Three Photographers Go Head-to-Head in Capturing ‘Intimacy’ with Strangers in 20 Minutes

Every year at the Gulf Photo Plus photography festival in Dubai, attendees are treated to a special event called the GPP ShootOut. Called the “most exciting hour in the photography world” by David Hobby, the event pits famous photographers head-to-head in creating the best photo they can on the spot. It’s a freestyle battle for imaging.

You can watch this year’s GPP ShootOut 2015 in the 18-minute video above, which shows photographers Sara Lando, Ryan Brenizer and Joel Grimes battling each other with their eyes, minds, and camera gear.

This year’s challenge: the photographers were asked to find two complete strangers in the audience and shoot a photograph with the theme “intimacy” without any touching or nudity. They were also given just 20 minutes to plan, shoot, edit, retouch, and present their results — all while giving their running commentary along the way to share their thought process.

You can watch ShootOut events from previous Gulf Photo Plus festivals here.