Kelli

Elegant...well done.

I like this portrait quite a bit.  The calm, level gaze of the subject; reliance upon the subject's quiet personal dignity rather than overstated makeup or provocative attire to draw the viewer's interest; the even lighting from open shade; the use of shallow depth of field to direct interest to the subject; and the use of the leaves to frame and add a greater sense of depth to the image, all make this an exceptional portrait which manages simultaneously to respect the subject and present her to best advantage.

I have only two minor quibbles.  One is that, probably due to the very even lighting, the catchlights in the pupils of the eyes are sufficiently subdued to be difficult to see without close inspection, which detracts slightly from the vitality of the subject's gaze.  The other is that the subject is laterally centered almost exactly in the middle of the image, so that there is no imbalance between the space on either side of her which would tend to draw the viewer in.  I do not consider either of these comments, however, to detract significantly from my view of this as a portrait of very high quality.

I could be wrong, but I tend to suspect that the subject is not a stranger, and that the photographer may be well acquainted with her.  It is not easy to produce a portrait such as this without a certain level of trust and emotional connection between photographer and subject, something which can be sensed in the result.

Truly an excellent portrait.

Seven!

Best regards Frederick!

PDE

quite intuitive you are...

She is my niece... I appreciate all of your comments here

Peter Shawhan touched upon the eye detail and that is something I wanted to see just a bit more.  I used a 50% highlight dodge on the iris and a 50% midrange dodge on the iris and pupil.  This is a very nice portrait in every respect.

very distinctive and personal work. nothing generic or impersonal about it. her character shines through clearly as to be captivating. also John's treatment of the eyes adds a nice touch to an excellent portrait. - interesting that you should put this in the Pre-Raphaelite folder given that it strikes me as being too intimate and individual to be iconic or archetypal.