THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES. A small ring light helps illuminate the shot’s subject, making it easier to capture high-quality video.
Using additional lighting tends to improve the clarity of video and photos, especially when filming indoors. Even professional photographers typically use lights to enhance the quality of their photos.
A ring light allows amateurs to produce better videos by ensuring that each shot is properly lit. The 18-inch lights may illuminate a small to a medium-sized room instead of a single face. A larger ring holds more LEDs, which increases the output of the light. However, the concentrated light provides greater illumination for a close-up subject.
Instead of filling a wide space, it mostly illuminates the area within two to three feet of the light. Twelve-inch ring lights may allow you to adjust the color temperature to achieve the right look, but they also tend to cost a little more and take up more space. Using an 8-inch ring light with a smartphone clip allows you to remain mobile as you film. However, plugging the light into an AC electrical outlet is often necessary for achieving full brightness.
Most ring lights are dimmable, allowing you to reduce the brightness of the LED to highlight your face instead of the entire background. Standard light bulbs tend to have a low color temperature, which can create an orangish glow. A color temperature of 5,500 Kelvin (K) helps recreate the look of natural daylight. Some ring lights come with remotes for dimming the LEDs or adjusting the color temperature.
Any ring light should offer additional illumination to help you produce clearer videos, but some sizes are better suited for specific situations. If you mostly film makeup tutorials, you do not need a light that can brighten an entire room.
The larger size will help illuminate a large area and more of the background. The bottom line is that you may want to purchase the largest ring light that you can afford.
The best ring lights for YouTube, Zoom, videos and more
Powered by specially designed fluorescent tubes, ring lights were big, heavy and cumbersome. The benefit of a ring light though is that is produces effortlessly soft shadows that complement portraits by reducing the appearance of blemishes, spots and other skin issues.
Since all of today’s best ring lights are powered by LEDs, it’s LED-count and control over color and intensity that separate basic models from more sophisticated versions. Whatever your needs, you should be able to find the right ring light for you and quickly upgrade the look of your videos, photos and even Zoom calls.
Fositan 18-inch LED Ring Light Kit The best ring light for YouTube Specifications Colour temperature: 3200-5500k Weight: 3.92kg Power source: Mains Dimensions: 52 x 11 x 52cm Today’s best Fositan 18-inch LED Ring Light Kit deals Amazon UK View Similar Amazon No price information Check Amazon Reasons to buy + Super bright + Phone holder + 1/4″ hot shoe adapter Reasons to avoid – Mains power only – Light gels only to change color A general purpose 1/4″ hot shoe mount and phone holder come with the kit, and it even includes a Bluetooth self-timer for smartphones. Neewer Table Top 10-inch USB LED Ring Light The best ring light for Zoom calls Specifications Colour temperature: 3200K-5600K Weight: 467g Power source: USB Dimensions: 29 x 27 x 5cm TODAY’S BEST DEALS Prime View at Amazon Reasons to buy + Built for desktop use + Lots of settings + Built-in phone holder Reasons to avoid – Not as versatile as other ring lights For users who want to take things up a notch, this professional-style ring light from Neewer should fit the bill nicely. It’s a monstrous 20-inch model that features 352 LEDs capable of covering a wide colour temperature range controllable with a knob on the unit, and while it’ll take mains power at home or in your studio, if you need to go portable it can also run off Li-ion batteries. The Neewer 20″ is a little bigger than most on this list and so requires a sturdy base, luckily the heavy-duty stand is adjustable from a minimum height of 90cm up to a maximum of two metres. Extras come in the form of a phone holder for faff-free videos and a hot shoe for mounting other digital cameras or accessories. Mactrem LED Ring Light 6″ The best ring light for iPhone Specifications Colour temperature: Not specified Weight: 440g Power source: USB Dimensions: 29x 19 x 4.2cm TODAY’S BEST DEALS Prime View at Amazon Reasons to buy + Compact and lightweight + Adjustable settings + Lots of extras Reasons to avoid – Not as powerful as other models – Separate phone holder
Neewer 12-inch RGB Ring Light The best ring light for added colour Specifications Colour temperature: Not specified Weight: 1.5kg Power source: USB Dimensions: 38 x 28.3 x 9.5cm TODAY’S BEST DEALS Prime View at Amazon Prime View at Amazon Reasons to buy + 16 colours + Four lighting modes + Tripod, remotes and phone holders included Reasons to avoid – Lacks full RGB control Ideal as a home studio ring light, this 18-inch model from Neewer is filled with 240 LEDs balanced to a colour temperature of 5500K. When budget is no concern this monster ring light from Ivisii is perfect for filming direct to iPad thanks to its wide 19″ diameter and large tablet holder.
Of course, users can also use smartphones or digital cameras such as DSLRs or mirrorless devices, thanks to the multiple adapter options that come with the kit. The benefit of the Neo 2 is that it has controls for dimming and colour temperature with extreme accuracy making it ideal for continuous lighting for filmmakers or photographers. It also has a High Speed Sync (HSS) functions to freeze moving photography subjects at up to 1/8000 sec.
Ring lights offer different colour temperatures either through the use of dimming specific LEDs or snap-on filters, but do I need this?
22 Reasons Why You Could Benefit from a Ring Light
Well, thankfully, our experienced beauty team are here to help you in understanding the many extensive benefits of a ring light. When positioned in front of your face, it will evenly spread the light across your facial features and ensure you can see every blemish or spot that needs to be covered. There’s nothing worse than leaving the house and realising two hours into the party that you missed a critical spot! When working with clients and external parties, it is easy to overwhelm them with big, unfamiliar tools and equipment. Although most people buy a ring light with one idea in mind about how they will use it, they often end up using it for a wide range of different purposes. Although it is tempting to impulse purchase from the first company you see, it is better to shop around and be certain you are giving your money to a trustworthy and reputable brand.
