Could I have done it better?

The first picture is a snapshot of my friends 1 year old. I ceased the moment and took this shot against the strong backlight.
The first picture is the raw from the camera without any processing - the second my vision of the picture. I like the blue in the picture and her inquisitive look through the cubes.
Anything, I could/should have done differently? What would you have done?
Also: The whole picture leans somewhat to the left and I don't know what to do about that.

Raw from the camera:

Love that second one! Excellent crop and pp.

Yep you did good on the second one.

use flash next time

ccc_javier wrote in post #12992293
use flash next time

Why?

Bas

The edited version looks pretty good to me and, regarding the lean, you could rotate the image but, in this instance, I don't think it matters. The child is actually leaning the other way.

David

Harsh shadows on what little of the face isn't already blocked. This does nothing for me. There could be a good image out of this concept but I do not think you have achieved that here. I do love the eyes though.

How's this?

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I think this (the 2nd of original post) is a good potential shot that shows what can be done to get more emphasis on the main subject - the cute wee girl.
I would de-emphasize the blocks by reducing saturation, darken a bit and apply a small amount of blur.
Then, emphasize the girl and background only with more light/exposure as you have done above and sharpen.
I prefer the original dimensions rather than a square shot as I think it also brings out too much of the wooden blocks (being square themselves).
My shot would end up like this....you can do better with your RAW and maybe add a bit of vignette:

Thanks for all the feedback.
@j28: I tried your version as well - but I thought that with this crop the blue blocks are getting too distracting. Additionally, there is the rainbow thingy on the left lower part of the picture that I would have to deal with (very distracting).

@Spike44: I like your version a lot. Lately, I seem to have a thing for strongly saturated colors - often overdoing it. And having her face lighter puts indeed more attention on her face.

Thanks

ccc_javier wrote in post #12992293
use flash next time

looks like flash to me. look at the shadow on her face.

did you use a lens hood. that can help avoid the solar in the pic and will help get a more accurate exposure. i would also straighten the pic. the window in the back and the blocks suggest that your camera is tilted

if you have lightroom and or photoshop you can increase the saturation of the blues without affecting the rest of the colors