#cycle24week9

[topmodelranking]

#1 – Shanice

This is the break-out moment for Shanice , this shot is flawless. It is just ethereally beautiful. She was the only one to perfectly give this airy, tranquil performance. The delicacy of her arms, and the slight tilt of the shot keep the photo light. Her face is beautiful too, the lighting has perfectly defined her jawline. There was a chance the dress would have overwhelmed her silhouette here, but the line created on one side is enough to keep her figure. It just is a stunning shot. I still hate how they have styled her hair, even sleeked back is better than the stupid up-in-the-air poof.

[antmrankingsfr]

02. Khrystyana

Khrystyana definitely suffered from the photography, as she did a splendid job here. She probably had the better pose of the bunch, and also one of the better one of this whole season. It’s impressive that she managed to keep her composure one kicking one leg up and standing on the other one while still looking fashionnable and selling the dress. There is also something really elegant and graceful about her dreamy gaze off camera and her bird like spread arms. This might be the best photo of the week on the technical aspect, but there is another one that I just happen to love more.

[antmrankingskd]

1. Shanice

Shanice was the star of this photoshoot! Her face is marvelous in this shot: profile is definitely her strongest angle (that jawline is sickening!) and there’s so much passion in her eyes. The fierceness of her face contrasts nicely with her airy body language. I love how graceful her arms look and the rest of her body is positioned in a way that brings some shape to that voluminous dress. This picture is a testament to Shanice’s progress and is the peak of her portfolio!

[topmodelranking]

#7 – Rio

The fact Rio avoided another bottom 2 – becoming the last person of the season to be in one – is just beyond ridiculous. This is another bottom of the barrel shot. The only positive I can think of is at least Rio interacted with the parachute; but that may have been a bad idea. Rio looks as if she is about to be swept off her feet, and her faces kind of matches that. She looks confused, and I swear is still giving the same tough-cold expression. Rio needs to go soon, but with Jeana’s rash downturn, I think she may be the one of this pair going sooner.

[topmodelranking]

#4 – Brendi

I’m not 100% sure if Brendi would have left this week. My gut says yes, but then again my gut thought she would have gone a long time ago; so who really knows for certain. If Jeana or Kyla leave within the next 2 weeks, I would think Brendi was actually going to survive this week. Anyways, I have to admit this is one of Brendi’s best photographs in the competition. I think her pose conveys a strength, and the hands feel fluid enough to link to the parachute. Her face looks gorgeous here, and the styling is giving her a rocker-edge. Her legs feel a bit weak, and I wish those had been slightly further apart, with more power. This is also the shot where the set annoys me the most; how hard would have it been to get different coloured parachutes for each girl, to match the outfit. The pink just looks wrong here.

[topmodelranking]

#6 – Erin

It took me so long to realise what was off about this shot, but I have finally cracked it: her torso seems to go on for ages. The way the dress is covering her legs kind of shortens them, and throws all of her proportions off. It makes the body, which has a nice fluidity to it, seem a bit awkward. I’m also not a massive fan of the face, her hairline is too far back, and her jawline looks awfully tense.

[antmrankingsfr]

Before I start this week’s ranking, I just wanted to point out how bad the framing of the picture was. The model are so tiny in comparison to the background that many of the pictures just lost their energy. That’s why I decided to include a cropped out version of every photo in my rankings so I can analyse it better, and hopefully do justice to some model’s amazing photos ! Now there we go :

07. Rio

Seriously, I don’t get the massive bashing arround Brendi K when Rio has been equally as problematic and has got a portfolio equally as average (and maybe worse) than her. This photo represent another step in the deterioration of Rio’s work on this show. The arms being held straight above her head feel incredibly awkward and the way she placed her legs totally ruin the shape of the dress and makes her look thicker than she is, while flattening many of her curves. And on top of that, her facial expression makes it look like she’s on drugs. It’s an all arround bad performance from Rio and I wonder how she managed to escape the bottom 2 once again.

