Portrait photography - the three pleases

On the weekend I photographed a twelve year old girl. Superficially she was a child but the looming clouds of adolescence weren't that far off so what to photograph?

Her mother preferred her as a child to an adolescent so the following photo was perfect for her.

The child wanted to be dark and mysterious so loved the following images:

I, on the other hand, am really interested in photographing what she will become when her features mature so I preferred the following photos:

So when photographing, always remember the three pleases - please the client (the one who buys your images), please the sitter and please yourself and all will be happy!