The Profoto Pro-10 for the 3x3 PRO league

June 20, 2018

The Profoto Pro-10 for the 3x3 PRO league

Leon Williams

A few weeks ago, I was approached by a representative of 3X3 Unites, a basketball organization in the Netherlands. Mark Schuurman is a co-founder of the group, along with star player Jesper Jobse of the Dutch national basketball team. 3X3 Unites was formed to promote 3X3 basketball around the world.

A few months ago, I had photographed a game organized by 3X3 unites, called the 3X3 PRO showcase, in Amsterdam. Apparently the results were acceptable because when Mark bumped into me at the Den Haag Challenger, he asked if I'd be interested in shooting another PRO showcase. This time, he said, the court will be made of LED screens that will project light from below.

Aron Roye and Sjoerd van Vlisteren of Team Amsterdam (in white) against Ljubjana (green) at the Den Haag Challenger.

I liked the idea of shooting the showcase, but couldn't do it on the day needed. As an alternative, Mark suggested I come by in the evening of the night before to shoot the team captains. A problem with that was that I wouldn't have an assistant to help because they would all be dealing with finals for school. I didn't like the idea of shooting in Amsterdam without an assistant to help with the lighting gear. Mark asked if I would come if he arranged to get me the lights I wanted. On that basis, I agreed to do it.

I own two Profoto B1 units. These are 500 w/s battery-powered flashes. They excel at shooting outdoors, but aren't as strong as studio flashes. In the kind of large, dark interior 3X3 basketball is occasionally played in, additional lights are essential. On the previous occasion I shot the showcase, I only had one light in addition to the stage lighting provided for the game. We got some dramatic photos, but I didn't like how the shadows had a tendency to blend into the background. This time I wanted two lights, and wanted both to be more powerful than my B1's. With this in mind, I asked Mark to get a 2400 w/s Profoto Pro-10 flash pack and two Pro heads.

Jesper Jobse/team Amsterdam and Dusan Bulut/Team Serbia (3x3 world champion) at the first PRO showcase

The Pro-10 flash pack, only $14,391 from BW Photo in the US.

In addition to having more light in the shadows to separate the players from the background, I had an ulterior motive as well. My secret motive was that I wanted to experiment with long exposures of 1-3 seconds, combined with a strong flash, to get more active shots. Combined with an LED floor casting lots of different colors into the air, I imagined a hazy colored mist filled with light trails from the players and absolutely frozen, uber-sharp moments, where each player is perfectly rendered by the pro-10.

Amsterdam Pirates stadium is located in a park near the Sloterdijk train station. There is a large clubhouse with two baseball fields on either side. A van with a company logo I recognized was parked near the clubhouse. I didn't want to walk that far unless it was the right place, so I called Mark to confirm. It was the right place, so I went over, along with the 15 kg of camera equipment on my back. I shouldn't have taken so much on my own, but wanted to have spares in case anything went wrong. In addition to my MacBook Pro that I used for tethered shooting, I had my iPad Pro in case the MacBook failed. I had two tethers, just in case. I had my main camera, a Phase One XF, but also brought a backup DF+. The DF+ uses different batteries, so I brought two sets of batteries. I brought a 55 mm Schneider-Kreuznach lens for action shots, and a 120 mm macro lens for close up head shots. I brought 8 CF cards and an external hard drive to store the shots. I even brought one of my B1's, just in case something went wrong with the Pro 10. It was ridiculous to bring so much, but I wanted to be sure. My experience shooting the top players has always been that I have to rush, and didn't want to lose precious minutes to a mechanical failure.

Inside the side door, propped open by a door stop, was a nondescript gray plastic box. Inside were the Pro 10, two ProFoto Pro heads, extension cables, and other items from 711 Rent, an excellent lighting rental company. They have good rates and excellent service. When I called prior to the rental to ask some questions about the Pro 10, the man I spoke with patiently answered all of my questions. Later, while I was getting ready for the shoot, I had a problem with the exposure mode for the lights, which I was able to get dealt with by calling 711. I had combed through the manual but couldn't find the setting. At 711, they said "Ja, it is one of those things that is in the manual but it is not in the manual. Unless you know what it is, you will never find it." Thanks 711!

"Unfortunately" Mark began, after greeting me, "the LED floor isn't ready yet." Not only that, but the floor was only about half ready. There was no way it would be ready in time for the shoot. "I wish I could suggest you stay in a hotel tonight and then do it tomorrow" he said. However, that wasn't an option because I was busy during the day on Wednesday. To make the best of it, we looked around for options. The players would be there regardless, so it would still be possible to shoot them, just not on the uber cool LED floor.

A snapshot of the LED floor in progress on location

The venue was broken into four sections. Two were in use to assemble the floor, one was used to store a jumble of tools and pads for the floor, and the last was used as a practice court for the players. The practice court was booked until 7:00, so we discussed building a court in an open area near all the LED components, but the space was needed to move floor sections into position, so we couldn't use it. That meant utilizing the practice court, and waiting until seven. Meanwhile, Mark introduced me to Jorn, who was doing grip duties on set. Jorn was very helpful getting my lights set up, and he offered to build a couple of large black walls to isolate the court from the visual distractions all over the room. Thanks Jorn!

Jorn, working on one of the supports for the black backdrop

It didn't take long to set up the Pro 10 and determine that it worked just fine. The only semi-difficult part was locating an outlet to plug it into. Almost every wall was blocked to a height of about a meter and a half, making it difficult to see the outlets. We found one though, and with the help of a massive extension cord, had all the power we needed. This left me with an hour to go, but I had nothing to test the lights on. I wanted to shoot some people, to find the optimal settings and positions for the lights, but the only person in range was Jorn. He wasn't camera shy, but I couldn't effectively test the lighting on the court with the space he occupied because they were too different. With nothing better to do, I took a couple of snapshots of the Dutch national women's team during their practice. I couldn't move the lights around while they were playing, so the shots are as-is. It is a pity, because some of my favorite shots ever are of these players on the court during competition.

The women's team, at practice

The Dutch women's team after a victory at the 2017 Eurocup in Amsterdam. Jacobine Klerx, Loyce Bettonville, Sharon Beld, and Karin Kuijt.

At a little before seven, the players started arriving for the shoot. The first was Worthy de Jong. Because he was the first, he became the guinea pig for everyone else. I tested the light setup, the exposure, and other settings to get the look I wanted. Apart from moving the lights around and dialing up or down on the Pro-10, the most significant decision was to shift from front curtain flash to rear curtain. With front curtain flash, the flash fires simultaneous with triggering an exposure, but it leaves a trail after that moment for a long exposure. To get a trail behind the players, rear curtain was necessary. This opens the shutter first, then triggers the flash at the end of the exposure. This difference took some getting used to for the players, because they had to start running when I said "Go!" and reach their mark by the time the flash went off. Many shots are of a black curtain because they either exited the frame before the flash fired, or hadn't yet entered it. It was important to me that they run, and run through the flashpoint, to make the movement genuine. Here are the shots: