Portrait in the shadow

[Kayane]

Hello,

I'm a new photography fan and I started taking some portraits. I took this photo while we were sitting in a cafe which was in the shadow and I would like to learn if I could use the light properly? For portraits which exposure program is more useful?
I would appreciate any other comment including the position, the subject, etc.

Here are some details about the photo;
Model: Olympus E-420
f/5,5
1/400
ISO-400
Shutter Priority
Exposure Compensation +0,3 step

[Lightwriter]

Nice shot. I like your crop, though I generally like a bit more space for the subject to look into. Also, I would remove some of the space above his head. As far as lighting goes try to avoid dappled sunlight like you have in this photo. The patches of light and shade are distracting. I usually shoot in Program or AV depending on the subject and what kind of shot I'm after. I use a Canon so I'm not really sure what options you have.