Blending natural light and the Elinchrom THREE

Elinchrom THREE combined with natural light produces stunning images.

Therese Asplund, Elinchroms long-time ambassador, shares her on-field experience with the Elinchrom THREE, the new 261 Ws Off-CameraFlash with integrated battery. For her first adventure with this flash, Therese did a shooting on a summer wedding theme, directly using the THREE blended with natural light. Discover her journey and impressions about the Elinchrom THREE.

Blendning natural light with Elinchrom THREE | Therese Asplund

The Elinchrom THREE is a fantastic tool suitable for both beginners venturing into studio flash photography and seasoned professionals like wedding photographers who need to adapt swiftly to various locations and lighting conditions. This versatile companion excels in both on-location and studio shooting scenarios. Additionally, it’s perfect for creative photographers eager to experiment and explore new possibilities.

The THREE is lightweight and easy to setup. The convenience extends to its intuitive control through the Elinchrom Studio App, adjusting a breeze. Remarkably compact, it easily fits in one hand, making it highly portable as you move from one location to another.

Elinchrom THREE off-camera flash

Today, our focus is on testing the Elinchrom THREE on location, and I created a summer wedding set. Our shooting adventure will take us on various locations, both indoors and outdoors. To capture the essence of the moment, we’ll combine the beauty of natural light with the power of flash, ensuring each set shines at its best.

The location

For this shooting, I chose an old mansion just outside Avesta, in Sweden. This old mansion is surrounded with huge trees, and a big, lush park area, and a beautiful winter garden with vines clinging on to the roof. This location offers a diverse range of light conditions and locations, allowing us to capture a wide range of stunning pictures. Fingers crossed for favourable Swedish summer weather, with both sunshine and clouds to enhance our creative possibilities.

"I love creating things togetherand portrait photography isalways a teamwork”"

The shooting　

I love creating things together and portrait photography is always a teamwork. Achieving a remarkable portrait, classical, fine art, or commercial, requires building trust and comfort with your subject. It’s essential to involve them in your vision, making them an active participant in the creative process. The ultimate satisfaction comes when your model leaves the shoot with as much joy as you experienced during the process. That´s why it´s so important to work with equipment that is reliable and easy to use, the less you have to worry about the technical stuff during the shoot the more you can focus on the connection with the model and the better your images will turn out.

We began our shoot in the old winter garden, which was located at the far end of the park. The winter garden’s natural light proved to be quite good, benefiting from the absence of direct sunlight and its glass walls on all sides, providing soft and indirect lighting ideal for portraits. When using the darker side of the park as the background, the exposure I set for the surroundings worked well for her face too.

However, as almost all the natural light hitting her face bounced off or shined through the surrounding green foliage, it created a greenish colour cast that somewhat obscured her lovely tan and rosy cheeks. Even though I am almost there with the exposure, I still need to lighten her face during post-production to make it stand out from the background and ensure her eyes are not the darkest part of her face.
Consequently, there’s still significant post-production work required to transform this image into a truly exceptional one, despite the favourable light conditions in the winter garden.

"This way, I obtained an imagethat’s almost ready for deliverystraight out of the camera"

All I needed for this was the compact Elinchrom THREE, the small Rotalux DeepOcta Softbox 70cm and a tripod.
With this minimal setup, I could carry everything myself, and it took less than two minutes to set up. It provided a simple solution to fix the issues that otherwise would have required a significant amount of post-processing time. I can now imagine the time savedon delivering a set of twenty images! This way, I obtained an image that’s almost ready for delivery straight out of the camera.

Elinchrom THREE | Photo Therese Asplund

When shooting the couple, I really wanted to use the left side of the winter garden, facing the part of the park with fewer trees and more sunlight, because on that side the vines made a magical setting, surrounding the couple on allsides. Choosing this location also made it possible for me to use a lower bush of herbs in the foreground to create more depth. Here the natural light conditions where not as good as on the other side, since the background was very much lighter than the couple.