[antmrankingskd]

2. Jeana

I completely disagreed with the panel’s assessment of Jeana’s photo this week. She doesn’t look short to me at all and even though the elements of dance were an obvious choice she still executed them well. Her body looks awesome in the garment and she definitely brought movement to the shot. The top half of the dress looks great and I like the way she’s working the fabric with her hands, though the bottom is a bit bunched and shapeless. This isn’t the strongest face she’s had, but at least she looks stunning and has life in her expression. Like Kyla, Jeana was also totally undeserving of her bottom two placement this week.

[antmrankingskd]

3. Kyla

I love the vibe that Kyla brought to her photo. Her pose is kind of pinup-ish in a really cool way; her legs go on forever, her body looks fantastic, and the outstretched arms bring some drama. The thrown back head and extended neck are great as well, but I wish she wasn’t looking at the camera. Her eyes are not very strong and her expression is slightly strained. Had she gone fully profile like her Raw Shot I think this could’ve been magical. Still, it’s strong photo from Kyla and her bottom 2 placement this week was bogus.

[antmrankingskd]

4. Khrystyana

While I’d love to give Khrystyana props for bringing motion to her shot I don’t think she delivered fully. The lifted leg looks very awkward, her arms are thrown out haphazardly, and the clawed hands are distracting. Thankfully her face is stellar; she caught the light beautifully and I love her upward determined gaze. The dress also looks amazing with the way it’s dramatically billowing about. It’s a solid, if overpraised. addition to Khrystyana’s portfolio.

[antmrankingskd]

5. Erin

Erin’s picture is not the most exciting in the world but she did an alright job. I like how free and relaxed her body language is, and the positioning of her limbs is quite nice. However, she didn’t pull it together with her face. The angle makes her face look very bottom heavy and her bizarre expression of suspicion doesn’t match the what she gave her body. With a stronger face I might’ve bumped Erin up a spot.

[antmrankingskd]

6. Rio

Why hasn’t Rio landed in the bottom 2 yet? This is such a disappointment. I originally thought her leg was kicked out due to the way the dress is blowing and that made me somewhat like it more since there was some movement in the shot. However, once I realized that she’s standing statically my opinion dropped even further. The whole thing reads sleepy from head to toe. Her body has no vitality to it and her eyes are overly squinted, showing that she really struggled with the wind. Rio failed to deliver.

[antmrankingskd]

7. Brendi K.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Brendi would’ve survived the week if she hadn’t quit, but in my opinion this shot should’ve sent her packing either way. Her pose has zero energy whatsoever. The half-assed raised arms and limp body language don’t work at all. Her face photographed fairly well, but her expression is very puzzled and lost. It’s a very blah photo and a sour note for Brendi to leave on.

[topmodelranking]

#2 – Kyla

With a few tweaks, this shot could have been sensational. Kyla is serving power, drama, all with a refined edge. I get what Tyra meant by saying the pose felt heavy, but there is something I love about the contrast with the airiness of the parachute. I am not loving the face. Her facial expressions still feel a bit stuck, they haven’t really improved at all this competition. I wish she had thrown her neck back fully; possibly even gone profile. There would have been a strength to match her body. The upstretched hand feels awkward too, it would have been fine had she grabbed the parachute, but right now just feels unnecessary.

[topmodelranking]

#3 – Jeana

Neither of the bottom 2 deserved to be anywhere near there. This shot does have a bit of a flamenco dancer vibe to it, but Jeana still looks gorgeous. Her body looks great in the dress, and the drape fabric looks beautiful, though I am annoyed there is so much red near the bottom, she does lose the beautiful fit-and-flare shape. I am not as huge a fan of her face this week, it feels a bit blank: pretty, but vacant this week. Also, I don’t know why anyone says she looks short. For me being a short model doesn’t matter in photos; if your body has good proportions, someone who is 5’3’’ looks can look far taller. When it comes to runway, or group shots it is another matter, but here her height is irrelevant to me.