Close Up or Back Up

When doing portraits, I take the photo with a fair amount of background, using my portrait lens. In processing, I usually crop the images in real tight. A dear friend and photography expert suggested that I experiment with opening up the image to show more of the background. "It tells a story" her said. Okay, I can get behind that, even though it is not my tendency. But I do like it, having the folds, pillows, more greenery or whatever the background. Space. It adds an elegance and loveliness to the main subject.