#cycle2contestants

#4 – Shandi Sullivan

The top 4 was completely clear. Never any doubt in my mind about that. Their order was a lot more questionable. It is one of those time I’d be happy with pretty much any outcome, as it really was that close this time around. Shandi was the original transformation; she was exactly what ANTM was about. Taking a plain Jane with potential and turning them into the next top model. Shandi had all the raw ingredients, and after her makeover polished her off she took off. She started strong, but over time just became more refined, elegant, and like an actual top model. It was pretty much an upward climb all cycle, and Shandi really performed throughout. She managed to excel where no one would expect, like the music video. Shandi was just killing it. Her runway walk was the most questionable area, and sort of remained questionable until the end. It certainly did improve though, and with time I believe Shandi could have slayed the runway with the same force she killed photoshoots. She had the body and look; it was just time and practice needed. Shandi definitely proved she was a threat though.

Shandi’s look fit more into the blank canvas role, with a slight high fashion edge, so it is no surprise she killed pretty much every photoshoot. The underwater shoot was probably the roughest spot, but I don’t hate the photo. Shandi looks pretty, even if there is a little bit more drowning woman than I would have liked. Had the limbs been fully extended I think Shandi would have nailed it though, so not much needed to change. Her best photograph is a toss-up between those she took in Milan. Her Solstice Sunglasses shot is just incredible; she nailed the body language, while keeping the face strong too. That is probably her strongest individual piece of modelling, but her nude shot with Yoanna is my favourite photo of her. She may not look as good, but the connection between her and Yoanna just pushes it over the edge. Shandi contributes as much as Yoanna did, and deserves as much credit for creating a sensational photograph.

#3 – Mercedes Scelba-Shorte

I often feel Mercedes is the most forgotten member of the top 4. Yoanna is the face, April is the constant professional, Shandi is high fashion. Mercedes deserves to leave as much of a legacy as the others did, and for me it should be her commercial modelling abilities. This is not to say those are her only skills, but it is definitely what she deserves to be remembered for. She had everything a top commercial model needs: a gorgeous conventionally beautiful face, curvaceous body, vibrant personality and an effervescent smile. She could light up a room, and I definitely think she had the chops to stand out in the more competitive commercial modelling market. Her runway walk was also not to be underestimated. She killed that last runway, and proved she was more of a chameleon than even I’d given her credit for. More editorial modelling is where her flaws showed. Her face wasn’t the issue, as she proved in that last beauty shoot, but I don’t think she got the conceptual poses down. Mercedes’ body never really connected to her face, and that style just never came naturally to her.

As I said, Mercedes suffered the most when she was pushed outside her comfort zone. The Solstice sunglasses shoot was easily her weakest point, and if it wasn’t for Camille still hanging on I’d easily have chosen to cut her. The pose just feels so cliché, and Mercedes just didn’t embody the brand like everyone else seemed to do naturally. She redeemed herself with the following two shoots, but that one still definitely stick out as a poor showing for me. On the more positive side, she killed multiple shoots. The ones worth mentioning are the celebrity and garden of Eden shoots, both of which she got first call-out from me. She killed both of them, though her Billie Holiday takes the spot as her strongest photo. Nailing the character is one thing, but to manage to make one of the notoriously tacky shoots look so gorgeous is incredible. Mercedes truly capture the sadness and stoic nature of Billie Holiday, yet also end up with a shot that looks like it could be an ad for make-up or skin care. Absolutely beautiful.

#1 – April Wilkner

April was painted as the robotic contestant on the show; good at everything, but just not good TV. It is understandable why she didn’t win, as the other top 3 have way better stories, but basing it entirely on modelling I struggle to come to any other conclusion but for April to walk away with the crown. In this cycle, she was one of the front runners when it came to every element of modelling. Her look was interesting, and was definitely adaptable enough for her to succeed in both commercial and editorial modelling. She had one of the best runway walks, especially when compared to those who were competing with her at the end. Most notably though, she was easily the most professional girl this cycle, and possibly one of the best of all time. Clients would love her, and should would have represented ANTM excellently. What almost cost her the top spot was the fact she did stumble a bit in the end. Her performance wasn’t as strong, but since both shoots were aimed at the more clearly high fashion models (Yoanna and Shandi essentially), I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt since both shots were still good.

