She is a very beautiful person. Because of the background and heavy shadow this photo becomes more of a snapshot than a portrait. On camera flash rarely creates a pleasing light.

This is obviously a candid photo so much of what I'm going to suggest probably won't apply because it would involve some thought that wouldn't be possible with a candid image.

If you must use a flash indoors for lighting have your subject move away from any walls where the harsh shadows will be cast. Putting some depth between the subject and the background will eliminate or at least soften those shadows. If your background is less than ideal, such as here where it shows the kitchen cupboards and other objects, use the smallest aperature setting possible (if your camera has a manual mode).

Another thing you could try is to put a shear white cloth in front of your flash to diffuse it somewhat. This has to be a very light, translucent material though - cheesecloth or fine silks works well.

I completely 2nd what UNCOMMONDEPTH said. Good advice.

You've definitely got a beautiful subject/model... and I agree with Uncommondepth that it's the lighting that turns this photo into a snapshot. (Otherwise, it might be a very artistic image... especially with a shallow DOF... on maybe a 50mm lens.)

I'm not sure what kind of camera you have, but often times, when I'm indoors, I'll aim my flash at the ceiling. This bounces the light back down and creates a more natural-feeling light from above. It makes the flash seem less like a flash. It really is amazing what kind of a difference it can make.

Now, this next part might seem a little strange, but it actually works... If you aren't able to aim the flash on your camera, you can actually get a spoon and use that to reflect the light onto the ceiling. I first heard about this technique in an interview with Eliot from slower.net. I've tried it in the past on my little point-and-shoot camera and it really does provide noticeably better results. (Although, it takes practice to get right... sometimes you get strange spoon-shaped shadows.) ;)

I think it's because our eyes are used to seeing light from above rather than from straight ahead... It just feels more natural that way. Normally there's some kind of fixture on the ceiling and this simulates that.

Anyhow... she's a great subject. If she's good friend of yours, I'd follow her around with a camera a lot and see what happens. :)

I'm going to echo the other two critiques already posted - the setting and technique of this shot really makes what could be a beautiful candid portrait into a snapshot.

Also, the focus seems to be a little soft around her face, with the sharpest point appearing to be the edge of the sash under her armpit and across the front of her body.

a beautiful portrait and the prior reviewers have given a strong critique. In the future if possible one step back would have given you an uniterrupted "V" in her right arm which is clipped in this framing, on the otherhand I really like the closeness of the shot as it gives a sense of intimacy... so perhaps you could crop it even closer. Playing with your crop is one of those things that can always be done after the fact and give a number of different results.

Hey Philippe... Actually, less than half of the folks on Vazaar are from WeeklyShot, so I'm not sure that you have a valid point. I understand what you're saying, but you might want to take into account that most people here were never part of WS.

I appreciate your feedback, and I hope you can appreciate mine. No hard feelings... just trying to share my perspective.

Yeah, I think any photo you want to upload on either or both site is fair game. I mean, what does it really matter?

Thank you, Heath! I actually loved having our two bugs in there! It was fun!!

No hard feelings, Brandon (and Ana), it's just an opinion...

This deserves being feature...on both sites...it's that good. Well done Ana!

I like this take on the topic. Not a physical reflection, but he's definitely reflecting.