Profoto A1The world’s smallest studio light

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The only difference between the A1 and every other studio flash we traditionally make is size – it’s small enough to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand which makes the A1 our first true on-camera solution. It delivers a quality of light that’s both natural and beautiful, because like the bigger Profoto lights in the family, the A1 features a round head, that gives a soft, smooth fall off – that’s what makes the light feel so wonderfully natural.

Be more creative with light, more easilyThe A1 enables you to be so much more creative. Thanks to a smart magnetic mount built into the head, light shaping tools and modifiers can be clicked on and

off quickly and easily. Within seconds you’re working with the light, shaping it. With the A1, the technology gets out of the way. We made it easy and intuitive to use, straight out of the box, with a large uncluttered display that’s simple and quick to navigate. The less time setting up, means the more time spent shooting, being creative and getting the shot.

AirTTL means you can just point and shootAirTTL, also adds to the A1’s all-round ease- of use. Because not only does it give you the perfect exposure super-fast, but it also acts as an Air Remote trigger, providing seamless connectivity with other Profoto lights like a second A1, or the bigger Profoto B1X or B2 units.

Get natural and beautiful light, quickly and easily

Photographer© Sal Cincottawww.salcincotta.com

LocationChinatown, New York

You’ll be amazed just how easy and straightforward the A1 makes it to shoot on its own, or with multiple flashes. So, whether it’s on the move, on-camera or off – this is your first step to light shaping excellence everywhere.

Never miss a shotThe A1 might be our smallest and most portable flash yet, but it’s still built to the same impossibly high standards we’ve set ourselves over the last fifty or so years creating light shaping tools for some of the world’s best photographers. Talking to those photographers gave us a real understanding of what they need when they are in the thick of the action – so when

we designed the A1, we paid particular attention to battery life and recycling times. The A1 features a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery that lasts up to four times longer than the traditional AA batteries with no performance fade – so you can shoot with confidence. And the A1 punches significantly above its weight, recycling four times faster than most other on-camera solutions. All of which means, with the A1, you’ll always be ready to capture that perfect moment the second it presents itself. Making the A1 ideal for those situations when you need to move and shoot fast, and when you need flash on camera as well as off.

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Achieving that look is surprisingly simple. First add a warming gel, in this instancea half CTO Gel on to the head of the A1. The half CTO gel brings the warmth to the portrait in daylight conditions where the light might be a little cold and hard.

Use the diffuser for an even softer lookNext, add a Profoto Dome Diffuser. The light from the A1 is already natural and beautiful, but adding the Diffuser further smooths and softens the light ensuring beautiful skin tones. Thanks to the smart magnetic mount, clicking both tools on and off takes just a couple of seconds.

Shooting with the Profoto A1 on camera

That’s exactly how the image here was captured. A combination of the background being underexposed and the A1 lighting the subject from the front separating her from the background. Adding flash brings out all the wonderful details in her hair while providing a good level of contrast on her face and below her jawline. Flash also adds a pleasing catch-light in her eyes – bringing them to life. Combine that with the ease of use TTL brings, helping you achieve a perfect exposure every time, and you have all the ingredients of a truly fabulous beauty portrait.

Shooting a natural looking beauty portrait with warmth and depth is easy with the Profoto A1 on camera.

LocationDowntown, St. Louis

The gear1 x Profoto A11 x Dome Diffuser1 x Half CTO Gel

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The best spot for the A1Positioning the A1 high and close to the camera creates fewer shadows and brings more dimension to the image compared to using flash on camera only. In addition, using the modelling light allows you to find exactly the right position because you can see what you’re getting, so it’s easy to avoid unwanted shadows. The background was slightly under exposed and then a light fill flash was added on the couple from a second A1 on camera. This makes the image feel perfectly natural minimizing shadows while providing beautiful skin tones. In addition, the fill light brings out good detail in the dark colored clothes like her coat and scarf.

Shooting with the Profoto A1 on and off camera

The second A1 on camera is also being utilized as an Air Remote trigger, so it’s easy to adjust the level of light output from the shooting position.

