Again, No Photographs

Just the Cover Girl commercial. If you're into fashion, I'm working on my fashion blog: coseamato.blogspot.com.

1108: Recap + Never-Before-Seen Footage

No photo shoots this week, just bonus footage that helps set up the Sheena-Elina fight next week. Looks like they've had their disagreements before.

1107: Signature Pose Challenge

Funny how this week the strongest and weakest in the challenge and in the final shoot were the same.

Photographs by Jim de Yonker.


Analeigh's signature pose was being an "ice skater"; after her review with Tyra, she modified that to being a "rebel ice skater." Tyra gave her final shot a "7."


McKey started out with an "over-the-shoulder" signature pose, but then changed it to being a "boxer." Tyra said McKey's strength was her neck.


Samantha's signature pose was her "hands"; after her final shot, Tyra complimented her with a "There you go!"


Lauren Brie didn't know what her signature was, just that it was some sort of "awkwardness." After posing as a bored Egyptian and an amputee, Tyra chose "surfer chick" for her. Her final shot was okay, but Tyra was pulling her teeth for each pose. Her poses were empty.


Sheena started out as "divaesque" and "not hoochie," but her shot was too catalog. Tyra then told this flava girl that she should try out "cultural dance."


Joslyn got the editing snub this week, as no close-ups of her "before" shot was posted. She couldn't think of a signature pose; she said, "I like to pose kind of wide," as McKey snickered in the corner. Tyra figured out that Joslyn had a great profile, though, so that became her signature.


I'm not sure what exactly "top model of the world" translates into when it comes to posing, but that's what Elina chose.


Marjorie converted a literal "hunchback of Notre Dame" to a more modelly version and won the challenge. Way to bring out the French awkwardness.

1107: Tyra's Fierce Eyes Portfolio

Left: As shown in the episode. Right: Celebrated Living (The American Airlines in-flight magazine), Summer 2004 issue.


The sources of these two shots, however, are still unidentified.

1107: Photos Ranked

Marjorie the Potty Poser: The double-challenge winner this week seems to have grown in confidence, at least on set. She still hasn't shed herself of her self-deprecating habits, though, when she put down her "acting" abilities. Why, though, is this gown causing so much breakroom havoc? And couldn't this struggle occur somewhere that showcased the Orpheum theater a bit more--at least for me, most of the struggle is making it into the bathroom; I've usually got it covered from there.


Analeigh the Irascible Reporter: Appropriately, Miss Number 2 was also invited along to Marjorie's shopping spree. After Analeigh turned it on during the shoot, she looked just adorable, and I wish we were treated to more of her film. Marjorie and Lauren Brie guest star.


McKey the Disappointed Damsel: McKey pulls off disappointment, but Tyra wanted more--McKey should have also conveyed the fake happiness. Tyra herself shows that that isn't exactly the easiest of tasks, as Tyra's "example" consisted of ugly face contortions that exuded neither disappointment nor happiness.


Sam the Blinded Ham: To prep herself for the role, Samantha decided to speak in a strange accent, and Mr. Jay had to remind her to "bring it back to modeling." During panel, no one thought she portrayed what she was supposed to, but Nigel defended her good looks and ability to bring some other emotion to the photo. All agreed that most of the good work came from the photographer, Mike Rosenthal. So why was Samantha called before Joslyn?


Elina the Emotional Victor: Was Mr. Jay blinded by Elina's tears? Because the photo did not convey actual emotion, even if Elina really did cry. The fake tear was nice, but the makeup was not flattering. Her face was painted in an angular fashion, which further hardened her face for what should be a visage softened by tears.


Joslyn the Dismayed Doppelganger: Unlike Sheena last week, Joslyn was not wearing a tacky outfit to panel. So why the low rank on a photo where the judges said she was at her most beautiful? Lack of emotion, perhaps?


Sheena the Snagged Superstar: The hair department (read: Christian Marc!) left much to be desired this week. Sheena's curls only emphasize her strange head shape, and her non-modellyness leaves her at the bottom this week. Once again, according to Tyra, personality prevailed. Sheena's shriek may have been a bit rude to Lauren Brie, but I understood where she came from--who would have thought mannequin-perfect LBrie would be the one to go?


Lauren Brie the Tripping Tramp: Her face conveyed what the wide shot couldn't, and that just wasn't enough for Ms. Mannequin. Not that it would have helped, but since this photo has a mostly black background and LBrie's whole body had to contribute to the premise, wardrobe should have picked her a brighter color dress.


Tyra: I'm very confused as to what Tyra is trying to convey. She certainly isn't acting as though she received a Fiercee. Perhaps she is protecting her trophy from all those klepto-models!

1107: Mike Rosenthal, Christian Marc, Sutan

This episode we get some regulars: Mike Rosenthal as the photographer (who also guest-judged), Christian Marc as the hair stylist, and Sutan as the make-up artist.

Though Mike Rosenthal discusses his 6-season stint on ANTM on his website, he does not showcase any ANTM photos in his portfolio. His introduction at the Orpheum theater was basically a reminder that he shot the voting photos earlier in the season. As for fashion, his clients include 7 for All Mankind and WWD (the daily fashion newspaper), but Mike produces architectural and landscape photography as well.

