Samantha showing off her braids

Patong, Phuket, Thailand
Canon EOS 50D, 24-105mm f/4L IS @35mm, 1/250 sec, f/4, ISO200

While recently in Phuket, Thailand, my youngest daughter Samantha had her hair braided, and I captured these photos on the balcony of our hotel room, with diffused lighting from an overcast sky.

The photo to the right is the first photo I took, composed to use the palm trees in the hotel gardens as a background. However, when reviewing the photo on my camera's LCD, I noticed that the lighting on her face wasn't optimal, leaving the right side of her face very dark.

After positioning Samantha's face towards the light, I obtained the photo above. The lighting on Samantha's face is more appealing, and the details of half her face are no longer lost in the shadows.

It is important to consider the direction and quality of the light when composing your photos, as it can make a big difference to the resulting photo. Simply repositioning the subject, or changing the direction you are shooting from can have a big impact on your photo.

With portrait photography, the eyes in particular are very important, and losing one or both eyes in shadows will reduce the impact of the portrait, as shown in the photos in this post.