Postprocessing photos of a middle aged lady

[Thaash]

Hi,

I photographed a middle aged lady and I need advice on how to post process the shot.
I have one sample image without any editing for you here to get an idea:

I would need advice on HOW and WHAT to change on the photo. Especially regarding her skin. I want to look the photo natural.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Peano]

I would need advice on HOW and WHAT to change on the photo. Especially regarding her skin. I want to look the photo natural.

Are you using Photoshop? If so, how much experience do you have in retouching?

 

[Thaash]

I am using PS: Have some experience with it. Have not done much PP on people yet.

 

[mgilvey]

It all depends on the goals you have for the image, what your client expects and how much time you have to spend on it. You could go anywhere with this image.

 

[bogeyguy]

She's hot!

 

[Derrel]

She looks pretty hot--for a one-armed gal!!!

As far as PP: I think her face needs to be brightened up a bit, and the strong backlight on the white needs to be toned down a bit OR emphasized MORE,one way or the other. I might be tempted to make a duplicate layer, apply 75 pixels of Gaussian blur to it, then apply "Screen", to cause the blur to mostly go away, but to still provide a soft, over-all diffusion on the dark parts (her skin, hair, the dress), so that she looks ethereal. Use the Curves tool to additionally lighten the diffusion. Here, I'll do quick go at it, nothing fancy.

Here's a quick, rough idea.