Eorzea's Next Top Model Cycle 4 - Round 1

1. Epsil Ion
2. Aeon Rakshasa
3. Tinsley Tr'uhart
4. Hopelle Losstoam
5. Katarh Mest
6. Brun Hilda
7. Sunny Day
8. Stephen Fairbrook
9. Kaya Solimar
10. Alexion Skylark
11. Arrelaine Fashonti
12. Nozomi Kei

1 - Tinsley Tr'uhart
What can I say about this shot! It's beautiful! The framing, the use of the effects the flowers the contrast balance. It's almost as if this was a picture of a fairy that had been captured by a photographer. Overall I love it!

2. Epsil Ion
Honestly, this one really stood out to me! I absolutely love it! You managed to use the effects to perfectly frame your model and really enhance his presence. Using the sun minion to make your features pop also helped immensly. The outfit was nicely chosen, and the pose fits the frame as well~ i.e. I think if you had done a crazy pose or something it might have just been....off. The only thing that irked me just a teeny bit was your head going off the frame. But I'm sure it was hard enough to get this shot.

3. Sunny Day
An excellent shot! Color was nicely balanced as well as lighting and pose. I love the hill shot as it frames the background nicely, and the windows lit up in the background give the background a nice pop that doesn't overshadow your model, but at the same time stands interesting. The lighting on your model is nice as it really helps him stand out as well. Overall a good strong shot.

4. Stephen Fairbrook
Amazing shot! Love the pose, the model placement, the background, the use of lighting! It would have been a perfect shot if it hadn't been for one teeny detail....I just wish you had given him a different facial expression...he just looks...bored :(

5. Alexion Skylark
Very nice screenshot! The balance of contrast is very nice, as well as the clean effects, which I know can be very hard to accomplish on the battlefield. Overall a very nice shot. A shame Van's head was cut a little, but I'm sure the shot was hard enough to get.

6. Brun Hilda
This is a beautiful shot! Love the outfit you chose and the position of your model! The contrast is very nice and you chose a befitting background that really helped you pop!

7. Kaya Solimar
This is an adorable shot! I love the expression of your miqo'te and the environment around her. She looks overwhelmed with work the poor thing. I only wish lighting, like lamps or the sun minion had been used to make the image pop a little more.

8. Nozomi Kei
This is a nice shot with great outfit choice mixed with interesting lighting and background. His features really pop but perhaps the lighting is a little too bright...it washes out your face a little. Overall though, I think this was a good shot with a nice color scheme.

9. Katarh Mest
This is a lovely shot with a lot of colors! You chose a nice outfit, and these scene itself tells a cute story of a miqo'te who was interrupted while enjoying a good book on such a nice day. The only thing that kind of puts me off with this picture is the background. Although colorful, I think one that focused more on your model and perhaps a less...erm....housy...bg would have made this picture higher on my list.

10. Hopelle Losstoam
This is one of those shots that is really very pretty too look at, but I feel like the model herself (though a very important part of this shot) just doesn't get enough focus. The first thing I notice with this shot are the windows and the lighting. And although it is really very beautiful, I just wish a shot with more emphasis on your model had been chosen.

11. Arrelaine Fashonti
You have a very beautiful miqo'te, but I have to agree that the white outfit with the white background hurts this particular shot. I think you should have tried a more colorful outfit to accent your beautiful skin and enhance your features, really making you stand out against the snow. But that's just my opinion.

12. Aeon Rakshasa
This screenshot has very nice lighting, but the overall shot, to me, feels just a bit too busy and there's not enough focus on your model. The outfit, however, was a good choice. And the pose is befitting the environment. But I think choosing such a busy background is what hurt it to me.


______

Hopefully my critique's don't come off as harsh. You guys, overall had very nice shots! lol As you can see, I'm a huge sucker for color, contrast, and framing.

I think this will be a good addition not only for contestants to get some feedback, but also for them to see what some of the more experienced contestants are capable of and hopefully push people into trying some new things!

Since this is just a trial round, I'm just going to give feedback to people on the list that would benefit most from it. Some of you are already da bomb. :D Hopefully everyone gets plenty of feedback from the real judges though.


1) Tinsley
2) Epsil
3) Hopelle
4) Brun
5) Katarh
6) Nozomi - I really love the interesting lighting in this shot and I love that you're slightly off center which shows you're able to vary the composition well. Just make sure you don't wash out your character too much. This shot does a great job of preserving most of your details, just a note for the future!
7) Kaya - I really like shots that have humor and a story, and yours has both! The expression + emote is great as well! I would suggest playing around with different angles and putting yourself in different thirds of the screenshot. Not because this shot needs it, just to play around with variation for the future.
8) Sunny - The background is cool, the outfit is interesting, the angle is cool and I like the bit of light you've given yourself! I think you've addressed a ton of elements for a good shot in just the first one, so don't don't feel off about my rank. The pose and expression is just a bit lacking. Don't forgot about that aspect as well.
9) Alexion - Bonus effort points for trying to take this picture during a trial, which is crazy difficult to do...well, always. I do like that I go from you up to you-know-who in the picture, but she steals the shot more-so than you do. I like it for the story, but I like it better when I feel like you're the star of your own shot. Just be cautious!
10) Stephen - I can tell you took the time to play with the angle and the lighting and both really do work well! I think what you can do is play around with the expression and work on not necessarily having your character stare right into the camera (at least just trying for the future), I think you'll make some more varied shots and lively. But still, it shows a lot of promise!
11) Arrelaine - I really enjoy the outfit coordination with the background. I'd look at the others' shots and get some ideas on how you can vary the angle and playing with different emotes/motions and expressions though to really give some life to the shot. By itself, it's definitely very pretty, but not very complex. Of course, it doesn't always have to be, just wanted to suggest things to play around with.
12) Aeon - I really really like the lighting. It's very interesting. The minion and pose just sort of work against whatever story you're trying to convey. If the quote wasn't there, I honestly wouldn't know anything about what was going on. In addition to trying some different screenshot aesthetics, definitely make sure you've got a cohesive story. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine!

