I wouldn’t have batted an eye if Michaela was chosen as the winner in the end, the girl was one heck of a model for being only 16 years old. She had the most stunning eyes, and while her face was more commercially inclined she was able to adapt to high fashion as well. What makes her a worthy winner choice for me is that she was probably the most well-rounded model in the cast and wasn’t weak in any major area. Her walk was quite strong; she was great in every runway teach/challenge and owned the finale fashion show. She was excellent at delivering commercials and it was really awesome how quickly she nailed the CoverGirl take in the final episode. Booking 6 out of 10 jobs in the go-sees challenge was impressive as well. In addition to all of that Michaela had an outstanding portfolio. Her book was definitely a couple steps behind Danielle’s (and about equal to Elza’s) but she was undeniably one of the best photo models of the cycle. She landed in my top 3 call-outs more often than not, and other than her Ford Action shot she never produced a truly bad picture. Her Tribal shot was sensational, and I adored her Hollywood, Fairy, Overdramatic, Elephant shots as well. My only real issue was that she tended to give a similar soft/somber expression in most of her photos, but it worked most of the time so it’s a very minor complaint. I agreed with Michaela finishing as the runner-up, but it’s very easy to come up with an argument in favor of her winning since she was a complete package who excelled in all areas of the competition!
