Huawei’s and Dabboo Ratnani Collaborated For A Photography Battle Between 20 Contestants

The best way to communicate the USPs of your product is to simply demonstrate it. In a ‘hatke’ move compared to all other smartphone brands, who are talking about their features through unboxing videos and technical specs, which only a few understand, Huawei India chose an approach which was never seen before and was highly effective.

In a bid to create buzz around the new Huawei P20 Pro and its extremely fine/superior camera, the brand launched a month-long campaign in association with Dabboo Ratnani, and roped in 20 influencers for a challenge, called – the P20 Pro Battle League.

This battle was a photography challenge, where ace photographer Dabboo Ratnani chose different themes for each round, ranging from Macro – Black & White, Windows, Metal and Street. The contestants were given the brand new Huawei P20 Pro and were asked to use it to capture stunning images for the battle.  The most interesting part was that that apart from these 20 photographers, other users joined this battle on all the platforms (especially Instagram), using the campaign hashtag #P20ProBattleLeague.

For every theme, Dabboo Ratnani picked a ‘top photographer of the theme’;  and after the 4 themes, these final four (each from one theme) competed against each other for the ultimate winner’s crown. With the smartphone’s brand new technology, the contestants were able to capture powerful and provocative images. The brand finally announced @deckle_edge (on Instagram) as the final winner of the #P20ProBattleLeague. The winner has been gratified with an Amazon gift voucher worth INR 50,000.

Not only that, there’s more to come ahead (Dabboo Ratnani has given a teaser at the end of the announcement video on his social media accounts)

The final round, though, was slightly twisted and intriguing. It was more than just about photography. The brand celebrated/had drawn the idea of ‘Pro’ from the smartphone model – ‘Huawei P20 Pro’, and hence, the final 4 challengers were asked to submit a story along with a photograph that described their journey of ‘Being a Pro’ in the common passion that they pursue. Here, this was the winning story and the shot!

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Well, they say misadventures often lead to memorable experiences and in turn, create long-lasting impact. My experience with photography has been no different. It was yet another gloomy day in Calcutta and my mood was in sync with the forlorn weather. It was as if somebody was stitching the blueprint for a tenebrous conspiracy- if the beastly impact of an unanticipated disaster was appalling enough, the aftershock was as gruesome as ever. I had to find my way and ‘hike’ for almost 45 minutes in the rain. I set off from Mullick Ghat, crossed the Howrah Bridge and the jam-packed Howrah Railway Station to the mythical Ramkrishnapur Ghat- that’s where it all happened. It was on that very day that I accidentally dropped the wide angle lens of my DSLR into the Ganges while shooting. Deathly silence loomed. I didn't know how to react because buying another costly lens as a student wasn't remotely possible. In this period, I had no other option but to stretch myself and make the best use of limited resources at hand; all I had was my not-so-smartphone with a modest camera. It was a difficult ride as my images were not sharp enough nor was the focus on point. But in this process, I learned the concept of framing and composition. At the back of my mind, I knew that if I got a good foundation of these two aspects, I could take my passion to the next level. And I did. When I won my first ever National Level Corporate photography competition in 2015, I realized that excellence in this form is all about your passion, intent and dedication. From then on, I have never looked back. Platforms like the #P20ProBattleLeague have been instrumental in my growth as a photographer. Thanks to @huaweiindia and @dabbooratnani for giving me an opportunity to showcase my work. Absolutely loved the experience of using the Leica powered triple camera, especially the aperture mode. I haven't seen such depth, clarity and color rendering output in any smartphone device so far. The light painting mode, including the silky water functionality, is absolutely mind-blowing. I reckon this device will make mobile photography a stunning experience for the user. #SeeMooore #HuaweiP20Pro #kolkata

A post shared by Eskimo (@deckle_edge) on Jul 10, 2018 at 8:59am PDT

The contest provided an opportunity to young, talented photographers to redefine the meaning of visual expression while celebrating the power of mobile photography.  As a result, tremendous buzz was created among photography enthusiasts on social media platforms

Talking about his experience with the device and the #P20ProBattleLeague, Dabboo Ratnani said, “I was amazed by the creative expressions that I witnessed as part of the contest. The whole concept of empowering imagination with technology was extremely interesting to begin with. The Huawei P20 Pro is the best Android device for photography aficionados, thanks to its variable 0.95 aperture, monochrome mode and zoom stabilization. The fact that no software tweaking of the final image is required is especially outstanding.”

Often referred to as ‘a DSLR in pocket’ because of the Leica-engineered triple camera setup on rear, the Huawei P20 Pro is surely winning the smartphone photography game and is being widely acclaimed by photography enthusiasts already. The phone offers varied shooting modes, including the ‘Pro’ mode amongst other features to control photography output. The Huawei P20 Pro definitely has its edge over other premium players and now dominates a new era in the smartphone photography space! -up