André Neres goes Vertigo with the Profoto B10 Plus By João Carlos

When you’re given the opportunity to photograph a world-class athlete who is also Portugal’s national climbing champion you don’t hesitate.

One of the things I love the most about photography is that it has given me the opportunity to meet some extraordinary people. I’m excited to share my latest series of Portraits of the awesome André Neres.

In this picture I used the Profoto B10 plus, we added an OCF blue color gel on a B10 head. simple two light set up

Climber André Neres recently revalidated the national title of boulder, one of the variants of climbing that will be represented at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
André Neres, recently added his 17th national title (between difficulty and boulder).

VIDEO

Testing the new Profoto B10 Plus

Profoto has announced the new B10 Plus strobe, doubling the power of the B10 from 250Ws to 500Ws. It’s a little longer than the B10, coming in at 9.3″ long vs 7″, but offers 10 stops of range, up to 1/50,000 sec, t.05 flash duration in freeze mode, and up to 100 meters wireless triggering.

A couple of days ago I had a visit from the postman, I had a surprise package from Innovafoto who are the Profoto Iberian Representatives.

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to photograph and really test the new Profoto mini powerhouse.
The Profoto B10 plus is a big big light in a small package. The B10 is the shape and size of a large size lens, it fits into any regular size camera bag, it’s cordless, and lightweight, weighing in at 1.5kg. Also, it is compatible with all OCF accessories.

Although the B10 plus is small and compact, it really packs a punch, the B10 plus has the power of ten speed Lights, so they say, its twice the power of the B10, which should be enough to overcome almost any working conditions.

In this behind the scenes, you can see the B10plus work seamlessly with an older Profoto B10 . Photo Credit: <em>Martin e</em>. — In this behind the scenes, you can see a three light set up, the B10 Plus works seamlessly with an older Profoto B10 and A1. Photo Credit: *Martim Vidigal below The final Image.*

In this image I wanted Andre Neres to look like he was almost floating in space. I would say that’s mission accomplished.

In this picture along the Profoto B10 Plus , we added a red color gel on a B10 head. — In this picture I used the ***Profoto B10 plus***, we added an OCF red color gel on a B10 head. simple two light set up

Here I use B10 Plus as my main light in conjunction with an OCF Magnum Reflector,on a boom arm so my assistant can follow the action, The OCF Magnum is dedicated to the flat fronted lights and if you’re shooting on location it’s a great option to the standard Magnum Reflector. It offers lots of punch and also a significant zoom range without taking up more space than a Profoto Zoom Reflector.

Searching for the perfect location

Because of timings and schedule, I wasn’t able to photograph Andre Neres on location on a cliff side, or dangling for his life on a mountainside, I was able to find through one of my friends the contact of this awesome space called VERTIGO climbing, I found the perfect space, it had all the makings of the perfect location for our shoot, a modern slick climbing facility with a cool hipster vibe, and the smell of sweat in the air. I have to give a Bigs thanks to the Team at Vertigo Climbing for letting me and my team shoot there.

The Scream . — It usually goes something like this, we take a couple of shots, my subjects begin to sweat and I can see that there are a little nervous or anxious, I say look into the camera and scream, they look at me and say what? I usually exemplify and give out a roar, they usually smile or laugh, I take a SERIES of images, my subjects things it’s all about the scream, it’ not, the scream is always great but that moment after is always amazing.

I started the session with a simple one light set up, I used the Profoto B10 Plus and an Umbrella Deep Silver L with an Umbrella Diffuser, this helped create a beautiful soft light with fast and minimal setup time.

Andre Neres in a one light portrait with the Profoto B10 Plus silver Umbrella — Andre Neres has a great smile so I tried to keep him relaxed and capture that smile, here I continue with a one light portrait with Profoto B10 Plus and an Umbrella Deep Silver L with an Umbrella Diffuser.

Andre Neres in a one light portrait with Profoto B10 Plus and an Umbrella Deep Silver L with an Umbrella Diffuser. — Andre Neres in a one light horizontal portrait with Profoto B10 Plus and an Umbrella Deep Silver L with an Umbrella Diffuser.

Detail of Andre Neres hands and magnesium in a one light portrait with the Profoto B10 Plus silver Umbrella and silver reflector .

I repositioned the Profoto B10 Plus and an Umbrella Deep Silver L with an Umbrella Diffuser, for some close-ups of Andre’s hands. Climbers always have incredible weathered and interesting hands, Andre’s were awesome. This helped create a beautiful soft light with fast and minimal setup time while

This was my lighting for the portraits and close-ups. On some, I had the light on the right on others on the left.

Stretching Andre Neres in a one light portrait with the Profoto B10 Plus silver Umbrella — Stretching Andre Neres in a one light portrait with Profoto B10 Plus and an Umbrella Deep Silver L with an Umbrella Diffuser taken with FujiFilm GFX 50s and 120mm f/4 lens.

