Wandering through Profoto's archives I ran across this two minute video from March. Although I shared it once before as part of a post featuring Sal Cincotta working with the B2 system in China, it really deserves it's own moment in the spotlight.

As I watched it, I realized while many of you know about Profoto's new off-camera flash family, most of you aren't aware of the full depth of the system. For example, there are over 150 light-shaping tools to choose from.

At the launch of the B1 system last fall, commercial photographer Bobbi Lane referred to the system as a "game-changer" and the expression stuck. Within the Profoto Showcase there are now fifteen posts just about OCF and it's growing more and more every week.

Stay on top of the latest in lighting and some of the very best educational content in professional photography by following the Profoto Blog. If it's not on your radar you're missing some great stories and applications by some of the finest artists in the world.

When Sherry Hagerman founded Allusion Photography eleven years ago, she never anticipated the diversity of images and projects her skill set would bring into her life. Like many photographers, she simply wanted to be the best and embarked on a never-ending journey to learn everything she could about lighting, exposure, composition and posing.  She never compromises on the quality of her images, her promises or her relationships with her clients.

Her standards were set high when she started shooting with Profoto's B2 Off-Camera Flash System a few weeks ago. The subject was 15-year-old, Diana, preparing to celebrate her Quinceañera. 

For those of you unfamiliar with a Quinceañera, I pulled the formal definition from Wikipedia. 

The celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday in parts of Latin America and elsewhere in communities of people from Latin America. This birthday is celebrated differently from any other as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood.  

It's a very special event, not only for the girl, but her family and friends. Sherry's still working on many of the images from this shoot in Chicago, but we were talking about Profoto earlier in the week and she was ecstatic with the results. I asked her to send me a few images to share, but there's a side-bar story, in addition to the images themselves. 

Sherry makes any session fun. "Fun" is one of those special words we so often forget in business. In this case she got Diana's father involved, who she caught in this short, behind the scenes video. Sherry's an outstanding artist, but what made this shoot so special went beyond her skill set.

It's not just about your aptitude, but so often your attitude!

In another life, in what seems like a "galaxy far far away", I co-authored my first book with Don Blair, one of America's most amazing portrait artists.  I remember more than once hearing "Big Daddy" get excited over the change in lighting, just by having his assistant reposition the barn doors.  I can't help but wonder how excited he'd be today playing with all the new Profoto gear, especially the Off-Camera Flash Accessories.

The two images below are with and without the OCF Barndoor. It's a perfect example of another Profoto accessory designed to help you raise the bar on your images and bring more creativity and drama to your lighting technique.
The OCF Barndoor is only one of many new accessories, all described in terrific detail with before and after images for each one.

People have talked about the B1 and B2 Off-Camera Flash Systems as "game changers". Truthfully, it's Profoto that's the game changer and well worth a trip to their site to check out all of the new accessories. 

Each Profoto Off-Camera Flash System video, even though they feature a different artist, has two common denominators - the passion of the photographers themselves and the educational content packed into just a couple of minutes.  I really enjoyed this short video from Ben and Erin Chrisman, because they're in a tough shooting situation at night in the streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.


Ben and Erin do a lot of destination shooting and the B2 System couldn't be more ideal for the challenges they face. I loved Ben's comment:
          
      ..."With the B2 we're able to get studio lighting in any location."


Ben and Erin need to be on your radar. You can see more of their work on their website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  I pulled a couple of images from their galleries, but check out more of their images. They have some stunning work.

I've loved all of of the Profoto Off-Camera Flash System videos, because each one has stressed a slightly different point from the artist's perspective. This video from Ryan Brenizer hits hard on the versatility of the B2 as he turns it into two different lights, all while capturing a variety of images in just a few minutes.

Ryan also does a terrific job of taking you through his thought process on the images, from shooting in a tunnel in the park to outside in bright harsh sunlight. If you've watched a few of these Profoto videos, they've done an outstanding job of including helpful content to raise the bar on the quality of your images and all in just minutes.

Just a little more on the back story to this shoot...

"In a bid to see how quickly he could capture a bold portrait of his models on an unseasonably cold afternoon in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, Ryan and Tatiana Breslow, his soon-to-be-bride & business partner (and a terrific wedding photographer in her own right) coupled one of Profoto’s new OCF Light Shaping Tools – an OCF Softbox 2×3′ onto a B2 Head."

Ryan needs to be on your radar. You can see more of his work on Ryan's website and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.