April’s portfolio was consistent from start to finish. She never drifted outside the top 4, and really didn’t stumble at all until the final 5. There were so many great shots to choose from, but her Steve Madden shot has always been my personal favourite. April looks so dramatic, fierce, sexy, and just looks like a total pro. She proves you don’t need a face to rock a shoot. I hate that they edited out the lower part of her leg (it was in the actual shot, but for some reason not the final version) but even that doesn’t stop be adoring it. Her weakest shot was her sunglasses photoshoot, but I don’t dislike that shot either. April clearly wasn’t as suited, but she held her own. The body is strong, as is the face. The details could be enhanced a bit more, but the major frustration is that it doesn’t sell the sunglasses. April had been a consummate professional up until this point, but not drawing our attention to the product is an amateur mistake she shouldn’t be making so late in the game.

#2 – Yoanna House

Honestly, I am slightly surprised I’m not putting Yoanna top this cycle. Personally, I was rooting for her this cycle. She is also one of my all time favourites. Her face is gorgeous; one of the best this show has ever seen. Such incredible bone structure, with gorgeous skin and eyes to finish it off. With it she can do so many things. She can do commercial; she can do editorial; she can do high fashion. It is versatile, without really compromising the ability to succeed in any one individual area. It was enough to compensate for a slightly weaker body. She was able to manipulate it well in her photos, but in person she just looked a bit off for a model. Walking is a completely different matter though. A strong face isn’t quite enough, but combined with a great walk it might have been enough. Sadly, Yoanna just was not a powerhouse when it came to the runway. She lacked the same grace, and always seemed a bit too stiff. I still think Yoanna could be a top model without it, but it is definitely her biggest weakness, and what stops her from topping this list.

Portfolio wise Yoanna obliterated everyone else this cycle, without much competition. Her first shot was easily her weakest, and honestly the only subpar shot she took this cycle. Still, the entire thing isn’t bad. Yoanna’s beauty has been captured, but she has been aged slightly. It isn’t great for a first impression, and the body isn’t great either, but the potential is still clear and present. After a weak start she remained in the top 2 throughout the rest of the competition. For the most part I still agree with those decisions, but I will say the first call-out for the harness shoot was clearly wrong. That belonged to Shandi, and I can’t understand what convinced me otherwise. Still, the entire set of shots is absolutely stunning. The last two photos she took were still the strongest, and my favourite shots of the cycle. Her beauty shot is literal perfection, representing the sheer strength of her physical beauty, while the nude shot shows how excellently she can blend into a scenario and help enhanced a narrative. Both still remain amongst my favourite shots of all time, and help prove Yoanna is one of the most photogenic models this show has seen.

#6 – Sara Racey-Tabrizi

I loved Sara as a person. She was one of the sweetest girls, and had such a strong driving force. From the start I thought she was going to be one to watch, but her modelling quickly became frustrating. Everyone else seems to think she was the robbed girl of the cycle, but for me I think her elimination was correct; heart breaking, but correct. She started out as one of the front runners. I think she had a look that instantly stood her apart from the rest of the group. One too that would stand her in good stead in the fashion world as well. Even now she remains part of only a handful of middle eastern models to appear on the show. Her performance naturally had such a confident, sexual appeal. Soon though she was toeing the line between sexy and sleazy, and really just delivering the same note throughout her portfolio. Those times she did vary just lacked the same power. She just didn’t have the versatility of a top model.

Her portfolio is really missing that star shot; another reason I think it was her time. For most of the shots in her portfolio an argument could be raised it was her strongest shot, but none really on the same level as those models left. I chose her Steve Madden shot, mainly because it balanced the sex appeal with a commercial relatability pretty well. It isn’t perfect, and I can easily see someone preferring her underwater or harness shot for reasons it pushed her niche a bit further. Her weakest was a lot clearer, as it is the only bad shot I think she took. It does nothing for Sara’s natural beauty, and just comes across as an awkward head shot. Hands in frame can easily go south, and this is a prime example of them hindering the photograph.

