Hi Jim. This photo caught my eye, and as you said-" a very beutiful woman...". I decided to stop by and add a word or two because it reminds me of how one of my shots might turn out! Just as an explananation I am pretty tight with my 'ratings'. I rarely rate above 'good' and would put my own work even lower on the scale (as it is at this point anyway)saving anything higher for the obvious pros or very very good amateurs. So don't be offended, please. OK with that out of the way.... IMHO: Composition-I like it the way you did it well enough. The fence works as a backdrop and gives her something to hold onto. Others may find a bit too much shirt or suggest a tighter crop (especially on the lower right hand side-the little 'triangle thingy'), but I would leave that up to you.
Lighting-OK, here is where I feel there needs to be some change. It is a little too light overall for me. I would like to see more contrast perhaps between the model and the fence. Also, the blonde hair against the white sky doesn't leave any definition. Her head kinda get's lost 'out there...' so to speak. Perhaps if there were leaves on the tree it would help to have shot it at an angle that would have place her head\hair in front of the off-setting darkness of the leaves and limbs. Next, the light on the front of the model seems to be too intense. She appears to be on the verge of squinting. Imagine how the shot might have looked if her eyes were more relaxed and open. Eyes are very important in portraits, and I think can make or break a shot.
Originality-Since it is a pretty much straight forward 'portrait' there isn't really an original idea to consider, so.....
Emotional appeal-again, as above, this isn't a shot that is necessarily made to make an emotional appeal (to anyone other than friends or family) so I can't really rate it in this category either. I am sure that such a great capture of your daughter has great appeal to you though! One note here-she seems nice and relaxed with 'dad' at the camera. You should exploit her comfortableness with you and keep working with her. Eventually you will nail it and have that great portrait of your beautiful daughter.
Overall-Who am I to judge? Not average not quite good yet. By looking at your other work, you can do better with practice.
Don't forget to post any changes or different shots of this same idea\model. I'd like to see more work on this.
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{K:35129} 6/24/2003