#cycle20week9

While I personally think this falls short of Nina’s triumphs over the past 2 weeks, it’s undeniably the best shot of the week when graded against everyone else. The makeup is on the verge of overwhelming her eyes but she did just enough to push through and deliver a seductive expression. I kinda love how she just let the snake do it’s own thing and still managed to establish a connection with it. Her pose makes her look super long and the dress looks fantastic on her. Nina produced the most fashionable image in the bunch and once again blew away all of her competition.

That make-up is so bad. I am sure I could have made it look better, and I’ve never done anybody’s makeup in my life. Mike is lucky his jawline looks so defined, as otherwise the face would be truly ruined by those spikes. I think the body is kind of a right off here. He is covered by the orangutan, and I’d be as likely to believe Mike was a zoo keeper, as he was a model if I was shown this shot.

I can’t believe Kelly gave this shot a 9. I know the judges always had their favourites, but the scoring system just made it so much easier to find out. His face gets lost behind the make-up, and it isn’t down to a weak expression, but due to weak bone structure. There is no definition in his chin or cheekbones, so I find Chris incredibly pedestrian in this shot. Plus, if it wasn’t for the make-up there would be nothing linking Chris to the parrots. He hasn’t tried in the slightest to mirror them in his pose, so this whole shot is just a disappointment.

Jeremy really proved that he was a worthy comeback with this photo. I love his commitment to the primal, animalistic pose and the ferocity in his eyes. His lower half is cut off a bit, but the strength of his upper body totally makes up for it. I don’t really get a sexual vibe like the judges and a lot of fans seem to, I actually think he looks more protective of his jaguar companion. In addition to having a strong shot, Jeremy also performed super well on set. Jeremy showed a lot of progression and was definitely one of the best this week.

I actually love Cory’s photo from the waist up. His eyes are so freaking piercing and I like the curious nature of his expression. The open legs were not exactly the best choice, but the angular dangling pose is kinda cool and the clothes look good all things considered. Cory embodied his assigned animal while remaining fashionable and didn’t fail miserably in the process, which puts him in the upper reaches of the pack this week.

Don’s shot isn’t nearly as bad as the judges made it out to be. I agree that his neck looks weirdly thick, but there’s not much to fault besides that. His face is stellar here, he’s emulating the snake and looks powerful and sinister. He’s pushing through that dense make-up as well. His pose is okay and I like how he’s connecting with the python. Even though this is one of the better shots in the bunch and Don probably shouldn’t have been sent home based on this week, I wasn’t too against his elimination. A lot of his photos have fallen just short of the mark and most of his competitors had pulled ahead of him.

Chlea delivers her best shot to date in the worst week of the cycle! The only problems I have with this is that the open mouth isn’t very flattering and I wish this was zoomed out more so we could actually see some clothes (the latter obviously isn’t her fault). Other than that she did a good job. Her jawline is stunning, her eyes are seductive, and her posture is haughty and bird-like. It’s not a exactly a knock-out photo, but it’s far better than any shots below it.

This is pretty similar to Renee’s shot, but I ranked Alex on top because she executed the pose better. She’s showing the dress somewhat well and she remembered to keep her length despite being in a crouched position. She once again failed to bring any real expression to her face, but the angle works for her at least. Another unimpressive photo from Alex, but she did enough to make it to the halfway point in my call-out for the first time this cycle.