Dear Jim...thanks, I was thinking of putting lace or a doily around her...but this would be gussying up...what I want to appear as perfectly normal, proper and as of today.
The good light comes from a full plate glass window, side lighting from outside and overcast...like she was in a giant light box....;>}}}
Traveller - what you are doing is often called artistic photography. Almost everybody does it to some extent; even those that just take a jpeg directly out of the camera.
If you were to ask her - is this a "true" representation of you, she would most likely answer yes.
BTW, this is a very nice portrait. With her eyes and smile - she has "that look".
I do not know this woman...she was at where I get my haircut...I talked to her a few minutes and thought she would be a fine subject...and she was.
I am somewhat proud of my portrait work...it is hard to make people look...good, or true to who their are...I touched this up a bit, I did dodge her eyes to make them a little brighter...I also removed her nose hair...
These were difficult decisions for me...is she still true? I think so, I burn or dodge almost every image now....in the freeway, California gray, the clouds are burned, the freeway dodged...raindrops cloned out, lower post of left windshield removed, etc...every image is something.