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I'm trying to nail my back lighting. I understand this isn't perfect.

1. how do I get it so it's not so hazy? or does that just happen

sometimes?

2. Should I have recomposed to not actually have the sun in the shot?

should I have moved so it was behind her head?

Any constructive criticism is welcomed. Thank you in advance :)

The "haze" is due to lens flare--internal reflections from bright light. It's currently trendy to have this in images, but if you don't want it, look very carefully when you are framing your shot. You can probably see the flare in the viewfinder. Yes, keeping the sun out will be the easiest way, but you can also add clarity in software.

Just to add to points from Les. Even if light source (sun or any other) is not in the frame, you still may see haze, depending on proximity of light source to the frame, quality of lens, and filters, etc. Aperture and actual lens may also affect the form of appearance of light source. On left side in the tree you can see bokeh. Having light source in the frame is just compositional element - may be beneficial or not case by case. Here it is pretty big white spot, somewhat unexpected because otherwise I think tree, building, and fence were supposed to cover it :) In this case I personally would have moved.

Thank you Vardan and Les!  I appreciate the feedback!  I'll take it into consideration next time!  I'm just starting out and there's so much to remember!  I know it all comes with practice, but HOT DAMN! lol

For a tight shot of one person, such as you have made, it only takes a small movement of the Camera Position to get the Sun out of the shot – (if that is what you want to do)

See example: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=16687653

If you’re interested in the technicalities, the flare from the sun which is bouncing around inside the lens is referred to as “Veiling Flare”. What this particular flare does, in addition to placing a milky, translucent sheen over the image - is denude the COLOUR and also the CONTRAST, especially the Mid-Tone Contrast of the image.

If the Veiling Flare is too severe, then it cannot be ‘corrected’ in post production, but your sample is mild and with a little work the MID-TONE CONTRAST can be boosted; and the colour SATURATION increased; and the face area DODGED and BURNED to create some MODELLING and DEPTH.

Here is a rough indicative and the original is on the top:

WW

Shooting into the sun can be used effectively to achieve artistic goals - see Giuseppe Circhetta's "Thinkful Moments with Me, Myself and I":

http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=917321

Here's an interpretation of this shot with a bit of tweaking and cropping:

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/17902522-lg.jpg