Yay, look at the votes coming in~! :)

Great job everyone! This thread needs more votes ^.^

1. Brun Hilda
2. Stephen Fairbrook
3. Tinsley Tr'uhart
4. Hopelle Losstoam
5. Sunny Day
6. Epsil Ion
7. Nozomi Kei
8. Aeon Rakshasa
9. Kaya Solimar
10. Arrelaine Fashonti
11. Katarh Mest
12. Alexion Skylark

1. Epsil Ion
2. Tinsley Tr'uhart
3. Stephen Fairbrook
4. Arrelaine Fashonti
5. Katarh Mest
6. Alexion Skylark
7. Brun Hilda
8. Sunny Day
9. Aeon Rakshasa
10. Hopelle Losstoam
11. Kaya Solimer
12. Nozomi Kei

Ah I almost forgot to vote in this!

Strongest to weakest then, huh? OwO

Tinsley Tr'uhart // I love this effect, I love the blur it gives the flowers, I love the movement in your robe, just overall this shot is the most exciting and well framed. My only complaint about this shot would be that the hat doesn't seem to match with the rest of the outfit very well, but overall wow~ gorgeous~ (I'd love to know what move you used tbh)
Epsil Ion // Gorgeous effects, the wet look worked out so well for you. I like the pose, and the atmosphere, but I feel like it could have been framed a little better. Overall, stunning~
Hopelle Losstoam // Even with the back shot here, I'm completely in love with the atmosphere. It almost feels lonely. I think a different pose would have suited the emotions more, like a wistful glance over the shoulder, but I'm a sucker for a dramatic set up like this.
Aeon Rakshasa // Great personality and story for this. My only complaints would be your minions floating feet and a lack of energetic framing.
Brun Hilda // The colours are gorgeous. I debated a bit over where to put you in my list, but I kept going back to your shot and that's a good sign. It means it stuck with me! I feel like you could have done something a lot more interesting for a "free style" shot, but I'm really digging the lost look you've got going for you, wind blowing in your hair on a stormy shore... shivers!
Kaya Solimar // Great idea! Poor execution! The lighting really would have benefited from the portable sun minion, or (since this is in a house) a light placed nearby. I also feel like the colour of your outfit is a bit out of place, but that could just be me. Overall, it's unique and I love it! But it doesn't stand out due to poor lighting and blurry quality.
Katarh Mest // Another nicely framed shot, but it just seems a little bland. I'm getting a "sunday afternoon stroll" vibe, but it's just lacking a sense of excitement or draw. I'm not too sure what you could have done differently, to be honest, but it's just not doing it for me over the other ones.
Stephen Fairbrook // The shot itself is nice, but I'm not getting any sense of story or charm from it. Love your outfit coordination, though! I feel like, if you could have gotten a bit more of your personality shining through, it would have stuck out more to me.
Nozomi Kei // I'm always a sucker for a man in a well coordinated taffeta shawl! But this is another one I feel could have been something a lot more exciting for a free style shot. The blue is great, but I think you could have gone a long way by casting a spell for a nice particle effect to go along with all that glowing blue. A tri-disaster, or maybe summoning ifrit for that blue and orange contrast.
Sunny Day // I like your angle, and your framing, but I think looking away was a mistake. You blend into the background almost TOO well, and fail to stand out against the dark.
Alexion Skylark // As great of a spell as holy is, it's a bit unoriginal and I feel like Nael's position clutters up the shot. It almost would have been better, I think, if you caught it at the end of the cast (staff held high) with nael angled behind you a bit more (maybe even mid attack!). It really was the cluttered feel to the image that killed it for me, I'm sorry.
Arrelaine Fashonti // I can see you tried to match the red and white of the hat to the red and white of the background, but I think the cloudy skies and boring expression / posed killed it. Particularly, the exhale of breath. I'm sorry, the shot just felt like the weakest to me of the bunch. :(

D: I have to order them all? Grah! Impossible!

1 Hopelle Lossloam
2 Brun Hilda
3 Sunny Day
4 Nozomi Kei
5 Tinsley Tr'uhart
6 Aeon Rakshasa (I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable visiting an establishment that lets dragons wander about... Unless it's a tame dragon, that is! Is it? It looks gentle enough ♥)
7 Katarh Mest
8 Arrelaine Fashonti
9 Kaya Sollmar
10 Stephen Fairbrook
11 Alexion Skylark
12 Epsil Ion (I'm sorry! I just can't get past the Clark Kent look >.< It really bugs me, for some reason.)

(Well, okay, maybe not impossible since I just did it, but... I wish I had could have put more of you at around the 4-6 area D: )

Haha, it'll get easier as the field gets narrowed! I honestly thought this would be easier on people since so many complained about having to pick just X number of models each week. Perhaps I was wrong!