Keeping it naturalThe A1 will deliver a natural and beautiful light, and that can be further enhanced by adding a CTO gel to keep the color temperatures completely natural. The light under the bridge is already quite warm with the streetlights so Full CTO color gel is added to ensure the skin tones remain in balance. On top of the CTO gel, a Dome Diffuser is also clicked on to the magnetic head which further softens the light, blending perfectly with the ambient light

contained within the location. In order to make the image more interesting, a slightly longer shutter speed was used. This brought a degree of motion blur to the cars in the background while the A1 ensured the couple was perfectly frozen in the foreground, and therefore, the center of attention. It’s just like shooting a wedding couple dancing. You want the couple to be sharp, and the focus of the attention up front, but still have natural movement in the background – same principle.

For the image to feel as natural as possible one Profoto A1 was positioned off camera just to the left from a high angle, and another on camera.

LocationGrand Central Terminal, New York

The gear2 x Profoto A11 x Dome Diffuser1 x CTO Gel

“The quality of light I get from the A1 is absolutely gorgeous, so natural, it doesn’t feel like flash at all. I can now see myself shooting more and more on camera. Now the world truly is my studio, this will change the way I photograph forever”.

Sal Cincotta

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LocationWest Side, New York

The gear2 x Profoto A11 x Dome Diffuser1 x Profoto B1X with

Beauty Dish White

Three lights were used to capture this striking image; two Profoto A1’s and a larger Profoto B1X. The first A1 was used on camera, and it had two jobs to do.

One A1 on camera – two important rolesFirst and foremost, this A1 acted as an Air Remote trigger allowing the photographer to control the other free-standing lights from his shooting position. Its second role was to provide a light source, in this instance a gentle fill light to help bring out those wonderful details in the dress and the suit. The already soft and beautiful light the A1 generates was further softened using a Dome Diffuser clicked on to the head of the flash, just to keep the shadows and the skin

Shooting with Profoto A1 as a part of a system

tones in her arm and both of their faces as natural as possible.

The rest of the systemThe second A1 was positioned behind the wedding dress to create an attractive backlit effect in the fabric. The B1X placed to the right and front had a bigger role. It was positioned quite a distance from the couple, therefore to truly control and shape the light on the couple, the flash needed to be powerful. The B1X is one of the most powerful location flashes available, and in combination with the OCF beauty dish, it was able to bring a crisp, creamy light (often referred to as a ‘beauty light’) to the couple.

Ensuring natural skin tones, subtle but distinct shadows around their faces and superb detail in the dark suit.

Recycling time is always key The Profoto A1 recycles four times faster than other on camera solutions – this is a huge advantage when you want to capture that moment where the dress falls just right, and the look in their eyes is perfect. And with AirTTL you can lock in the exposure yet still make small adjustments in manual; as a result, your focus is where it should be, on your creativity and achieving the best result possible for your client.

The A1 makes it easier than you think to work with one or more lights, and the results can be stunning.

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Be in good companyWe’re proud of the fact that some of the world’s most recognized photographers use Profoto lights and light shaping tools. But we’re not just for a select few. It’s our mission to enable the ambitious photographer to work with light, to shape it and to take their craft to new levels. So, we see Profoto as a community of like-minded people. Individuals who share a common goal, from the household names whose images adorn the pages of books and magazines, to the young photographers who might be thinking they need more than natural light to bring the image they have in their head to life. And that goal is the desire to create amazing images. It’s our feeling that there should be no limits to what anyone with that innate passion to express themselves creatively can achieve.

Grow with the A1So perhaps the Profoto A1 will be your entry point, but ultimately, we see it as a tool that can take any image creator as far as they want to go. The A1 will open-up new possibilities. Adding a second A1 will open-up more. Beyond that embracing bigger and more powerful lights like the B1X and the B2 and the hundreds of light-shaping tools available to them provides a world of creative possibilities. The point is the Profoto A1 is for every image creator with the ambition to shape light, as you grow it will grow with you. That said, the greatest tool you can use to grow and develop, however, is knowledge. That’s why we’ve also created the Profoto Academy.

