Thanks for the suggestion Paul. I have a polarized lens, but didn't use it in this shot. I was shooting in a wooded area that had some sun and some shadow. The actual picture came out too dark for my taste and I wanted to lighten it up a bit, and may have gone a little to bright. But I do understand what you're saying about the background competing with the model. Thanks!
One tool I'd suggest taking with you on outdoor portrait shoots is a circular polarizer, which will darken the image, and let you open the aperture a couple more stops, which helps blur the background, Clay.
This is a good pose, but the background is so crisp as to compete for attention with your model.
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{K:88111} 9/9/2008