Hannah and her shadows

[Brenda Ellis]

A friend of mine wants me to use this photo of her granddaughter to do a pastel portrait from. This little girl is impossible to get to sit still even for a photo; it's a miracle she could get these done!

However, I think the photo was done at Sears or some mid-priced photo studio and the lighting is rather flat and, while it's a perfectly okay photo, I don't think it would be an exciting portrait as is.

So I got experimental with Photoshop and played with the color balance and the burn tool and made my own shadows. I also tried to make the colors a bit richer as I think in the original she looks a little washed out.

I'm wondering if the modified version is convincing and better than the original version? I think I would have to adjust the color/lightness of the shirt in the new version. Am I playing a dangerous game trying to "make" shadows in a reference photo or has anyone else tried this?