#beligma

Beligma has been consistently impressing me these past couple of weeks! This shot is such a quintessential ANTM shot and I love how dramatically fierce it is! This could’ve easily been my FCO as well, if it wasn’t for her looking about 5 feet tall... I will say that there were a lot of things working against here though; the camel standing upright naturally takes away from the height of anyone standing next to it, and the split she’s doing makes her look a little shorter as well. It’s still something that bothers me though. The pose is SO fierce though! It’s definitely the most dynamic one this week, and even if it’s not the most fashionable, I think it makes for a great image. The clothes look great on her as well. Facially, I don’t think this is her best showing, but she’s still smizing the camera down. Had she turned her head up just a little bit, I think the shadows under her eyes would’ve been less apparent and her neck would’ve looked longer, so that might’ve been something she could’ve done. I also like the way she’s interacting with the camel, it almost looks like she’s a shepherd or something.

This is honestly a very boring shot modeling-wise, but that’s what I think makes it more editorial and realistic as an ad for me. She doesn’t have to do crazy fashion poses in order to sell the story and clothes here, that just happens naturally. The clothes definitely look the best on her out of any of the girls, because there’s no distractions. Her hair also really works with the simple vibe I’m getting here, it’s definitely a vocal point with the dark sky all around it. This is definitely the shot where I started seeing Beligma as a contender just based on looks. However, I suppose the simplicity is also her downfall here. Her not utilizing her arms in the pose makes them look stiff and robotic, and I wish there were some angles going on there. The little sailor hat in her hand also looks a little weird, I would’ve preferred if she had held the product (the card) in her hand there - or at least used it for story purposes. Overall, it’s a good shot, but the other girls just did more to stand out.

Literally a major jump in quality from this, and the shots ranked below her. Despite this being the first shot with both models ranked, I would say this shot is pretty good! My main issue with it is the total disconnect between her and Agru here. The leg up looks very posed, and like a desperate attempt to force interaction. I do think that she did pretty well when just looking at her side of the shot though. Her face looks pretty tough and intense (which is what was asked for), and I like the display of flexibility (really impressive actually) - though probably not together. The bottom half of her pose reminds me of dancing and the top half of fighting, and it’s a little disconnected for me. I think third call-out was a little overrated, but I think she did her job this week.

I’ve grown to like this shot of Beligma way more than I used to a couple of weeks ago. At first I only saw the obvious fear or intimidation in her eyes, and while I do still see it right now, it doesn’t bother me as much anymore. I think it’s kind of endearing actually! Beligma always has this innocent/cute look going on, and that’s exactly what I’m getting here. Her features are really pretty and commercial, and this shot is just really graceful as a whole. I love the angle, how long her neck looks and the hand in the corner framing the shot. I think it’s great!