Best tips for ring light photography

+As most professional photographers will tell you ring light photography can help create that soft light that will cater to your subjects’ face and get those desired close up shots with the proper lighting setup. If you shot a lot of portrait photography, using a ring light when facing the front of your subject, will really have your subject’s eyes shine brightly without the accompanying red eye found on subjects eyes during photography. Please not that these can be altered during post production editing using software like Adobe Lightroom.

So exactly what is a ring light and how can we benefit from it? Let’s tackle the first part of that question to begin with, you want the best ring light and what they do is create a circle of light that can be from a ring flash or continuous light, usually found in a circle of LED ring lights which create additional ambient light to add to the existing natural light for your shot and reduce harsh shadows.

Now we can explore the second part of the previous paragraph’s question of how can we benefit from ring light photography, we have some tips and tutorials to guide you the types of ring lights and lighting tips when you use ring lights.

Ring Light Tutorials

So we have established what ring lights are, now how to put them into real world use.

1. Please note that ring lights can come in different sizes, with some being able fit directly onto your camera’s lens, while ring lights that are larger in size will require their own weighted light stand.

2. Professional photographers love ring lights as they get studio lighting quality which can be used at your actual shooting location. So if, you are a vlogger you know your content creation will have a great light source to use to ensure that your images and stills show up wonderfully on your social media page. Not to mention your videography skills will show up nicely on your YouTube videos, TikTok or podcast once uploaded. More subscribers.... here we come.

3. In portrait photography having a great ring light is paramount. The ring light ill widen the light source and then you will have an even amount of light in the center of the ring which will highlight your subjects headshots and your subject’s eyes.

4. The ring light will also eliminate those harsh shadows which put a damper on your final exposures.

5. Take a thorough look at your lighting conditions at your photoshoot scene prior to beginning you can adjust the brightness settings and ISO to get the lighting effect you desire with your new ring light.

6. Let’s say you have an Etsy store and you want your products to really showcase online. When shooting product photography, a ring light is wonderful for highlighting your product, removing harsh shadows and really showing off the versatility of a ring light incorporated into your photography.

7. When using a ring light off camera, you can get that amazing photo of your subject from each side an angle. The adjustable brightness of ring lights give you tremendous versatility in your photoshoots.

8. Want to get those amazing close ups shots, a ring light works fabulously with macro photography. With ring lights, we have already established how they are great for focusing in on your subject’s face and your subject’s eyes, so make use of great close up macro shooting.

9. Using ringlights as catchlights to really capture the mood on your subject’s eyes and what they are telling you, as the viewer of the exposure with them as the center subject. With a ring light your catchlight may appear circular or in a softbox. You can set up the catchlights which will also allow you to do more in post processing to enhance your subject’s eyes and subject’s face.

10. You can add a diffuser to spread even more natural light from your ring lights and disperse them evenly across your frame for an even color temperature in your final exposure.

11. Fill light photography which differs from key light photography where fill light is what photographers refer to as their source of natural light which can be from sun, strobe lights, or your camera’s flash. Adding in a ring light and designating it as your main source of lighting for your scene is what is referred to as key light, where there are multiple sources of light, but one is the main source for your photoshoot and is so set by you on your camera and shooting angle.

12. Grab a ring light that is designed well and is portable and lightweight if you have on the go shooting needs. And as mentioned a light stand is a nice addition to help with the safety, and proper usage for those larger ring lights.
    
    

Ring Lights for You

Now that we have established some tutorials for ring light photography, it’s time to examine some of the best ring lights to get the brightness settings you want for your photoshoot.

Beginning with the Deco Essentials Professional LED Cordless Smartphone Ring Light, a great ring light to get you started at a very affordable price.

• This is a clip on ring light perfect for travel due to its lightweight design and ease of use.

• Speaking of ease of use, just clip on and off to install and remove this ring light directly from on your camera.

• There are three lighting modes or settings, which are great for portrait photography and selfies. So don’t be afraid to clip on this ring light, take some amazing selfie shots of yourself or of you with your loved ones and friends and feel confident in placing your finished product on your social media page.

• The lighting modes can also be set to help with vlogging and content creating, by removing harsh shadows, setting up perfect lighting conditions thanks to the ring light, meaning your Vlog on your product photography will have an awesome looking final exposure.

The next ring light which will definteky enhance your photoshoot is the Vivitar 10-Inch Streaming Essentials LED Ring Light. With some of the features of the previous recommended model with additional features this is a great ring light and light stand or tripod.

• This LED ring light has several dimming options, 10 levels of brightness settings, and 3 light color modes to get the right color temperature out of your exposure: warm, soft (white and warm) and white light. So you have a plethora of options when using this ring light to achieve your optimal lighting conditions.

• The 10 inch ring light also comes with a phone holder or mount, so you can place your phone in the center of the ring light and get amazing selfies with the right amount of light hitting your (the subject’s) face and subject’s eyes. These will show up beautifully on social media and just to share with your friends and family.

• This ring light is perfect for product photography. Setting your product down on nice showcase, use the ring light to get your optimal light source on the product, and vlog away with confidence.

• This great ring light bundle comes with a USB connector, ball head, a hot shoe adapter, a phone holder, remote for easy use from a distance, spider adjustable tripod to get the perfect angle for the lighting for your photoshoot.
  
  

Conclusion

With the versatility of ring lights which can be used in a variety of shooting scenes and environments from portrait photography to product photography and even close up macro photography. Ring light photography will add to your light source giving you the brightness settings you need while eliminating harsh shadows and other unwanted defects in your final exposure. So go ahead and expand your horizons and use ring light photography.