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Hi Donna,

I know that getting started is tough.  Asking for critiques can be nerve wracking, so good job!  Remember, we ALL started somewhere and nobody was born a photographer (except for maybe sally mann).

When looking at a photograph, try to think of three things: 1) the mechanics of the shot; 2) composition; and 3) the emotional impact.

With that in mind, here's what i see:

1) Your exposure is very good, nothing over/under exposed.  I like the colors, they are soft and good for portraiture.  The lighting is perfect (assuming an overcast day) so that her face is lit nicely overall.  The focus (critical with portraits) is sharp and on the eyes.

2) The composition is where you could could use some improvement.  First, using the lower fstop is a good decision to separate the subject from the background.  Her eyes are nicely framed in the glasses and there are no reflections (so many people forget about that!).  The problem is with your backgrounds.  The far back is a bit too busy and distracting.  I don't like the window on the right, though blurred, is still pretty obvious.  The arch also doesn't add to the image.  What you've done with the gate is a common error.  the way it "cuts" her head is distracting...especially since there's a visual black line of the gate to her glasses back to the gate.  The other thing is the placement of the subject in the middle of the image.  Look up "rule of thirds" and you'll find plenty of info, so i won't go into that here.  Also, cropping her at the chest is not a good idea; you should include more or less of her.

3) The subject is naturally engaged and inviting, so this is nice.

To improve the image, the easiest thing to do right now is to crop the image (so few people think to do that).  If you crop it on the right between the window and her head and then between the top of the arch and the top of her head, you'll find that to be a more pleasing image.

Hope this helps and keep practicing!

--PatrickD