The portrait I submitted scored a bronze with distinction merit. I am really happy with this score as it signifies that world class judges feel that it meets high professional standards. 

I think this image scored well because it has a simple elegance in both the styling and in the makeup application. It could have been a more dramatic image with a more dramatic makeup application, but simplicity is beautiful in its own right.  I kept the retouching soft and natural to best match the overall elegance. I also kept the lighting soft and without dramatic highlights or shadows so it would blend with the styling.

I made sure that I had enough light to show separation between the black dress and the dark background and to ensure that you could see form. Without enough light or separation, her dress would have blended into the background and she would have looked like a floating head with arms. That would not have been the simple elegance we were going for!