Fill in Flash

Within our Portraiture project we also have to shoot a digital fill flash photograph. I was pleased to vary the use of cameras in the project (Having the advantage of using digital and film cameras) and found it quite exciting to use a fill flash for the first time- as I have only used studio lighting and cameras built in flash.
I thought the fill in flash photograph would be quite easy to take, however, it's actually quite hard to brighten deep shadow areas. Its vital to use the appropriate aperture and shutter speed to correctly expose the background, also adjusting the flash to the same exposures. Its easy to overexpose the subject, especially at a close range.
Below is a few of my first attempts at using fill in flash, I think I managed okay actually... these are unedited.

The flash was too bright in this photograph- as you can see the model's face appears far more lit up than anything else in the background. However, I like the background how the model is in focus to the blurry leaves. I would be satisfied with the photograph if her face was only a little less lit. 

I picked the location of a forest, as I wanted the photographs to be in a natural setting. Here you can see the model's face stands out from the blurry background- I decreased the flash level a little from to the photograph above, as you can see her face appears more natural with the background, rather than making the model's facial skin tone disappear and appear ghost-like.