Julie,

If I might further complicate the situation. You might try darkening the dress.

Maybe...
 

HI Mike -

I kind of like the light blue, but admit it might look better darkened down some.

And the winner is...
 

I think I will go with photo no. 2.

I can disguise the figure flaws and I like the facial expression better.
Plus the hands are easier to read.

Hopefully you will see a work in progress within the next week.

Thanks again for the help!

Mike is so good at this stuff Julie. I actually liked the number two in the second set.

I must apologize I am stuck in a Holiday in at a very long volleyball tournament, so I spent a little time roughly playing. Tryin to move the hair back you will see I have made her skin tones muddy. But this is just for an idea. You would need to re shoot and I wasn't sure how much time you had left.

Good luck!

Julie I must have posted after/with you.

Now that I am home, wow here skin looks bad in my re-do! :D

She's got mange....
 

What's that skin pigmentation thing that Michael Jackson has?

Anyway, ;) the thought and the work is appreciated.

The second set is better figure wise, but the flowers are eating her up.

A simple head bun with a single rose at her neck or in her hair would in my opinion be best.

Use a short sleeved black ballet top to minimize her plumpness, then the single dash of color would bring attention to her rather lovely face. Look at a Degas painting to see how he does his hair and accents.
She would look well with a bun and some tendrils and a neck ribbon with or without the rose. See my Dakini on Nude unveilings.

Decision Time
 

Thanks, Sharon, but I tried her the first go round with a bun, and it did nothing for her. I do see your point about the roses, though. Unfortunately, I don't have time to do a reshoot.

Everyone who has been kind enough to help me out here could take a much better photo than I because they have gone through the process of learning how to do so. But it's ultimately up to me to decide what to do with what I have, given my time frame and my current references.

So - I am taking a big breath and combining the two shots - body of photo no. one and head of photo no. 2. As seen in this attached beginning layout sketch.

Looks like a good start.