Please critique my b&w treatment to this photo

[timmyquest]

http://www.antiwall.com/b&w.jpg

the original is here

http://www.antiwall.com/color.jpg

[karusel]

It's as good as it gets, I can tell this, because I've tried PSing the same exact photo and what came out was pretty much just like your BW version. However, the shot most surely needs some softening.

[dn7elson]

The B&W suffers from a lack of contrast. The face starts to blend into the similar tones in the background. The color difference in the color shot keeps this from happening nearly as much.

Of the two, I think that the color is the better image. If you could darken the background and highlight/lighten the face you might be able to make the B&W better. You will be fighting a bit of an uphill battle as her face is turned away from the camera. If you retook the image with her face being backlit, you might have something better to work with.