After I had opened my first studio in Arkansas, I had taken some pictures of newborns, but still needed to learn more.  I would practice keeping them asleep, and trying to learn how to position them correctly.  A few years later I had my first grand-baby.  I stayed at the hospital with her and my daughter, and I couldn't wait to get her to the studio to get her first pictures.  We left the hospital three days after she was born, and we went straight to the studio.  My daughter was so tired after having a c-section, so I told her to lay on the couch, and I would take care of the baby.  This was the day she became one of my models and has stayed that way ever since.  That day I learned one of the most important things about getting newborn pictures.  Get them in as soon as you can, because they don't stay in the newborn stage very long.  I took so many pictures of her that day, and we got to bond in our own special way.  When she would get hungry her momma would feed her, and she would go back into her milk coma.  I would take her back over to the camera, and we would start again.  She helped me really learn how to take pictures of newborns.  She was so patient while I was setting up my lights or moving her around.  She helped me learn how to capture that special stage of life.