Candid outdoor using fill flash

[PKFUSION]

I tend to take a lot of outdoor candid shots. Because of this I often try to mask some of the harsher shadows will on camara fill flash. I usually set the flash to -1 to -2 stops. I find it hard to soften the shadows enough without over exposing the highlights. Any tips or comments would be most welcome.
This shot was taken early afternoon on a sunny clear day in an allotment. (Taking my camara gets me out of doing the digging!). Please also comment on the crop and composition as I find these things hard sometimes.
Thanks

[Designer]

I don't see anything wrong with the exposure, composition, or focus. What is causing the blur at the bottom? If something in the foreground, next time, why not make some small pruning cuts on the plant that is encroaching in your picture. Hey, who knows, you might even get credit for "helping".

[rpcrowe]

I use Canon DSLR cameras and is is very easy to use fill flash in the E-TTL mode. I have the flash set on HSS because I want to be able to shoot at speeds in excess of 1/250 second when I desire.

With the camera in AV mode and the flash in -1 or -2 FEC and shooting in ETTL, the camera and flash speak to each other well enough that I usually get very good exposures.

[Donald]

Peter

Have you got any sort of diffuser mounted on the flash unit? I use a Gary Fong Collapsible Lightsphere and feel it does a good job in achieving what you want.

[Manfred M]

All in all a nice image. The greenery in front is a tiny bit distracting. The other thing that caught my eye are the reflectiions from the flash. The catchlights in the eyes are quite small, and in keeping with the light source you are using. I find the overall effect not totally to my liking and I might look at either removing them or making them larger to see if that would work better. I also noticed that the flash is reflected around the teeth and gums. This is something I would clean up, if this were my work.

[PKFUSION]

Thank you so far! I have looked at this picture for quite a while and have never seen the reflected flash around the mouth, now I can see nothing else! Will fix this one and keep an eye out in the future. I have looked at several ways to enlarge and soften the flash, the Gary Fong version will be my first step. Not sure I would ever be allowed to weald pruning equipment.......
If I use my main speedlight flash, it also allows for fssater than the normal 1/200 flash sync, trouble is; when I am out and about I find it a bit cumbersome so take a much smaller flash that does not have that facility.