Even though I turned up the exposure with my camera settings as much as I could without losing information in the light parts outside, their faces where very much to dark when using only natural light. Again, the THREE and the Rotalux Deep Octa Softbox 70cm solved the problem and gave me a well-balanced image with beautiful light in the faces straight out of camera.

The last thing we did in the winter garten was some portraits of the bride alone. What I wanted to show with these images was how easy it is to be creative and get a lot of variation on the same location if you do not have to depend only on natural light. And also, how using a flash to light our model gives you the opportunity to control the natural light with your camera settings.

In the first two images I have used a small aperture to darken the background and used two different set ups with the Elinchrom THREE and the Rotalux Deep Octa Softbox 70cm to change the character. A backlight for a cinematic look with a little more drama and a classical portrait light to lift her face features and bring out her beautiful eyes. In the last image I have used a big aperture for a light background, and let the natural light lift the shadows, and just like that I got a light and airy portrait with a very natural look.

We then continued our photography adventure in the garden of this magnificent mansion, under the 4:00 PM sun, where the light is soft and less harsh than the 12-2 PM sun. I wanted these images to feel outdoors and very natural. I used the Elinchrom THREE and a 100 cm Deep Umbrella White. A shoot through the white umbrella, set straight forward, a couple of meters away from the model, is an easy set up to use if you shoot mainly with natural light but just want a natural way to lighten up a model.

Here I decided to put the models in the sun with the sun hitting their backs to use that as a beautiful backlight. Since I control the light on the models with my flash I can control the highlights in the hair, and make sure that they are not burnt out, with the settings of my camera.

The most challenging thing here was that we now had gotten quite a lot of clouds in the sky which meant the weather change from sun to cloudy every other minute. To be able to keep shooting and not lose any time I therefore had to change settings all the time. Here it really showed how big an advantage it is that the THREE is so easy and quick to adjust. In a heartbeat I could change settings to adapt to the new light conditions and we could make the most of the time we got. A great thing is that I can always choose whether to make the changes directly on the flash, on my transmitter or on the app on my phone. Whatever is easiest for the set up I work with.

"Here it really showed how bigan advantage it is that theTHREE is so easy and quick toadjust"

I often get new ideas of things I want to try during the shoot and with the THREE being so easy to adjust it is completely effortless to experiment and play around without having to keep the models waiting while I figure things out. Here I tried to lay on the ground, to get a low angle, and shoot directly into the sun for a dreamy and romantic feeling. With the THREE through the umbrella, I could still decide just how much light I wanted to meet up with in the faces to be able to see facial expressions and not only silhouettes.

We ended our day in the barn, since it started to rain a little bit. This location had a very small window, so very little natural light, but the walls were rustic and beautiful and matched the styling of our bohemian bride to perfection. If I would have been forced to shoot in this location using only natural light, I would have had to turn up the ISO very high and loose quality. Now, with the Elinchrom THREE I could shoot like I do in the studio. To get some variation I used both a feathered classical portrait light, where I used one of the window sas a reflector to lift the shadows, and a cinematic short light to add a little drama.

The great thing about working with flash and knowing how to set a good light, especially if you are a wedding photographer where time is always an issue, is that, if you need to, you can make beautiful, professional looking images in any location. I have shot hundreds of weddings over the years and, no, the weather is not always working in my favour. I have had to finish up sessions in boring hallways or even in a hotel corridor but with a nice light no one can tell. Now with the THREE being both compact and powerful it´s not even a hassle to bring it and in some situations, it can be the difference between getting the image or not.

Even though we had to adapt quickly to sudden changes in the weather and shot in so many different places it was a piece of cake with the Elinchrom THREE, and we got beautiful images from all the different locations. The fact that it is so powerful even though it is so small seems almost too good to be true. Even when I shot full, figure and couldn´t work with the flash very close to the model it worked great even though I shot directly into the sun. It is also very easy to be creative on the spot.

In conclusion, the Elinchrom THREE allowed me to capture portraits swiftly and efficiently. I could easily blend it with natural light and a few additional accessories, allowing me to travel light and adapt rapidly to these three scenarios.

