Who Shot It Better? Simon Emmett vs. Mert & Marcus: Adele

British neo-soul singer, Adele, cleaned up at the Grammy’s! Not only that, it was her big comeback performance after having throat surgery, so all ears were on her, and she knocked it out of the park while taking home six Grammys.

Bad assess get published on magazine covers, and in this addition of “Who Shot It Better” we have the duo of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott with the March 2012 issue of Vogue and Simon Emmett with the April 2011 cover of Rolling Stone. Let’s take a gander.

When I first saw her on the Grammy’s with that blonde hair, the word that came to mind was “glamour,” but isn’t this Vogue! The stylist in this shot gets some props — lovely dress with an enticing, but not obscene amount of cleavage. The hair is beautiful, aided by some nice light. My main issue with stars on magazine covers is that you simply can’t get a sense of how much retouching is going on — Adele is only 23, so if you tell me her skin is very nice, I will believe you — but I’d love to see what the lighting looks like straight out of the camera. But even assuming the heavy hand of Photoshop, this is a lovely, seductive image.

Emmett’s image is also very nice. She’s less made up, hair’s a little messier, and the skin is more natural. The light isn’t as directional, and boy, does she have a pretty face. Some trolls have commented that her (double) chin was taken out of this photo. I believe it, but it doesn’t really diminish the photo for me. The pose is alluring, and I think I like the almost teen-age quality.

Verdict: I’ll tell ya. I liked glamour Adele at the Grammy’s because it was like a coming-out party of sorts, but I gotta go with the more natural approach of Simon Emmett. The lighting is more frontal, but it’s still nicely sculpted.

What do you think?