Michelle

My first try at a proper portrait. Tell me what you think.

I like the pose and composition quite a bit, but the loss of all color or detail in the lower left hand side and in the space in the center just below her left cheek combined with the grass in the foreground throws me. Can you lighten up the lower left to get some color in there and also to get a bit more definition of the left side of her face? The left eye also seems too dark and could use just a touch of fill.

i like the composition and the soft background. a very pleasing portrait. I do agree with the previous poster that just a touch of fill, either from a flash or areflector might have added. One other nit; the horizon is not level. Maybe its the landscape photographer in me, but I find that to be a distraction. (a minor one though)

I think you need a reflector for fill light. I'd also crop at left for 1:1.25, raise the camera slightly, and rotate a little counter clockwise (but not enough that what Bob thinks is the horizon would be level) rather than leaving it level.