The finished image

Once I got home and started post-processing, I realized that, thanks to the small amount of fill flash I used, I only needed to make a few minor adjustments. These included some basic adjustments in Camera Raw and a slight lift of the shadows under her eyebrows to make them pop a bit more. All in all, it took me less than five minutes to complete the post-processing for this image, compared to the 20-30 minutes it would typically take me without the use of fill flash.

The benefits of using Elinchrom THREE for this type of photography are countless. Besides saving time in post-production, which is always valuable, it helps me deliver a more consistent product to my clients because I have more control over the lighting conditions from the beginning. It also gives me more freedom to experiment and be creative on-site because I know I have the tools I need to handle any kind of lighting situations I might encounter.

Thank you, Elinchrom, for creating such an amazing product!

Photographer Therese Asplund

Video - Wedding Photography with Natural and Flash Light | Elinchrom THREE

About Therese Asplund

Therese is an award-winning portrait photographer who loves working with people. Whether she is in the studio shooting portraits, out doing commercial work or working on one of her own art projects it is always with the same passion and dedication.

Follow Therese

Elinchrom THREE | Off Camera Flash Kit

EL-20941

Elevate Your Adventures with the Elinchrom THREE Off Camera Flash Kit- The Elinchrom THREE is your new portable off-camera flash companion. Experience true performance with its 261 Ws for images with perfect illumination, bringing them to life. With an integrated Li-Ion battery providing an impressive 525 full-power flashes, your workflow remains uninterrupted. Shape light to your desire using light shapers with optimal light spread, while the user-friendly touchscreen interface and built-in Bridge feature offer seamless control.

Elevate your adventures, capture extraordinary shots, and never settle for ordinary.

"Elinchrom THREE, never settle for ordinary"

True performance

With an accurate power of 261 Ws and 525 full power flashes, the Elinchrom THREE gives you the output you require to bring life to your images.

Elevate Your Adventures with the Elinchrom THREE

Even Faster

With a recycling time of 1.2 seconds at full power, the Elinchrom THREE is ready to match your creative speed.

Never lose momentum

Get 525 full-power flashes from the Elinchrom’s THREE integrated Li-Ion battery and connect any USB-C power source to continue shooting regardless of the battery’s power level. Keep your workflow uninterrupted.

Keep your workflow uninterrupted

Better Light Shaping

Designed around an unconcealed flashtube for optimal light spread, the Elinchrom THREE ensures you experience beautiful light quality even with light shapers from other brands. Take your pick between Elinchrom OCF, Profoto bayonet and traditional Elinchrom light shapers.

Navigate swiftly

With a touchscreen interface and quick menu, Elinchrom has streamlined the access to the THREE’s settings to ensure you never miss a chance to capture the moment.

Control from the tip of your finger

With the Elinchrom’s THREE built-in Bridge, control all features of your THREE and your other Elinchrom units from your smartphone or computer. Seemless control for faster setup times.

Key Features

More power
With an accurate 261 Ws, the Elinchrom THREE delivers more power than what other brands pretend to have.
As fast as you need it to go
With a recycling time of 1.2 sec. at full power, the Elinchrom THREE helps you get the best possible shots.
Integrated Li-Ion battery
Enables up to 525 full-power flashes on a single charge and can be charged from any USB-C source without proprietery spare batteries or chargers.
Active charging
Connect the Elinchrom THREE to a power source and continue shooting while charging regardless of the battery’s power level.
Multipurpose
Equipped with a bright and high quality bi-colour continuous LED light for enhanced video
Touch screen interface
Intuitive, clever, and streamlined interface designed to provide the most efficient user experience and quick set up times.
Supreme portability
Weighing only 1.6kg (3.6 lbs), the Elinchrom THREE is ready to travel with you anywhere and everywhere.
Elinchrom OCF modifier mount
Compatible with most Profoto bayonet light shapers and the traditional Elinchrom bayonet via the included heavy-duty adapter.
Sync up to 1/8000s with HSS
Freeze motion overpower ambient light and darken backgrounds.
TTL with manual lock
Enables a quick switch from TTL to Manual without losing exposure settings.
Built in Bluetooth
Adjust settings and control via the Elinchrom App and software without the need for the Elinchrom Bridge.