#7 – Camille McDonald

If this list was based on confidence, Camille would kill it. It was easily her biggest strength. She managed to succeed in the go-sees (even if all we remember about that challenge is her “signature walk”), and I have a feeling the clients were drawn to her energy. In short doses it can seem a lot more reasonable than watching it for an entire season. The issue was all that confidence was all for show, and there was no real turnout when it came to her performance. Across the board she was a solid, but kind of average, model who happened to carry herself as if she had already won the whole thing. She does have a bookable look: strong body, pretty face, so I can understand why clients would like her. It all just feel slightly too cookie cutter for me; the others just stood out more. Her walk too is strong, if not as iconic as she clearly hoped. It is all just too basic, and it took me a while to realise the substance of Camille’s modelling just isn’t as impactful as she attempted to be.

What actually dragged Camille down was how poor I realised her portfolio actually was. Multiple of her shots ended up on my bottom 10 list, and there were so few real standouts. The shot of her in the harness is so poor. Nothing came together in the shot; an awkward body is somewhat understandable, but an expressionless face is unacceptable. She should have been serving it, and it comes up as awkward. Somehow, she ended on a high, and I do think her sunglasses shot is the one truly beautiful photo she took. It feels light, soft and elegantly feminine. For a girl I pegged as pure commercial realness, I was surprised by how effortlessly she gave me high fashion. Still agree with her elimination, but she certainly ended off on a strong note with this shot, along with the go-see performance.

#8 – Jenascia Chakos

Jenascia came into the competition with a bang, but never seemed to find her footing…at least for the judges. They were constantly underrating her, and even when she did well it was always under the condition that she was still too small. I won’t pretend the height isn’t an issue, but ANTM was still at the point where that issue was almost impossible to overcome. Like how some of the judges always chastised the plus size models even when they did well, Jenascia suffered the same fate. It was unfortunate as she had everything else going for her; a gorgeous and versatile face, strong proportions on her body and she was very photogenic. She was doing everything she could to overcome that one weakness, and I definitely think she had a lot more to give when she was cut.

Portfolio wise she sort of floated in the middle. She is the first model to not really have any awful photographs, but at the same time still having some strong ones in amongst the group. Her weakest moment was the first shoot, but it is understandable why the performance wasn’t as strong. She was clearly still bothered by the events of that morning and has some overwhelming styling. Even in the mess though her face really stands out; gorgeous bone structure, with some piercing eye contact. It is enough to show she deserves to stay, if not her finest moment. Her best shot came the week after, and she showed the last one was a fluke. The body language is effortlessly cool, even if the face is actually slightly weaker. If you combined those two shots you would get a stellar, balanced photograph.

#9 – Xiomara Frans

Xiomara was certainly an interesting contestant. Xiomara had arguably the most unique look of the bunch. Her face was really interesting, and she had a stronger body than most the cast. She felt like an earlier version of what Teyona was branded as during her cycle. The potential was all there for her to excel, but it did just seem like it was all potential, and no results. Personality wise she was just as interesting. She was confident, bold, and willing to speak up for herself; all traits I admire, but also those which can be easily misconstrued. The way she was twisted by the show was unfair, and I have a funny feeling that also translated into the shots selected for her.

There is no denying Xiomara’s portfolio had a few rough spots. It is very rare that someone ends up with both of the top 2 shots on my least favourite list, but it wasn’t even close. Both her underwater and shoes shots were atrocious and failed for the exact same reason: they looked like they were mid-poo. Once is understandable, but to have two shots with that…not great. Looking at the positives there was only one real option. Her Grace Jones imitation was the only real shining moment for Xiomara. It was everything I expected from the start; incredible bone structure; gorgeous body; just stunningly striking in every way. Too bad it is sort of known more for the unfortunate make-up, rather than Xiomara’s phenomenal modelling.