A Portrait Edited -- have I done enough?

[Mandy]

I am just getting into portrait photography, just as a hobby though. I did a shoot with a young friend of my family -- and I loved how the photos turned out. They need a bit of post processing I think, to really make them pop.

I'd love any suggestions you may have for this particular photo before I move on to editing the rest. The PP I used follows the edited photo! Thanks for helping!

Here's the original:


And here is the edited version:


I edited the photo using PSE7. These are the steps I used:
1. I selected the girl using the magnetic lasso tool and the magic wand, feathering the edge a bit. Then I turned that into a levels adjustment layer and tweaked it to make her stand out from the background.
2. I repeated this step, creating a brightness/contrast adjustment layer and increased the contrast just a bit.
3. I sharpened her eyes by selecting them and using "Unsharp Mask"
4. I whitened her teeth by selecting and adjusting the brightness and hue.

Thanks for looking. I guess my questions would be:
Is this enough editing for the photo?
Would a vignette help the overall photo?
Is there anything you would suggest to make the photo "Wow!" without taking away the natural mood?

Oh, and just FYI, here is the original photo data:
Shot with a Nikon D40, 55-200 AFS VR lens.
Exposure 1/100
Aperature f5.60
ISO 800
Focal Length 200 mm
No flash

[Quo Fan]

The stick in front of her arm is a little distracting.

[Digidave]

I agree, that stick is troublesome for me. I don't know how you or your subject feel about natural shots, but I would try to fix the discoloration of her skin on the closest arm & between he eyes. Mainly the spots between her eyebrows because that is the crucial area of a portrait. Hope I'm not being insulting with that suggestion.

[BrentGambrell]

The photo seems very unclear and the edits seem very light. (:

[Mandy]

Thanks for the feedback...

I'll take care of the stick and smooth out the skin...anything else? I post the redo when I am done. I appreciate your help!

[Digidave]

Originally Posted by Mandy

Thanks for the feedback...

I'll take care of the stick and smooth out the skin...anything else? I post the redo when I am done. I appreciate your help!

Just be careful to not go overboard with the skin smoothing. It can make the skin look really fake. I would just clone out the blotchy spots to give it a more even look. You have the potential here for a great portrait. Don't screw it up!! Just kidding!!

[Mandy]

Originally Posted by Digidave

Just be careful to not go overboard with the skin smoothing. It can make the skin look really fake. I would just clone out the blotchy spots to give it a more even look. You have the potential here for a great portrait. Don't screw it up!! Just kidding!!

LOL! Thanks! I'll give it a try -- thanks for the encouragement.

And, that's what I love about digital -- you can always "Save As" so if you DO screw it up, you still have the original!

[vsa]

I'd get rid of the stick as well and some of the stray hair. Did a quick version that by no means is anywhere close to great but something to give an idea what I'd do.

[Daoust]

I like what VSA just did. Looks a lot better.

Can you explain how you did what you did, vsa?

[vsa]

Cloned some sky over the stray hairs. Made a really harsh selection with the hair just so the clone stamp won't go over the rest of the hair. Blurred the line a bit so it's not so obvious. Then healing brush all the way for the face and arm.