The Profoto B1X for location portraits

The Profoto B1 was the light that cut the cord. Before it, putting real studio power on a stand outdoors meant dragging out a battery generator and a pack-and-head; the alternative was a speedlight that wilted against the sun. The B1 — and the refined B1X that followed — put 500 watt-seconds, a battery, and TTL metering into a single head you can carry to the top of a trailhead and trigger from the camera. For location portraits, it's still one of the most-reached-for lights we rent.

What the B1X is

The B1X is a battery-powered, off-camera monolight in Profoto's location line — a self-contained head with its own power supply, no pack required. The specs that matter when you're shooting on location:

The headline isn't any single number — it's the combination. You get studio-grade output and a real LED modeling light in a head that runs all day on a battery and drops into Profoto's Air system, so the B1X plays on the same channel as the rest of the shelf. A note on the older B1: after a firmware update, the original B1 matches the B1X for triggering and sync — the practical difference is that the B1X has a brighter modeling lamp, which you'll appreciate in dim rooms or when you want it as a focusing aid.

Why creators reach for it on location

It overpowers the sun

High-speed sync lets you shoot past your camera's normal flash-sync limit, all the way to 1/8000s. That's what lets you stand your subject in harsh midday light, drop the background a couple of stops to a rich blue sky, shoot wide open for shallow depth of field, and still lay clean, controlled light on their face. Battery power plus HSS is the entire reason a portrait shooter takes a B1X outside instead of a speedlight.

TTL gets you shooting in seconds

Flip the B1X to TTL and it meters the scene and sets a usable flash exposure on the very first frame. When you've got talent standing in the cold or a client on the clock, that speed is the difference between fumbling with test pops and just shooting. Once it looks right, lock the value, switch to manual to keep every frame identical, and move on.

One head, or a matched build

A single B1X and a softbox is a complete location portrait kit. Our kit ships as two heads with four batteries, a charger, and your choice of Air Remote, so you can run a key-and-rim setup or a three-light key-fill-background build off one trigger — no cords, no generator. Need more punch for a group in bright sun? Add another head on the same Air channel.

Shaping the light

A bare head is just a starting point. The B1X takes Profoto's OCF location modifiers and, with adapters, reaches the broader modifier wall:

• OCF softbox or octa — soft, wrapping light that flatters faces; the default for portraits.
• Beauty dish — crisper, punchier light with quick falloff for editorial and fashion.
• Grid — reins in spill so the light lands on your subject, not the surroundings.
• Gels — warm the key, or match (or break) the ambient color for effect.

Running it through a full day

Battery strobes live and die on power management, and this is where the kit's spare cells earn their place. At full power you'll get a few hundred frames per battery, but real shoots rarely sit at full output — drop the head into a softbox and dial it back a stop or two for a flattering portrait and that count climbs sharply. The practical move on location is to rotate: shoot one battery down while a second charges off the included charger, so you're never grounded waiting on power. Because the cells swap in seconds without tools, a dead battery costs you a pause, not a setup. That's the quiet advantage of carrying four batteries across two heads — you can light a full wedding day or an all-afternoon brand shoot without ever plugging the lights into a wall.

When to rent it

The B1X is a buy-worthy light, but renting wins when:

• You need a matched pair (or more) for a multi-light location build without owning a shelf of strobes.
• The shoot is occasional — a handful of portrait days a year doesn't justify the purchase.
• You want to try the Profoto Air workflow before committing to the ecosystem.
• You're already booking the studio — add the heads and shoot them on the cyc wall the same day.

Our B1 / B1X kit includes two heads, four batteries, a charger, and an Air Remote for your camera system (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, or Universal). Single heads are available if you just need to add one to an existing build.