Introducing the Profoto AcademyIt’s a set of online video courses available in the fall of 2017 designed to inspire and educate talented photographers who have a desire to know more about the art of light shaping. A unique opportunity to learn from a number of great photographers and educators from many different photographic fields starting with fashion, portrait, wedding, and light shaping fundamentals. With a specific focus on light shaping, each one hour course is clear and to-the-point with a specific goal and definite, actionable outcomes. Bottom line, we want you to make the most of the time spent with your camera, rather than sitting in front of a computer. Whether it’s embracing flash and light-shaping with the Profoto A1 or learning essential lessons from seasoned professionals with the Profoto Academy, we’re passionate about enabling the next generation of photographers to reach new heights. There are billboards, magazine pages and books waiting for your talent.

Welcome to the family

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Light that’s both natural and beautifulBecause we designed the A1 with a round head rather than the typical rectangular shape used by other on-camera solutions, the light it delivers is both natural and beautiful. That spread of light can also be easily adjusted from a wide setting, where the light has a soft smooth fall off to something narrower and more focused – with just a simple twist of the zoom ring on the head.

More than lightBeing able to work with light is the key to creating better, more creative images. That’s why the A1 comes with a dedicated set of light-shaping modifiers that, thanks to a built-in smart magnetic mount, can be

easily clicked on and off or stacked to help you achieve exactly the effect you want. These are a Dome Diffuser, Bounce Card and a Wide Lens included with the A1 and a Gel Kit and a Soft Bounce as optional extras.

AirTTL means built-in convenience and versatilityWith AirTTL you have a huge amount of built-in flexibility. TTL allows you to lock in the perfect exposure instantly, giving you far greater degree of control and a significantly faster workflow. It’s pretty much point-and-shoot; it’s easy, fast and precise. And the ‘Air’ feature means you can communicate with another A1 or other Profoto light seamlessly, and High-Speed Sync is right there when you need it.

Profoto A1 at a glance

Visualize your image with the modeling lightThe A1’s built-in modeling light gives you an instant understanding of how light and shadow work together before you press the shutter, as well as providing an additional light source in low light situations.

No more worrying about battery lifeThe A1 has its own exchangeable Li-Ion high capacity battery pack that lasts up to four times longer than AA batteries with no performance fade, and a facility to recharge quickly. So, you can shoot for longer with confidence.

Never miss a shotThe A1 can keep up because it recycles four times faster than most on-camera solutions – that’s every 1.2 seconds at full power. Put simply, you’ll never miss a shot

Less time learning means more time shootingWe designed the A1 to be uncomplicated, so there’s no learning curve whatsoever. And because the interface is simple, clean and clear there’s no ‘death by menu’.That means, you can spend more time engaged with your clients and creating a great image.

Product numbers901201 A1 AirTTL-C and 901202 A1 AirTTL-N 1 × A1 AirTTL-C/N 1 x Li-Ion Battery for A1 1 × Battery Charger for A1 incl. power cable 1 x Bounce Card1 x Dome Diffuser1 x Wide Lens1 × A1 Bag1 x A1 Flash Stand1 x USB Micro Cable

Short specificationsA1 AirTTL Max energy: 76WsEnergy range: 9 f-stops (2.0-10)Energy range HSS: 9 f-stops (2.0-10)Modeling light type: LEDBattery capacity: Up to 350 full power flashesBattery charging time: Up to 80 minutes Weight: 560g/1,2lbs incl. batteriesSize: 108 x 75 x 165 mm (4.3 x 3 x 6.5 in)

Recommended accessories for A1100397 Li-Ion Battery for A1100398 Battery Charger for A1

Product numbers Light Shaping Tools101209 Gel Kit1 x Gel Holder1 x 1/1 CTO1 x 1/2 CTO1 x 1/4 CTO1 x 1/2+ Green1 x Hard Case

101207 Soft Bounce1 x Soft Bounce1 x Bag for Soft bounce

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