#cycle16week5

Monique’s shot has some things going for it. It feels relatively expensive, the jaguar looks flawless, and the product is shown well. Those three things mean she easily gets third this week from me. My issue with Monique all comes down to the expression. I think her face looks gorgeous, she has found her lighting well, but the expression is just reading hungover to me. I think it was an attempt at a snarl to match the jaguar, but it was neither committed enough or subtle enough to work.

Finally. I know I said Kasia’s first call-out last week was the easiest decision so far, but this is so much easier. This has to be one of the biggest gaps in quality between one photo and the rest, it is perfection. We hardly see the fur coat, but this is one of those shots that sells the product even though we don’t see it. Hannah is one of the only ones to make this mad styling seem regal and expensive. I absolutely adore the stare off into the light, it furthers this idea of Hannah being royalty, bathing in the sunlight as she stares over her kingdom. The beauty shot is the key success though here. Her jawline is illuminated perfectly, the gritted teeth give the shot a strength, and the hooded eyes soften it. Just perfection when it all comes together. Such a well-earned first call-out.

This week was a huge disappointment. It had all the makings of another flawless shoot, and given the quality of the modelling of the first three weeks I was expecting so much and instead we got 7 bad shots, and 2 usable ones. Brittani though continues her streak of competency, and gives the first usable shot. I’m not in love with it, but it is what I was expecting. I think she has done everything asked of her. The jacket is in prime position, great for this being an ad. She is interacting well with the jaguar. Her face looks beautiful, and she has found the light. I think she maybe looks slightly old, her expression is giving this haughty, expensive vibe, and it does seem to age her slightly. Still beautiful though, but not as fresh as she has looked before. Also, I will say I hate how her hair looks here, not her problem though.

Alexandria has succeeded in creating a usable photo, but it feels cheap. I wanted something a bit more luxurious from this photoshoot. I think her styling definitely contributes to this, but Alexandria hasn’t helped. The hand resting on the chest feels a bit awkward, and her matching the jaguar’s roar is too over the top. If she had gone for a more nuanced reflection of the roar, sort of like what Monique attempted, I think it would have been stronger, but subtlety and nuance has never been Alexandria’s strength when it comes to photoshoots.

They have somehow managed to make Mikaela’s face not look striking, which is a feat. She doesn’t carry the heavy make-up well, and is reading slightly drag queen to me. I think when you accept that fact though, it isn’t a bad photo. She has posed well enough to show the jacket, and has managed to control the jaguar. The intensity of the expression is nice too, she is giving a lot more than she has managed to give in past photoshoots. It is probably her weakest shot so far, but I think it has actually shown the most successful active modelling from her weirdly.

This shot feels like a significantly regression from Dalya, and reminds me of her first two weeks. Dalya has managed to at least make the clothes look good, but she hasn’t done much more. Her body feels very basic, and the expression feels like a basic model fierce shot. It is resting on pretty. As I said earlier though, I was disappointed pretty much across the board, but seeing someone go home feels wrong. Dalya had shown a bit of growth, and had a beautiful look, but if someone had to go, I feel like she was one of the acceptable choices. I don’t think she would have lasted much longer even with another chance.

This shot just feels out of control, and it doesn’t work for me. The way she is hunched slightly isn’t natural, the posture covers up the jacket, which is not ideal. Her expression is also really poor, she looks like she is surprised someone is taking her photo. I think her face actually looks okay though, she has handled the harsh make-up better than a lot of the girls, and with a stronger expression she could have made this work.

I’ve always felt like this is a shot I should love. It has the strong exaggerated jawline, it has movement captured, it is something entirely different…but it just does not work for me. Jaclyn’s features look so exaggerated here because of the make-up and angle, almost looking like someone with botched plastic surgery. Because of the way she has thrown her head too, my eyes go straight to that mess rather than the product or the jaguar, which feels wrong. After two really strong weeks, Jaclyn has really hit a new low with this. At least she wasn’t alone when it comes to that.