This was my first shot of the day on the Wall , single Profoto B10 Plus and OCF Magnum Reflector — This was my first shot of the day on the Wall, single Profoto B10 Plus and OCF Magnum Reflector

The B10 Plus and the rest of the family

I only had access to one pre-production B10 Plus, so this was the perfect opportunity to test it along with my classic Profoto B10 ( yep the B10 is already a classic) and my A1 on and off camera flash. I also use the Profoto air remote for Fuji to be able to have HSS and TTL control. I’m taking stills using my Fuji film GFX 50 S with 32-64 f4 Fujinon Lens.

The A1 round head delivers light that’s both natural and beautiful with a soft smooth fall-off. It’s incredibly easy to use, with superfast recycling and a long-lasting battery, so you’ll never miss a shot. I really love the versatility of the A1 and its super small size made it perfect for hiding when I want to get more creative in camera images.

The same lighting set up as the previous photo, just here we are capturing Killer Kelly's lighting fast kick — I use Profoto B10 Plus as my main light in conjunction with an OCF Magnum Reflector, on a boom arm so my assistant can follow the action. I also use a second B1o plus with red Gel from the creative kit I also used OCF Color Gel Starter Kit, it includes the ten most popular gels plus the actual OCF grid and gel holder and two gel attachment pieces, allowing you to switch gels fast and easy. ( not quite )

BTS of the two pictures above. Here you can see the placement of the lights — I use Profoto B10 Plus as my main light in conjunction with an OCF Magnum Reflector, on a boom arm so my assistant can follow the action. I also use a second B1o plus with and without red Gel from the creative kit I also used OCF Color Gel creative kit .

I use Profoto B10 Plus as my main light in conjunction with an OCF Magnum Reflector, on a boom arm so my assistant can follow the action. I also use a second B1o plus with and without red Gel from the creative kit I also used OCF Color Gel creative kit. The image above without Gel, Image below with Gel.

I also use a B1o with red Gel from the creative kit, as you can see I have it maxed out to 10, this is common for me because I regularly shoot with medium format cameras.

I use Profoto B10 Plus as my main light bare bulb, I am hiding an A1 in the corner. It was still to much light, so I decided to use OCF snoot. — Here I use Profoto B10 Plus as my main light bare bulb image below, I am hiding an A1 in the corner. It was still too much light, so I decided to use OCF snoot as seen in the image above.

Killer Kelly in the ring with the Profoto B10 — I use Profoto B10 Plus as my main light bare bulb, I am hiding a B10 in the corner. It was still to much light, so I decided to use OCF snoot as seen in the image above.

Sometimes you have to change up your angle to get the shot. I am upon a ladder holding my GFX 50S with one hand and the B10 Plus with my other hand.

Continuous light for Video

The B10 is more than just a flash that I use to create dramatic stills with. It’s also a continues light, that can be used to light both stills and video. It’s flicker-free and dimmable. Adjustable color temperature makes it easier to blend with ambient light. With all this said the B10 at first look is perfect for the modern filmmaker like me, who shoots both videos and stills.

For those of you who want to know more about Profoto B10 plus’s tech specs here is some info:

Specifications:

Maximum power: 500 Ws
Power control: 10 stops
Flash duration t.5: 1/50,000 to 1/1300 sec
Recycle time: 0.05 to 2.5 sec
Colour temperature: 5600K
Flash-ready indicator: Audio
Reflector: 3.9″ / 9.91 cm fixed
Modeling light: LED
Modeling light color temperature: 5600K
Wireless frequency bands: 2.4 GHz
Wireless range: 100.6 m (330′)
Interface: USB Type-C
Battery: 14.4v lithium ion
Capacity: 3000mAh
Flashes per charge: 200 (full power)
Recharge time: 1.5 hours
Dimensions: 9.9 x 23.6cm (3.9 x 9.3″)
Weight: 1.91kg (4.2lb)

Overall, it looks very similar to the B10, just a little longer. So, you might say it’s about the size of my GFX 120 mm lens with the lens hood on, the B10 is the same size of the lens without the lens hood.

The Profoto B10 Plus Kit, It is very similar to the B10 one.

B10 Plus is just a bit longer than the B10 it utilizes the same battery as the B10.

Gear List

Fujifilm GFX 50S with grip;
FUJINON LENS GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR;
Profoto B10, B10Plus, and A1;
Profoto OCF snoot and OCF color gels;
Profoto Deep Umbrella L + Diffuser.

Magnum Reflector
AirRemote TTL for Fujifilm;
BlackRapid Cross shot;
Sandisk SD Cards;
Lightstands;
ThinkTank Naked Shapeshifter 17 V2.0.
3Legged Thing Monopod

Credits

Big thanks to Pedro Davim for the behind the scenes video and my assistant Petko and my friend and talented photographer Martim Vidigal for help on the shoot day and some of the behind the scenes stills in the post.

for more info about Climbing VERTIGO CLIMBING CENTER

https://vertigoroco.wixsite.com/vertigo

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