2 Headshots of my wife, Meghann

[Big Mike]

The lighting is too flat for a portrait, IMO. And by flat, I mean that both sides of her face are pretty much the same brightness...there is no ratio, no shadows and thus no depth.

In the 2nd one, there does appear to be a bit of a nose shadow on her right side (our left), but that is also the side of her eyes that we see the catchlights in. It's usually much better to see the key light in the eyes, than the fill light.

 

[joealcantar]

There is a saying: "Never Broad Light a Broad". (sorry ladies but that is the way I was told to remember it by a Female Master Photographer)
Like Mike mentioned no depth. Maybe turning her at about a 45 degree angle and turning the head to look over the shoulder a little as well as adjusting the lights to have a decent ratio would have improved the shot. -
Shoot well, Joe

 

[Granddad]

Eyes you could fall into, teeth that could advertise toothpaste and an overall "air" that says "you can trust me, I'm as nice inside as I am outside." You are a lucky man to have such a model on tap. I'll not comment on technicalities as I'm not an expert but I will say that they both give that first impression of "that's a nice shot!"

 

[c.cloudwalker]

The lighting is too flat for a portrait, IMO. And by flat, I mean that both sides of her face are pretty much the same brightness...there is no ratio, no shadows and thus no depth.

True. But not so for a headshot. Headshot lighting is flat. And although a headshot is not really needed for this particular case, it will work just fine. Also, except for the hair, this is a very nice headshot.