Photo Face-Off continues with an exciting second episode that takes place in the fascinating city of Penang, which retains many traditions and the flavor of an old town.

Once again, resident pro Justin Mott competed against Malaysian amateur photographers, Desmond Teoh Chong Zen (24), Azril Azam (39), and Ignitius Kong Hai Yuen (31).

The competition started with a Speed Challenge; competitors had to take a rickshaw ride and capture Penang’s famous street art paintings. The theme of the challenge was “The Fun Side Of Penang” and they were given a rubber duck to be included in the photos.

I love Penang’s street art, and to include a rubber duck in the photos was, in my opinion, quite silly, and I didn’t see how it added to the theme. For the most part, it proved to be a tedious and random prop to include in a photo, not adding anything to the process. Although the art could have created a great picture and gave the photographers a great opportunity to be creative, none of the photos were really that great, which was sad to see in such a great environment. I suppose, however, that this is the one thing about competitive TV shows — their need to place entertainment above quality, and unfortunately in this challenge, it showed.

The second challenge in Bridal Photography was my favorite, probably because I myself am a portrait photographer, specializing in women photography and appreciate the human touch of the field.  Contestants had to photograph a real-life couple in the Peranakan Mansion, one of Penang’s cultural treasures.

This immense Mansion is a typical 19^th century Baba/Nyonya house and displays over 1,000 stunning antique and collectible pieces. Peranakan Mansion is open to the public and creates an immersive setting to learn about the Peranakan culture in a very interactive way.

From a photographic point of view, this challenge introduced two difficulties: first, competitors had to deal with the tourists visiting the Mansion; and second, it is very poorly lit and would require additional lighting for a photo shoot. They were provided with a flash and a CANON 6D, which fortunately has a good performance in low light situations.

As the challenge started, you could see Justin Mott running around trying to find a properly lit area of the mansion, and judging by his picture he obviously couldn’t find one. The photo he presented was an outdoor shot, the couple is standing in the balcony and you can see some details of the balustrade in front of them and some gold details in the back.  The background is mainly black, so he used the bride’s veil to create a cocoon, which nicely separated the couple from the background. The expression and pose of the couple is very relaxed and intimate, making the shot look almost candid.

Ignitius’ shot was next; it was taken from the balcony. Personally, I like the photo; the couple looks relaxed and the bride’s expression is very calm, which again gives the photo a candid feel. The perspective showcases the dress and the veil very well, which add to the romance of the photo. The one problem with this photo is that he did not utilize his surroundings to any real effect, as it could have been taken anywhere.

The most experimental of the bunch was Azril whose concept was good, but it did run into some compositional problems. The best part of the photo is the staircase railing that leads to the couple, but the frame of the window behind them and some other random elements interfere in its path, countering the initial flow of the eye towards the couple. It is also a very harshly back-lit photo, which could work for shots focused on silhouette but  didn’t do much for the picture in this occasion. It would probably have been better if the couple would have been positioned either with the wall as background, or framed within the window, where the light would have worked in their favor.

Finally, we saw Desmond’s work. He was quite uncomfortable during the shoot and struggled to give directions to the couple, being the only photographer not to establish any rapport with them. His saving grace was the background in his final photo, it is the one that best captures the magnificent location of the shoot. That being said, the photo is not well executed, the couple’s pose is awkward and very stiff. The positioning of her foot and the dress tail are out of sync, making the photo look orchestrated and superficial. This is a deal breaker; wedding photography should give a couple a chance to encapsulate their love in pictures forever, and a photo that’s awkward defeats the purpose of capturing such an intimate moment in their life.

As usual, Justin came out on top of challenges 1 and 2, the second highest score was Azril’s — a verdict I thought was fair. After the two first challenges of the competition, Desmond was disqualified, and did not move on to the next round, leaving us with just two contestants.

The third and last challenge was one of Adventure Portraiture. They had to take photos of a climber amidst a waterfall, and as you’d expect, the photo had to be both fun and exciting. They were given a quick lesson in how to take these kinds of shots, including important tips — the most important of which were trying to capture the expression of the subject, being as close as possible to the action and focusing their efforts on freezing the movement of both the water and the climber.

Contestants were given a CANON Powershot D30, which is waterproof and has an image stabilizer — both features necessary for a good shot.  This was anybody’s game. It was chaotic. The contestants were screaming to communicate with the model while struggling to balance, and the challenge showed to be a test of their photography skills and physical ability! This challenge was won by Azryl, winning him a place in the grand finale and the honor of being the first to beat pro Justin Mott.

Written by Helga Herrera, edited by Anahi Saravia. Photos by History, Challenge Photos presented by contestants were shot directly from the TV screen.

Catch Photo Face-Off Episode 3 on Tuesday, October 6^th at 10pm on History.

 Visit Grafika Photography and Design page to find out more about Helga's work.