Elinchrom THREE Off-Camera Flash Set

Items included

1x Elinchrom THREE Off-Camera Flash
1x Elinchrom OCF Diffusion Dome
1x OCF Adapter
1x Elinchrom 65W USB-C Wall Charger
1x Case
2 Year Warranty

Specifications Elinchrom OFF Camera Flash

Specifications	Elinchrom THREE	Elinchrom ONE
Energy	261 Ws	131 Ws
F-Stop (1m, 100 ISO, HP Reflector 26 cm, max power)	f/64.3	f/45.2
F-Stop (1m, 100 ISO, OCF Diffusion Dome, max power)	f/22.0	f/11.9
Power range (F-Stop)	6 F-stop	5 F-stop
Power range (Ws/J)	7-261 Ws	7-131 Ws
Power range display	0.1-5.3 (Elinchrom scale) / 4.8-10 (10 scale)	0.1-4.3 (Elinchrom scale) / 5.8-10 (10 scale)
Power increments in Manual / TTL mode	0.1 F-Stop / 0.3 F-Stop	0.1 F-Stop / 0.3 F-Stop
Flash duration t0.1 min/max power (Standard mode)	1/1550 - 1/255s	1/1530 - 1/155s
Flash duration t0.1 min/max power (Action mode)	1/8500 - 1/440 sek	1/7000 - 1/625 sek
Recycling time min/max power	0.08 / 1.2s	0.06 / 0.9s
Flash mode	Manual / TTL / HSS (with Transmitter Pro)	Manual / TTL / HSS (with Transmitter Pro)
Action mode	Faster flash duration over the power range	Faster flash duration over the power range
TTL Function	Yes, with Transmitter Pro	Yes, with Transmitter Pro
HSS Function	Yes, with Transmitter Pro	Yes, with Transmitter Pro
Flash colour temperature at max power	5900 K (Action) / 5600 K (HSS)	5900 K (Action) / 5600 K (HSS)
Flash colour stability over the power range (all modes)	± 150 K	± 150 K
Power stability	± 0.5%	± 0.5%
Beam Angle (degrees)	160°	160°
Auto power dumping	Adjusts power settings automatically in real time	Adjusts power settings automatically in real time
Fan cooled	Smart proactive cooling	Smart proactive cooling
Input	USB-C	USB-C
IP Class	IP20	IP20
Flash Tube	EL-24091	EL-24091
Battery
Battery	Li-Ion - Built-in - 41.04Wh	Li-Ion - Built-in - 41.04Wh
Battery capacity min/max power (LED lamp OFF)	11250 / 525	9700 / 725
Battery capacity min/max power (LED lamp ON 100%)	9000 / 420
Battery charge status	On the display if ON and side logo if OFF	On the display if ON and side logo if OFF
Charging time (with 65W USB-C Wall Charger)	60 m (80%) – 100 m (100%) / Fast charge (unit ON) 80 m (80%) – 135 m (100%) / Slow charge (unit OFF)	60 m (80%) – 80 m (100%) / Fast charge (unit ON) 80 m (80%) – 100 m (100%) / Slow charge (unit OFF)
Charging time (with 18W 20000 mAh Power Bank) USB-C sources need to be able to deliver at least 25W for fast charge to be activated	80 m (80%) – 135 m (100%) / Fast charge (unit ON) 105 m (80%) – 180 m (100%) / Slow charge (unit OFF)	80 m (80%) – 135 m (100%) / Fast charge (unit ON) 105 m (80%) – 180 m (100%) / Slow charge (unit OFF)
LED
LED modeling lamp modes	ON/OFF, free, proportional, VFC	ON/OFF, free, proportional, VFC
LED modeling lamp power	20W / equivalent to 120W / 3000 lm / CRI 95	20W / equivalent to 120W / 3000 lm / CRI 95
LED modeling lamp color temperature	Presets from 2700 K to 6500 K	Presets from 2700 K to 6500 K
LED run time (LED only, min/max power)	10 hours / 90 minutes	10 hours / 90 minutes
Radio
Skyport (built-in)	20 frequency channels, 4 Groups	20 frequency channels, 4 Groups
Skyport distance range (Transmitter Pro, manual mode)	Indoor: up to 60 m / Outdoor: up to 200 m	Indoor: up to 60 m / Outdoor: up to 200 m
Bluetooth® (built-in)	Version 4.2 / Compatible Studio Software Win, Mac, iOS, Android	Version 4.2 / Compatible Studio Software Win, Mac, iOS, Android
Skyport Frequency	2404~2478MHz	2404~2478MHz
Bluetooth® Frequency	2402~2480MHz	2402~2480MHz
WLAN	2412~2472MHz	2412~2472MHz
Size
Umbrella fitting (on tilt head)	7-8 mm	7-8 mm
Dimensions with Diffusion Dome and tilt head	25.3 x 16.5 x 10.5 cm	23.3 x 16.5 x 10.5 cm
Dimensions without Diffusion Dome and tilt head	24.5 x 10 x 10 cm	22.5 x 10 x 10 cm
Weight (with/without tilt head)	1.65 kg / 1.45 kg	1.5 kg / 1.3 kg

