As soon as Daniel returned to his office, he placed Akshata's evaluation folder on his desk.
A few minutes later, he walked into the weekly New Faces review meeting.
Around the conference table sat several members of the scouting and development team. A large monitor displayed photographs of aspiring models who had been evaluated over the past few days.
One by one, the candidates were discussed.
Some had excellent runway walks but lacked confidence during interviews.
Some had strong portfolios but needed more experience.
When it was Akshata's turn, Daniel connected his camera and her digital photographs appeared on the screen.
The room became quiet.
One of the senior bookers leaned forward.
"No makeup?"
Daniel nodded.
"None. Just natural light and basic digitals."
Another director flipped through the images.
"Interesting symmetry."
A third member added,
"She's obviously new."
Daniel smiled.
"Very new."
One of the women looked at him.
"Then why are you recommending her?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he placed his notebook on the table.
"I've worked with enough new faces to know that experience can be taught."
"What I'm looking for is potential."
He continued,
"She learns quickly."
"She accepts feedback without becoming defensive."
"She doesn't pretend to know everything."
"And she became noticeably more relaxed within thirty minutes."
The photographer, who had also joined the meeting, agreed.
"I've photographed hundreds of first-time models."
"Most either freeze completely or overact."
"She did neither."
"Every correction we gave her, she applied immediately."
He changed to another photograph.
"This smile wasn't directed."
"We got it while she was talking about her younger brother."
The room smiled.
One of the senior directors observed,
"So her strongest expressions are genuine."
"Exactly," the photographer replied.
Another director looked at Daniel.
"Any concerns?"
Daniel answered honestly.
"She's inexperienced."
"She'll need training."
"She'll need confidence-building."
"And she'll need time."
"But I don't see those as weaknesses."
"I see them as an investment."
The senior director folded his hands.
"What about her family?"
Daniel's expression brightened.
"That's one of the reasons I brought this file forward."
"They're exceptionally supportive."
"The father wasn't interested in money."
"He wasn't trying to negotiate."
"He asked thoughtful questions about the process and wanted to ensure his daughter understood every step."
The photographer nodded.
"I noticed that too."
"Families like that make a huge difference."
The room fell silent for a moment as everyone reviewed the photographs again.
Finally, the senior director closed the folder.
"I don't think we should rush."
Daniel nodded.
"I agree."
The director continued,
"Let's invite her for a second evaluation before they leave New York."
"We'll have another team meet her, assess consistency, and see how she performs after receiving today's feedback."
Daniel smiled.
"I'll contact them this evening."
As the meeting moved on to the next candidate, Daniel gathered Akshata's file.
He looked at the cover for a brief moment.
"She's still at the beginning," he thought.
"But sometimes, the best careers start with someone who is willing to learn rather than someone who thinks they already know everything."
He placed the folder in the Second Evaluation tray and walked back to his office, already planning the next session.
Later that afternoon, Daniel was in his office completing his evaluation notes when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The senior director entered carrying Akshata's evaluation folder.
"Finished your report?"
Daniel nodded.
"Almost."
The director sat opposite him and opened the folder again. The digital photographs appeared on the monitor as they reviewed them one by one.
After a few moments, the director paused on one image.
"Daniel... go back to the previous photograph."
Daniel clicked back.
The director leaned closer to the screen.
"Now the next one."
Daniel changed the image.
"Hmm..."
"What is it?" Daniel asked.
The director pointed toward Akshata's eyes.
"Notice this? In several photographs she's touching or blinking around her eyes."
Daniel looked carefully.
"I noticed that during the shoot as well. I assumed she was just nervous."
"Possibly," the director replied. "But there's another possibility."
He zoomed in on one of the images.
"She could be wearing contact lenses."
Daniel nodded thoughtfully.
"If that's the case..."
"...then these photographs aren't suitable as official natural digitals."
The director agreed.
"For our records, we prefer completely natural digitals. If a model wears cosmetic contact lenses that noticeably alter the appearance of the eyes, we usually ask for another set of photographs without them."
Daniel thought for a moment.
"I don't think she mentioned wearing lenses."
"Neither did I ask," the director replied. "We shouldn't assume. It could simply be dry eyes from travel or nervousness."
Daniel smiled.
"Then I'll call Mr. Nagaraju and clarify."
"If she isn't wearing cosmetic lenses, today's photographs are perfectly acceptable."
"And if she is?"
The director closed the folder.
"Then we'll simply invite her back for another short session."
"No problem."
"It happens more often than people think."
Daniel laughed.
"I'm glad we noticed it now rather than after the file was finalized."
The director stood up.
"When you call them, don't make it sound like they've done something wrong."
"Just explain that we want to confirm whether she's wearing contact lenses. If she is, we'll happily retake a few natural photographs."
Daniel nodded.
"Understood."
After the director left, Daniel picked up the telephone.
He looked once more at Akshata's file before dialing the hotel number.
He smiled to himself.
"Let's clear this up first," he thought.
"If everything is natural, the evaluation moves forward. If not, we'll simply photograph her again. Either way, this is only another step in the process."
That evening, Daniel called the hotel.
Nagaraju answered.
"Hello, this is Nagaraju speaking."
"Good evening, Mr. Nagaraju. This is Daniel from IMG."
"Good evening, Daniel. Is everything alright?"
"Yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to clarify one small detail from today's evaluation."
"Certainly."
"Our review team noticed that Akshata touched around her eyes several times during the photoshoot. We were wondering whether she was wearing contact lenses."
Nagaraju looked towards Akshata, who was sitting nearby.
She nodded gently.
"Yes," Nagaraju replied. "She was wearing contact lenses."
Daniel smiled.
"I thought that might be the case. For our natural digitals, we photograph models without cosmetic lenses so we can accurately evaluate their natural features."
"So, if you're available tomorrow morning, we'd like to invite Akshata back for a short reshoot. It won't take long."
"Of course," Nagaraju replied. "We'll be there."
...
The next morning, the family returned to the IMG office.
Daniel greeted them with a smile.
"Good morning! Thank you for coming back."
"Our pleasure," Nagaraju replied.
As they walked toward the studio, Daniel looked at Akshata.
"You're still wearing the lenses."
She smiled shyly.
"Yes... I wear them almost every day."
Daniel nodded kindly.