So here lies the great conundrum I always have, a good bad picture and what to do to fix it. I have a stack of degrees in fine arts and the core point of all those hours in class was learning how to see. Technique is easy; knowing what you actually see and what you want seen is hard. While I like the image and I understand the attempts, it just doesn't work for me. It's like good SciFi: no matter how outlandish the premise, it must have some internal logic or it falls apart. Here, I know at a glance that her face can not look like that, it is simply impossible and that kills the image. Lighten things up generally, fine, but that is where it must stop or fail. I understand that you are working, well-natured as always, with what is given, but also believe that there is also an important lesson in knowing how far to go and no further.
Took too many macro shots today and some very good Point Reyes porter tonight, so there you go.