OR is it something on every girl’s wish-list for The
perfect Selfie ?????????
First things First. What is a ring light? For those of you who may have not come across it yet, a is a really useful light that comes in the form of a ring – usually with a tripod or stand – and lets you attach your phone or camera in the centre. This amazingly useful light source is shaped in this way to allow a camera to be placed at it’s centre in order to have light around it and focused entirely and exclusively on your subject – in the case of a selfie – That’s YOU!
It is an incredibly popular tool especially with youtubers and social media celebrities. Ring lights are especially used in visual content created by bloggers and influencers, from makeup artists to product marketers, and can be used both for still photography and for that professional lighting effect in videos.
Ring lights are often used with a diffusing cover that really helps to soften the light they let out. They also bring light to the centre of the face (part of the contour of the face) and help to minimise unappealing shadows.??
Highlight and shading of the face definitely helps us contour and look better in our photos, but not without the right angle and the right light. That is why you need a ring light.
I discovered ring lights when I started using Instagram and came across the most beautiful clear portraits of artists and bloggers. I was wondering what light setups they were using and tried to figure it out by looking at the reflection of the lights in their eyes – By doing this, I noticed that most of the celebrities and influencers that I follow had something in common – The majority of them seemed to have a ring light reflected in their eyes.??
And that’s when it hit me.… I thought to myself – ‘’So it’s not just photoshop?’’ – For the perfect photo I need perfect lighting.
The next thought that came along was on the lines of ….“But I have no idea what ring light to choose, or where to get it from…so where shall I start?”
I quickly contacted fashion-photographer friend to ask him for some advise and he sent me a link that could be delivered at my door within a few days
He recommened this awesome LED Ring Light with a Tripod Stand and Flexible Phone Holder from Amazon because he felt it was the perfect balance between quality and price . Best part of it is that it’s also dimmable, meaning you can get as much light as you need out of it, depending on what look you’re going for.
Well placed lighting can magically transform from photo 6 to a 10. Apart from that, a ring light can create an attractive ‘catch light’ (as I learnt they’re referred to) on a subject’s eyes while emitting evenly balanced lighting across the subject… Have a look at the picture below. I used a ring light for this shot. Soft light, no shadows, and check out at that natural glow!
I couldn’t keep my excitement for my new toy and shared the news with some of my friends, who also wanted to get one for their #OOTD photos and I ended up ordering 3 so we could split the shipping costs between us.
Whilst I was at it, I also wanted something to help me improve those “on the go” photos (especially when travelling), where my main ring-light might be too bulky to carry around. So I also ordered this Mobile Clip-on LED ring light that is easily attached to a phone. This came in super handy during the Paris Fashion week – and I would have been using it ever since had I not gifted it to a famous blogger whom I adore – In fact it’s time I should be purchasing a new one for me too.
Since I’ve been using my ring light, I don’t know how I used to even manage to get good photos without it. With the perfect light you don’t even need to edit photos anymore – which saves me time, and gives me a much better and more natural end-result.
Here’s the ring-lights I mentioned in this blog-post for quick reference:
XOXOX
JENNY