Product FAQ

Yes. Elinchrom ONE & THREE has built-in Bluetooth and you can control ONE & THREE with Elinchrom Studio Software and/or the iOS App/Android App. In addition, ONE & THREE have a built-in Skyport Bridge so they communicate automatically with older Elinchrom flashes that can also be controlled via smartphone and computer.

Active Charge is a function that allows you to charge the flash's battery while you are shooting. The connection on ONE & THREE is USB-C, which makes it possible to use a USB-C power adapter or power bank to charge the built-in battery while the device is being used.

To lock the touchscreen on the ONE & THREE, press the ON button while turning on the device for 9 seconds. The lock symbol indicates that the touchscreen is locked, to unlock, turn the device OFF and ON again.

It is perfect to use the built-in LED light on ONE & THREE as lighting for film and video production. The light quality is very high, which means that colors and skin tones are reproduced correctly. In addition, the LED light can be adjusted in brightness and the color temperature can be adjusted in fixed steps from 2700K to 6500K. The brightness of the LED light is approx. 3000 Lumen and corresponds to a halogen lamp of approx. 120W

ONE and THREE have an OCF mount for light shapers as standard, which gives access to a large range of light shapers from different manufacturers. In addition, an adapter for Elinchrom bayonet is always included when you buy ONE & THREE, which means that the entire Elinchrom range of light shapers fits.

Yes, at our service the battery can be replaced but this type of question is mostly asked by prospective owners of ONE & THREE, very rarely by users as battery capacity and battery life is first class on Elinchrom products. The built-in battery has a very high capacity, which combined with advanced control of battery charging gives a very long battery life. The combination of built-in battery with high capacity and Active Charging via USB-C connection gives ONE & THREE unique performance. Tip! Always charge the battery after shooting. A completely discharged Li-Ion battery can be damaged if it is left for a long time without maintenance charging.

Elinchrom are a Swiss studio lighting manufacture famed for their consistent innovation and being at the forefront of both portable and studio photographic lighting equipment. Since the start in 1962 Elinchrom have continued to develop and innovate flash lighting, groundbreaking products. Elinchrom studio and portable lighting solutions are available for both professionals and those just getting started with flash photography.

Price, VAT excl.9 996.00

Price12 495.00

In stock

Buy

Elinchrom THREE | Off Camera Flash Dual Kit

EL-20942

Elevate Your Adventures with the Elinchrom THREE Off Camera Dual Flash Kit- The Elinchrom THREE is your new portable off-camera flash companion. Experience true performance with its 261 Ws for images with perfect illumination, bringing them to life. With an integrated Li-Ion battery providing an impressive 525 full-power flashes, your workflow remains uninterrupted. Shape light to your desire using light shapers with optimal light spread, while the user-friendly touchscreen interface and built-in Bridge feature offer seamless control.

Elevate your adventures, capture extraordinary shots, and never settle for ordinary.