well developed.

Most parents naturally love clicking their baby’s pictures to capture the precious moments of the little one to go back to them later in life. But should you use the camera flash while clicking pictures? Can it affect the baby’s eyes?

Express Parenting got in touch with Dr Digvijay Singh, paediatric ophthalmologist, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, and Director, Noble Eye Care, to know if it is safe to use a camera flash while clicking your baby’s photo.

Whenever there is bright light, the pupil in the eye constricts for protection. The pupillary reaction in newborn babies — those who are less than a month old or even preterm — is not well-developed, said Dr Singh. So, whenever there is a bright flash, the pupils don’t protect the eyes from this. That said, most cameras don’t have a flash light of an intensity high enough to cause blindness of any sort. Most of the times, the retina would respond well and get back to normal. But in case of non-standardised cameras or like the ones used for wedding photography, for instance, which have high illumination levels with larger flashes, there is a risk of potential damage. But usually for children more than one month of age, it is not true. The cameras can be used comfortably.

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Is there a recommended age before which your baby’s exposure to cameras should be avoided? Dr Singh explained there is no literature that talks about a fixed age at which babies can be exposed to cameras. Babies can well adjust to bright sunlight also, which they are exposed to in cases of jaundice.

Non-flash photography, on the other hand, can be done at any age, even for newborn babies, who mostly tend to keep their eyes closed. However, a sudden flash of light in a darkened room should be avoided in the first one to two weeks of the life of a baby, advised Dr Singh.

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