#cheandre

[antmplusrankings]

#7 Cheandre

I love this video of Cheandre, this was really up her alley as she looks better in motion than in still shots anyways. I love how active this video is and how dynamic everything she’s doing is. I love the shot of her laying on the couch seductively and I adore the superhero like moves she did at the end. She also looks like she’s genuinely having fun in the close-up, and the whipping of her hair looked really good in motion. She really made an impression of her and her personality in this video and she’s a stand-out here. It’s sad that it gets dragged down by her still shot because this could’ve easily reached the top 5 videos on it’s own.

I really dislike the still shot as I said. She looks very clueless here, like she didn’t even know the picture was being taken. I get that it’s the first challenge and she isn’t expected to look perfect, but she definitely could’ve done more. I don’t like the half open mouth and it certainly doesn’t go with the crosseyed eyes. She also has some eyebags in this lighting, which she should be able to conceal with a different angle.

[topmodelthoughts]

10. Cheandre’s Safeguard Ad

While I stand by ranking Joyce’s photo above this one, I think this was my favorite shot from this tragically cheap photoshoot. While this photo is held back a bit by the overall cheapness and the weird sepia tone (am I the only one who sees it?), it’s a really strong shot of Cheandre. I love the matronly tilt of her head and the strength of her leg placement, plus she’s handling all of the props like a pro and modelling the hell out of that lovely dress. I’d buy whatever she’s selling.

[topmodelthoughts]

Dishonorable Mentions:

Since I didn’t want to devote a whole countdown to making fun of photos, I’ve collected what I perceive to be the “worst” photos of the cycle into one post. There actually weren’t that many, by and large most of the shots this cycle fell somewhere in the middle, but there were definitely some standouts in both the good and bad categories.

[topmodelthoughts]

Model Ranking Tier 4: Win Contenders

Opeyemi: The Fiercest Competition

My Callout Average: 2.125 vs. Actual Callout Average: 3.75

Opeyemi was my favorite girl of the cycle, she’s exactly what I think of when I think of a model. She was the best photo model on the cast (her portfolio is spotless) and she had a strong runway as well, and I thought the judges really underrated her a lot of the time. While she wasn’t a huge personality she wasn’t a non-presence, she seemed pretty funny and she had good rapport with the judges. Plus I low-key live for how she would NOT hug the girls she was in the bottom with, she went straight for that photo because she knew what she wanted! Opeyemi had it all and could easily be a supermodel, but I think in terms of what Top Model is looking for I’d still give the crown to Aamito. From what I’ve read Opeyemi still booked a ton of work after the show so good for her!

Aamito: The Rightful Winner

My Callout Average: 3 vs. Actual Callout Average: 3.4

Although I’m obviously a big fan of Opeyemi’s I can’t deny that Aamito was the best choice for the crown; I think she’s one of the best winners the franchise has ever had and her abundant post-show work is proof of that. he entered the competition with a bang and kind of floated a bit in the middle but found her groove again by the end, and after she stomped all over the other two girls in the final interview challenge there was no other choice. She’s just the full package of looks, presence, and a great walk, plus she has such a quintessentially “African” look that makes her the perfect representative of the brand and what they were trying to accomplish.

Cheandre: The Narrator / The Robbed Girl

My Callout Average: 5 vs. Actual Callout Average: 4.7

While I don’t think Cheandre was ever going to win the show (I’m sorry but a white woman winning the first cycle of Africa’s Next Top Model would have felt wrong) I think she should have been in the Top 3. Yes she bombed her final photoshoot but she was one of the strongest competitors up until that point so by all accounts they should have sent Michaela home in her place. She’s a bit of a confusing contestant because she always gave great performances on set and had an interesting look, but for some reason that didn’t translate to an exceptionally interesting portfolio and the judges callouts rarely seemed to reflect how good her actual photo was. Still, seemed like a fun person to hang around with (though her calling Rhulani “common” was... interesting) and was a huge presence in the cycle so she earns a place in my first tier at least.

[topmodelthoughts]

4. Cheandre (Actual Callout: Eliminated)

Once again I’ve ranked one of my favorite shots of the week the lowest: I get a sense of fear from Cheandre here, her vulnerable body language makes it seem she’s been backed into a corner by the alien and she’s nervous about what it’s going to do next. In spite of this it completely falls flat as a fashion shot because she’s not really bringing any sense of modelling with her pose (her legs look good but her arms and torso just look so static) and the clothes are completely blocked by the ponytail. Cheandre screwed herself over this week by anticipating a “too sexy” critique because she stripped back her sexuality but didn’t really put in anything to replace it so the result is a bland shot.

Although Cheandre’s portfolio had been mediocre the past few weeks she was still a legitimate contender for the finale (I might have still advanced her because I don’t hate the photo and she was probably a stronger model than Roselyn and Michaela) but given her weak performance on set and declining portfolio I can accept her elimination. She was a fun narrator for the season though so I was sad to see her go.

[topmodelthoughts]

5. Cheandre (Actual Callout: 3rd)

Cheandre and Joyce (the photographer) really connected on set and she had some of the most adventurous poses of the day, which is why it’s so surprising that she such a bland photograph. She looks like a business mom who took her son on a work trip with her and is telling him to wait outside. She’s just standing there with one hand on her partner and the other hand (awkwardly) holding the product, and while she’s trying to look fierce the wig isn’t letting it happen. Unfortunately I don’t think that she has the right build for this kind of styling either and she looks really short next to her partner, which is a shame because I can tell she’s trying to elongate herself.

The only thing elevating her above Michelle is that I can see the card better, but I think I would have sent Cheandre home for this. Her photos had been declining in recent weeks and I’m still not sold on her look, but I get why they saved her thanks to her strong on set performance.

[topmodelthoughts]

7. Cheandre (Actual Callout: 5th)

This photo is... cute? I guess? I almost bumped her above the bottom spot because at least she’s giving something but I just couldn’t justify it. She’s having fun and giving a lot of energy, and the backbend pose is at least visually interesting, but she lost her modelling completely. However since this is a commercial challenge I’m willing to be a bit lenient on her because the cheesy, head thrown back laugh that she’s doing is an advertising staple. Losing the phone is unforgivable though and I can’t get over how she looks like she’s pegging the goat.

Personally I would have sent Cheandre home for this, but since she clearly had better shots from the shoot (I would have loved if they’d picked this) I can’t be mad at her escaping the bottom two.

[topmodelthoughts]

5. Cheandre (Actual Callout: Bottom 2)

Cheandre was screwed in a couple of ways this week: the headpiece she got looked made her look ridiculous, and then they almost completely cropped it out of the photo anyways. It resulted in a very confusing bottom two placement wherein the judges all acknowledged that the problems with this shot weren’t Cheandre’s fault and literally said during deliberation “I don’t want her to go home for something the photographer did,” but then pit her against Rhulani regardless.

You’ll notice that in spite of this I’ve placed her above three girls and it’s because this is actually my favorite photo in her portfolio. The attitude that she’s serving makes for a really fun photo, I love the “come hither” look in her eyes and it almost seems like she’s toying with the headpiece. Her photo has a completely different energy than the rest of the shots but I still think it works as a tourism ad, I wanna fly to South Africa so I can gossip with her.

I can’t say her performance on set was inspiring either because she seemed to be doing a lot of overposing but she turned out a great shot in the end. Still, cracks were beginning to show in Cheandre’s armor.