He had the following to say during the shoot:

To Marjorie: "Remember, I want something other than a regular model face, ok?"
To Elina: "This is going to be you accepting an award in front of a huge audience."
To Lauren Brie: "Even as we're just starting now, it's feeling posey and forced . . . So try and make it feel more natural, more graceful."
To Joslyn: "Good. All right."
To Analeigh: "You do bitchy really well." "Good job."

And he had the following the say during panel:

To Analeigh: "I was impressed with what you did. You really took the character, you went there; I think you did a great job with emotion."
To Marjorie: "One of the things I really, really liked was that even with such an extreme pose like that, you managed to keep your mouth relaxed."
About McKey: "The shot turned out great, but it was like, you know, really like pulling teeth."
About Marjorie: "Marjorie was my favorite of the day, and I was so impressed, I mean, there were so many good shots."
About Lauren Brie: "Lauren Brie--I think she is a very pretty girl in person, but she was as stiff as a mannequin--she would literally just tip over."

Sutan does not seem to have an online portfolio, but Christian Marc's is on Celestine's Los Angeles site: http://www.celestineagency.com/agency/home.html. This week Sutan faltered on Elina's makeup, and Christian Marc chose a horrible style for Sheena and Elina. Otherwise, business as usual here.

1106: Photos Ranked

Samantha the Tidal Wave: I love Sam, but looking at only the photo, I cannot tell if she is the one causing the waves. She could be just posing behind them, for all I know. Nothing in her expression indicates destruction, and her hands are out of sight.


Analeigh the Santa Ana Wind: Did Brian or Jay or whoever thought up this concept actually communicate with the stylist? Analeigh has the natural "wind in the hair" thing going on, but they decide on an updo for a shoot about wind? Bad choice and/or lack of communication.


McKey the Heat Wave: Not as awesome as I had expected given Mr. Jay's standing ovation, but Tyra did mention there were better photos--they just did not adhere to the theme. I have not seen the rest of McKey's film, but I must disagree with Tyra's interpretation of the theme. Since when does a heat wave collapse under its own heat? McKey is supposed to be the heat wave, not a model who succumbs to a heat wave. I want to see the other photos.


Elina the Earthquake: Not enough motion; presumably Elina's fist causes the earthquake and the car crash, but there is no punch to her fist. I have to blame this on the set designer. Elina could have done a lot more in a city setting.


Marjorie the Traffic Jam: Her lines are just beautiful. The judges seemed not to care too much that she only had 10 good frames and Mr. Jay posed her for those. If she keeps placing this high (relatively speaking), she needs to watch her self-deprecation in front of the other girls, though she may have irked others enough already. Also, are there any roundabouts in L.A. proper? Because that looks like a roundabout up front.


Lauren Brie the Snowstorm: She comes around so infrequently in L.A. that when she does--hell yes, she shows off how beautiful she is, angular poses and all. Natural as a snowstorm may be, this concept is much lamer than the "unnatural" traffic jam when set in the City of Angels.


Sheena the Sandstorm: The only negative thing I heard about Sheena was that Paulina thought she had the personality but not the looks. Placing so low must, then, be a punishment for wearing that shapeless pink lacey top at panel.


Joslyn the Rockslide: Yikes, sliding to the bottom she is. Some fans are happy she stayed, others point out it's a modeling competition, not a Miss Congeniality contest. I, for one, am happy she stayed. If you don't think personality is important, think of all the professionals who have said on the show that energy on the set can make all the difference. Miss Joslyn just needs to regain some of that confidence.


Clark the Blackout: At least she tried to find out what bureaucracy meant; this week, she blithely ignored her role as the blackout monster. She went home, deservingly, but also to prove an important reality show commandment--thou shalt not rest on thy laurels (or else the audience is deprived of surprises and twists and the joy of a contestant eating her own words). Still, in her defense, couldn't she have gotten a high voltage power line tower to work with? Oh, budgets!

1106: Brian Edwards

Tyra, for once, did not boast about working with this week's photographer a million years ago. She only discovered him because he recently took Jaslene's photographs for ZooZoom, an online fashion magazine worth checking out.

I will digress and point out how much Tyra really cares about her girls. I started watching season 4 of Australia's Next Top Model and that show cannot even compare. Tyra has really dedicated herself to finding a diverse (not just race) set of models who, though mostly bone-thin, show us that beauty comes in many different packages. Now, back on point . . .

Brian Edwards does have a nice portfolio online at brianedwardsphotography.com, and in addition to fashion editorials, he has also shot some ads for Ralph Lauren. Below are the photographs featured in the episode "Natural Beauty."







During the photoshoot, anything Brian might have said was edited out; Mr. Jay did most of the coaching. On the judges panel, we only heard Brian say the following:

Lauren Brie tended to be "posy." Sheena brought a lot of energy, but only at times; Brian advised her to try and keep the energy up the entire shoot. It was a real struggle for Brian to do Joslyn's shot.

His comments were mostly consistent with the other judges' impressions.

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