Top Model's British Invasion's photo shoots proved to not come very naturally for American model Candace Smith.

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Candace, a 5' 9" 22-year-old from Brooklyn, NY, became the fourth girl eliminated from America's Next Top Model: British Invasion during Wednesday night's broadcast on The CW.

"I'm hurt walking away. It's nothing to be joyful about -- leaving a competition that you wanted for four years. There's other girls in the house that doesn't even want to be here. But at the same time, being in this competition was a dream come true," Candace said following her ouster from the reality franchise's eighteenth edition in which seven amateur American hopefuls battle seven all-stars and former Britain's Next Top Model contestants for the grand prize.

"I would have loved to go further. I feel like I should have been given more of a chance to prove myself and not just be kicked off at such an early stage, but I'm a strong individual, so I'm going to work past this."

Candace, one of six remaining American contestants, was eliminated from the fourth episode of America's Next Top Model: British Invasion after Top Model's judges reviewed the photos the season's remaining 11 finalists had taken at their fourth photo shoot challenge, which required them to model extravagant British hats in classic American cars featuring bright paint and "tricked out hydraulics."

Candace ended up in the bottom two alongside fellow American contestant Seymone, a 5' 11" 19-year-old from Augusta, GA.

Candace and Seymone both failed to impress Top Model photo shoot director Jay Manuel and fashion photographer and judge Nigel Barker, who photographed the girls.

"Laugh. Interact with your driver. Have fun!" Jay told Seymone.

"What are you going to do?" Nigel asked her.

"Something, I'm not exactly sure," Seymone replied.

Nigel then pulled Seymone out of her photo shoot to talk to her alone off to the side because he was frustrated with her performance.

"Seymone came to the set and Seymone was so removed from the moment [that] trying to shoot her, I felt completely disjointed. I, myself, got lost almost," Nigel explained.

He then told Seymone to come to the set with a game plan, because it was costing them money and time and he had other models to shoot.

Afterward, Nigel shot Candace and believed she didn't have smooth transitions between shots.

"I'm the sort of photographer who kind of likes to move on. 'Okay, I get it. Okay, what's next?' You didn't give me a lot of 'What's next?'" Nigel told her.

The next day, the girls arrived for the eighteenth season's fourth elimination panel where they were met by Top Model judges Tyra Banks, Nigel, and Kelly Cutrone, as well as guest judge Miss J. Alexander.

The judges first criticized Seymone's photo during panel critiques.

"It was frustrating to kind of shoot you, because I didn't feel like you were committing and I almost got a little upset at one point," Nigel told Seymone.

"This picture to me looks like you are the wife of the head of the Rose Bowl and you are on the parade," Tyra said. "It's so crazy, because Seymone, your body looks insane right now. It's like this amazing thing but you're not doing anything with it."

"This is just -- I'm not a fan of mediocrity," Kelly added. "I mean, it's just not fierce enough for me."

Candace's photo was then quickly reviewed.
 
"I was kind of disappointed, I've got to say, because you really didn't communicate with anybody around you. And your face is the same in shot after shot no matter what," Nigel told her.

"I almost wish we would have given you AzMarie's [short] hair so that you wouldn't have anything to hide behind," Tyra said.

Once the girls left the room, the judges deliberated on who deserved to stay in the competition and who should be eliminated. Miss J. wondered whether Seymone was comfortable in her own skin, while Kelly said she had yet to see Seymone look like a model. Kelly also explained that Candace's picture made her cry in a negative way, and Nigel said there was nothing exotic about Candace's posing or personality even though her face looked that way.

Earlier in the episode, the models were challenged to each become a brand spokesperson and develop their own television commercial based upon a product they were required to sell. The models were ultimately judged by normal everyday consumers in a focus group who discussed the girls' personalities and presenting skills. Annaliese won the challenge and received a few diamond bracelets as her prize.

After the judges had time to deliberate, Tyra revealed the girls in order of the best photo to the worst of the week. AzMarie, a 5'9 3/4" 24-year-old from Milwaukee, WI, received the first call-out.

Following AzMarie, Tyra then revealed Laura, Kyle, Catherine, Annaliese, Eboni, Alisha, Ashley, and Sophie -- leaving Seymone and Candace in the bottom two.

Seymone, Kyle, Laura, Candace, AzMarie, and Eboni were the American girls, while the rest were the British models.

Tyra then recapped both girls' issues before revealing which one would get to remain in the competition

"Seymone, you stand before me a vision of loveliness. It's very difficult to find a plus-size model, or a fiercely-real model, that has proportions like yours. But when you take what you have in person and put it in a photo, it doesn't represent the beauty that we see in person. How does something so lovely turn into mediocrity -- turn into someone who looks like they're the wife of the mayor at the parade?" Tyra told her.

"Candace, this lovely creature. She can be from Hawaii, she can be from L.A., she can be from Zimbabwe -- exotica. But what the judges are seeing in your pictures from week to week is just like Seymone, mediocrity," Tyra explained.

Tyra then revealed Seymone's photo and gave her the benefit of the doubt that she probably didn't know what she was doing and needed more time to grow and learn as a model, resulting in Candace's elimination.

"I know that you want this, because I know that you tried out a lot -- a lot, a lot, a lot. But do you get scared when the camera's up? What is that thing that we're seeing? Tyra asked Candace.

"It's just me thinking and overanalyzing," Candace said.

"That's not who you are. You are a queen... you need to own that and be very strong and queen-like," Tyra told her.

"At the same time, I think it's unfair because you have people [like Kyle] in the house that was on the verge of packing and leaving. She won't hesitate to leave when you have someone that..." Candace started to explain.

"I don't even know who that is," Tyra interjected. "So people do have that, when they want to go home... I too had that weak moment but had people who were strong in my life to keep me going. At the photo shoot, and once that picture comes out, that's what you're getting judged on."


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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