I’ve lost the chubby shape of her face making her older than she looked at the time. Shortly after this she went full “Goth” and has never fully emerged from that even though she’s in her 30’s.
To see what would happen with a darker background I taped dark paper around the image. What do you think?
I know she “pops” more with the dark but then the shirt is too light and that summery feeling goes away.


Okay, that's interesting—adding the top of the head gives the information that it's a crown of leaves. The other crop makes it feel like she's standing under some low foliage. Different sense of place entirely. She may be older than your reference, but she's lovely. I'm not sure about the background. I like both in different ways—so maybe something in between? I think the dark is too neutral and flat—maybe a mottled medium dark that leans toward green or blue instead of a matte black? Honestly, whatever you choose will work. That's a really nice portrait!
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