Is it me, or does she look like a young Allison Krauss?

[gnooj]

This is the daughter of a good friend of mine. They asked me to shoot her senior photos. I now have a whole new respect for folks who shoot portraits. I'm used to landscapes and macros. Where one often has time for composition and other adjustments. I can see where portrait photography is a lot of fun, but it could be nerve racking. I can't imagine doing a life event like a wedding.

http://gnooj.smugmug.com/photos/344644449_LL7QM-XL.jpg

[Cantfeelmyfingers]

I had to take a second glance to make sure this lady wasn't topless! With the combination of hair, tank top, and strap I was almost fooled!
I just want to put it out there that I'm not an expert at lighting and exposure, but here's my two cents none the less:
- I would like to see more of her (what I assume.. not musical!) banjo
- Shoulders square to the camera isn't usually the most flattering angle, especially for a female, just makes a girl look more 'bulky' to be blunt.
- I do like how vibrant the green is against her skin tone
- I also like the 'playing a banjo in a field of grass' theme to this image.
Not too shabby for a newbie with portraits! Could we possibly see a couple more?? PS Thanks for sharing!

[Scott_Quier]

Here's what I see (just my opinion):

DOF is too deep and the grass is a bit distracting - open up the lens a bit.
The grass in front of your model is too high as it hides too much of her.
As mentioned, you need to turn your model a bit from the camera, for the reasons mentioned.
Her right eye looks like its swollen shut - I know it's just an optical illusion, but there it is.
You need some fill light for her face, in particular for her eyes. You have a good case of "raccoon eyes" going there.
The light is very flat - get some off-camera lighting to one side of her or the other. It doesn't have to be expensive - a manual flash ($80+/-) and a couple of ebay radio triggers ($30+/-) will do the job nicely. This will also put a bit of a catchlight in her eye - such a sparkle will add soooo much interest to the photo.
Traditional wisdom holds that presenting the back of a lady's hand is less flattering then edge of her hand.

When it comes to post-processing:

You might want to clean up some of the more noticable skin imperfections
A dark and subtle vignette might be nice to both hide some of the detail of the grass as well as to focus viewer attention on the model.

I guess that's enough for now.

[gnooj]

Thanks for the suggestions folks. I appreciate it.