K. in a tree

@Ron: Yeah, I see what you're saying. I have so many head & shoulder shots of her, that I was experimenting with different poses. I love h&s shots so much that I found it very challenging coming up with 1/2 - 3/4 body shots/poses (something I need to work on).

It's been really interesting to read what works and what doesn't. Believe me, there are definitely things I would change if I could go back. But all-in-all I'm pretty happy with the results. It's definitely been a huge learning experience.

Thanks again, Ron. :)

@danthro: I've got 3-4 favorites, and that one is one of them. I agree, she's beaming in that one. I retouched/processed 18 images in all (out of the 217 that I shot); I wanted to give them a good assortment to pick from.

About that hair...I was THIS close to cloning that strand out; if I had more time I would have. ;)

I haven't forgotten about your processing question. I'm sure you can replicate the effect in CS3, but I'm not sure of the steps involved. LR is EXTREMELY user friendly compared to CS2 (what I have)...all it takes is some adjustment to a few of sliders and then you're ready to edit in PS. I'll email you with more detail later.

@Mandy: Yes, I used the gold reflector for this. I tried the silver reflector, but went back to the gold because I loved the warmness it brought to the skin tones...plus this was shot in the evening so I thought it was appropriate. After never using one before, now I can't imagine NOT using one. I like how it's given me a little more control over the light and shadows.