Hey, I HAD A THESIS LAST WEEK, OKAY? At least I posted it in time for this week's episode...
1. Natalie
Honestly, the impact of this photo alone is enough to put it at #1 (it’s an instant WOW! shot), but it stands up even against closer scrutiny. She looks so ferocious overall and even incredibly sexually aggressive (I’m sorry, it’s a pretty come-hither pose), but it’s not off-putting because this picture is so good. The pose is amazing; she totally stands out and Ciara is like an afterthought. Her face would have been too much in probably any other week, but considering this week’s theme and her photo overall, it’s absolutely perfect. It really does look like she’s totally desperate for fame, which was a perfect way to go for this shoot. Stunning.
2. Fo
As the judges said, ANGLES! She managed to make this overall pretty boring pose extremely interesting with all the, well, angles and oh God I sound like the judges but, TENSION she’s using. Her arms and hands here are frigging perfect. Her face looks beyond beautiful. She totally stands out. The only reason she’s not getting a first call-out is that it lacks the WOW! of Natalie’s photo and she really doesn’t need to make herself look any shorter than she is. But GREAT anyway.
3. Allison
Like Natalie’s, this is an “instant impact WOW!” shot, but unlike Natalie’s, it doesn’t stand up to closer inspection so strongly. It’s still extremely good, though. My main issue with it is that her face isn’t really very flattering here; she looks like she’s sucking on a lemon. But that pose is amazing and I love the shape of her face and the expression she’s giving. She managed to turn her “same look” different and make it wildly perfect. I just wish she looked a little less like she was going to kill me.
4. Celia
She doesn’t stand out QUITE as well as she could (I think her standing out is more because she’s so pale against that dark background rather than her actually standing out), but that pose is super fierce, minus the weirdly foreshortened arm on the left. That outstretched arm is genius, though. What really sets Celia down so far, though, just like in the “finding the light” week, is her face. I mean, she looks intense and vicious in a good way, like Natalie, but unlike Natalie, Celia needs to watch her face when she does that, because she already looks perpetually angry. She crosses the line into flat-out ugly. And, as ever, she looks approximately 87 years old. The flaws in the face are only noticeable in close-up, though, and as I said, that pose is rockin’.
5. Teyona
Just because it’s the photo right before the bottom two doesn’t mean it’s bad at all, but something about this photo is almost too calm. In a week when many of the girls ratcheted it up to eleven – rightfully, I think – something that’s a good picture but kinda “meh” stands out in a bad way. Ciara also stands out more than Teyona does. Though, this picture is still pretty damn good. I love the angles in the torso and that one arm we can see, but the other arm is totally missing and her legs seem to have disappeared in a mess of cables. The face looks GOOORGEOUS but again, too calm. I adore the eyes, though. Again, the top five photos were great and then the bottom two were kinda crap.
6. London
Large step down, and really there’s not much difference between Aminat and London. The thing that saved London is I think she had a slightly better pose… not that it’s a great pose. Seriously, what happened to the arm? She looks like she’s ensnared and confused by the wires. And her legs look like they’re stumps. But I like the way she thrusts herself out and presents herself. I know the judges made a big deal about her face, but I like it. I think she looks strong, but yeah, not the most flattering angle.
7. Aminat
Eh. It’s not terrible, but it’s still the worst of the week. She doesn’t stand out as well as she could. The face is okay but she looks absolutely panicked and like she has no control of the shoot. She also looks old. What sets her down further than London is, as I said before, that I think London had a somewhat better pose, even though neither of these poses was great. Aminat is simply lying there, a good amount of her body is obstructed, and her thighs look monstrous. Ciara stands out more. I like the grabbing on to Ciara but that’s not gonna save her.
CAN'T WAIT for Brazil and hopefully the photoshoots to actually get GOOD or at least non-terrible at this point. Though actually, these weren't awful pictures, just a terrible theme. Also, YAY, MMAS is back tonight!!!
