Hold on to your lenses, photography-lovers, the second episode of reality series The Perfect Picture just dropped!
This past Sunday, our favourite Mzansi celebs tackled yet another set of challenges for the chance of bagging the grand prize of R150 000 cash and R100 000 worth of Canon photographic equipment.
In the first episode, contestants got a taste of how their cameras worked and what it was like behind the lens. All eyes were on Christall Kay, who received the lowest score in the first episode, but was saved from elimination by the judges’ mercy.
Can she recover and wow the judges with her newfound skills, and will Ivan Roux continue to dominate the competition?
Let’s get into what took place during episode 2.
Challenge 1: Capture the moment of impact
The first challenge took our contestants to a fire station. Unfortunately, Lasizwe couldn’t participate with the rest of the group due to an emergency, but thankfully he didn’t miss out as a separate challenge area was constructed just for him. With great excitement and anticipation, our celebs lined up to hear what their next challenge would be.
Host Maps Maponyane had the contestants jump back in fright as pumpkins fell from the air. It was then announced that each contestant would have three chances to capture the exact moment that various fruit or vegetables exploded on the terrain below. Don’t worry, expired produce was used, so no fresh fruit was harmed in the making of this episode.
Joining the resident judges was renowned international photographer, actor, and author, Stevel Marc. Our guest judge introduced the new lens that the contests would be using: the RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM lens. He suggested they lock their auto-focus and shift to manual, then start shooting the moment the pumpkins were dropped to ensure they got the perfect picture.
First up to attempt the appropriately named ‘splatter and burst challenge’ was Anele Zondo, who was ecstatic with her action shot. After the rest of the contestants had a chance at the exploding produce, Ivan was crowned the winner for capturing the perfect shot based on composition and symmetry.
Unfortunately, Zahirah Marty scored the lowest for her over-exposed shot, meaning she would have to pull out all the stops in the next round.
Challenge 2: The perfect action-movie scene
Led into the woods, our contestants were set off screaming again as an explosion erupted right in-front of them! Once everyone regained their composure, it was announced that the contestants now had to produce a movie-poster-worthy picture of an action scene. Think explosions, stunts, and a whole lot of action!
The special effects team set up dust explosions, and a stuntperson jumped, rolled, and dove at the contestants’ demands. Split into two groups of five, one person from each group directed the setup while the others found different angles to get their perfect shot.
They rotated directors every 15 minutes until each person had a chance to shoot the stunt. The twist? Everyone had just one chance to get their shot! After the dust explosion goes off, there is no retaking the shot.
As the winner of the previous challenge, Ivan had the upper hand – he got to go last, giving him the chance to learn from his fellow contestants.
After many explosions (and many belly-flops from the stuntperson), resident judges Neo Ntsoma and Hilary O’Leary and guest judge Stevel Marc critiqued the celebs’ photographs. The winners on the day (and therefore the episode winners) were Gugu Khathi and Ivan for consistently producing impressive images across both challenges.
Unfortunately, Christall scored the lowest, with the judges pointing out that the stuntperson, background, and explosion came across as separate elements and not as a cohesive image. This time, she couldn’t avoid elimination and was the first to be sent home.
Next week promises to be even tougher with the competition heating up – literally. Expect fire, smoke, and burning buildings as our remaining contestants (Lasizwe, Gugu Khathi, Luyanda Mzazi, Zahirah Marty, Ivan Roux, Anele Zondo, Jonathan Boyton-Lee, Tshego Koke, and Nomvelo Makhanya) battle it out to take the perfect picture.
Don’t miss the next instalment; tune in every Sunday to eTV at 17h00 for a brand-new episode or catch repeat episodes on Saturdays at 17h30 on eReality.
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And if you missed the show’s first broadcast on eTV, watch the full episode on YouTube: youtube.com/@perfectpicturesouthafrica.