I like the original shot. The shadows (lack of light) are what makes mood and ambiance (well as least to me) take away the shadows and you have potentially boring shot you might as well take in the daylight. I dont know if anyone else thinks like me. But I like the shadows. Also when you light up everything in the shot you lose focus and the subject isnt nearly as powerful. Just my 2 cents...
I mean HDR to have a background. The deep black in the right of the frame. Shooting +2 EV should have brought out some detail.
Whenever that happens look to the highlights, its your culprit, see how dangerously close the light in the booth is to being blown out. thats why theres no background on the right side.
yes, which is why I say to use HDR. 3 exposures, use the highlights from the dark exposure to save from blowout, and use the shadows from the bright exposures to bring out detail on the right.