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Joan, I just wanted to add to this excellent and interesting discussion that there seems to be a modern portrait "convention" (certainly not a "rule") that the younger the subject, the narrower the value range between the lit side and shadow side in the face.
This was not always the case in portraiture. I can think of several Sargents, for example, that feature young subjects with darker value shadows. I suspect that many clients today would find such portrayals of their young children as too "gloomy". The emphasis (in this country anyway) for children's portraits is on charming, fresh, light, happy, etc. . As I browse through websites and look at hundreds of contemporary portraits, it seems to me that darker shadows are often reserved for subjects who require qualities such as intensity, power and drama.
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