This is a black and white, bust-length portrait of a young Emma Woolley. The image has a soft, vignetted border, focusing the viewer's attention on the subject. She is looking slightly to her left, away from the camera, with a neutral, perhaps somber, expression. Her dark hair is parted in the center and pulled back neatly. She is wearing a high-necked dress with a delicate, ruffled lace collar. The bodice of the dress features vertical pleats and a row of small, round buttons down the front. The overall style of her attire and the photographic quality suggest the portrait was taken in the late Victorian era.