For budding photographers and beauty professionals in the start-up phase, Afterpay is enormously helpful in managing financial restraints. Luckily, ring lights can easily be purchased online and shipped directly to your door. The best online beauty stores provide fast ring light delivery and excellent customer service if you experience any issues. Because of the popularity in the community, you won’t have any trouble selling your ring light for a reasonable price. Some of the features included in Cosmetic Beauty Boutique’s ring lights are: dimming settings, flexible arms, long service life, lightweight design, portable shape and size, brightness adjustment, colour temperature adjustment, extra long power cords and low heat output. In particular, the dimming and colour temperature settings means you can create a wide range of desired affects, and the ring light can be altered to suit all environments.
If you plan to use your ring light in a professional setting, it is important that you can wholeheartedly rely on it to function well. Each of our ring lights has a guaranteed service life of more than 50,000 hours, meaning you can rest assured it won’t randomly stop working in the middle of an important job.
Our very own ring lights are particularly renowned for their transportability thanks to their special design that is lightweight and portable. In terms of where to position them, the most common angle for a ring light is directly in front of your subject’s face. A ring light doesn’t have to be an elaborate purchase that drains your bank account dry. Every famous makeup artist, beautician, influencer, photographer and YouTuber has a ring light.
If you’ve ever wondered how popular social media influencers get a halo eye effect in their selfies, you now know the answer. As well as reducing shadows, ring lights can minimise blemishes on your face while illuminating your eyes.
When ring lights create a super flattering effect like that, it is no wonder they are so popular among the community. Rumour has it that ring lights were originally created for dental professionals to get better visibility of their patient’s teeth. We stock a wide range of popular ring lights and many other admired cosmetic tools.
The best ring lights of 2021
Long used by professional portrait and macro photographers as well as makeup artists, and perfect for selfies, streaming, vlogging and most photo and video tasks, they have become favorites of social media influencers and content creators of all kinds. But you don’t have to be a top Twitch streamer or overnight TikTok sensation to appreciate being cast in a better light on Zoom calls — they’re also the perfect addition to work-from-home office setups. The convenient clip mounting fits on your phone or laptop, and won’t scratch your screen. It brings it all together at an affordable price point, making it a clear winner among the ring lights we tested.
This flexibility gave the EMart major bonus points, as it was the only ring light we tested that peeked above laptop height even at its lowest setting. But what, er, shone brightest during our tests was the flattering light cast by the EMart, which came across as natural sunlight in both portraits and selfies.
In photos taken during both day and night, the lighting gave us high-quality images, highlighting everything it was supposed to without producing distracting shadows. One of them is quite handy, clipping onto the thinnest part of the tripod stand with a small metal clasp that wraps around the pole; it can hold your phone vertically or horizontally. This isn’t a deal breaker since the other phone holder gives you plenty of options, but it is annoying nonetheless. Whether you’re using this light for a professional appearance in virtual meetings or for fun and creative content making, this is a great option. The Whellen Selfie Ring Light is extremely lightweight and small, so it easily fits in pockets, purses, backpacks — you name it. We stuffed it in a purse while grocery shopping, and even with keys, a phone, a wallet and some spare change around it, the light didn’t so much as get scratched.
The Whellen’s clip has rubber padding on the reverse side to prevent it from scratching your screen. Once the light is at its dimmest, you can click and hold the top button again for it to come back to brighter levels until you reach the brightest setting. While on par with the entire field (almost all averaged the same life span), the included USB charging cable is only 10 inches long.
We then established parameters to test, looking in particular at brightness, color options and results in photos and videos. Portable lights were carried in purses while running errands and checked for scratches or cracks. This is a bright LED light that has a cold shoe mount for a camera, a tripod mount and a magnetic back to attach to other surfaces, but it isn’t easily usable with a phone, and you’ll have to supply a small tripod to use it with a laptop.
The photos we took with this light seemed to have a white film over them that made them look unnatural or poorly edited. Fotodiox Selfie Starlite Vlog Pro Ring Light and Tabletop Set ($99.95; amazon.com)
This is a good desktop option if you’re looking for a ring light to use while applying makeup, while filming videos or during virtual meetings. The tripod included is very short, so it sits at a good height on a desk but doesn’t adjust tall enough for use with a laptop’s built-in camera. The light looked great in photos and worked really well for video calls, but overall was overly bright and distracting during use.
Emart 10-inch 10 Colors & 10 Brightness Levels RGB Selfie Ring Light with Adjustable Tripod Stand & Cell Phone Holder, Dimmable LED O Ring Light for Live Stream, YouTube Video, Makeup
You will get: (1 x) 10-inch RGB Ring Light, (1 x) Adjustable Tripod Stand, (1 x) Cell Phone Clip Holder, (1 x) Bluetooth Remote, (1 x) Carry Bag. Emart LED circle ring light is perfect for making videos or live streaming at night. Also suitable for selfie, make-up, YouTube, photography shooting to meet the filter effect you need.
Comes with Bluetooth to let you get rid of restrictions, allow long-range use, compatible with IOS and Android cell phone.
package include: (1 x) 10-inch RGB Ring Light (1 x) Adjustable Tripod Stand (1 x) Cell Phone Clip Holder (1 x) Bluetooth Remote (1 x) Carry Bag
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