Why Ring Lights?

[DGMPhotography]

OKAY.

I GOT THE RING LIGHT.

Results are actually pretty great.

I did some test shots with my brother.

1st photo is without the ring light modifier (on-camera flash, Yongnuo IV), and the second is with the ring flash.

1. 2.

 

[snowbear116 47]

Nice.
I have an inexpensive one on the way -- we'll see how it does with macros.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Nice.
I have an inexpensive one on the way -- we'll see how it does with macros.

Yeah, I wanna get a macro one too. This one is way too big for that.

 

[snowbear116 47]

I'll get a better one if I use this one a lot. I went with one of the Polaroid branded lights.

 

[Braineack]

I need to actually fire this and see what the result would be. lol.

 

[cherylynne1]

I have the same modifier. I loved it at first, ended up being less enamoured of it. It is very specialized, and only works with certain focal lengths, with certain headshots, at certain angles. If everything isn't perfect, it looks like crap. If I'm indoors, I can easily get more pleasing results from bouncing the flash. It's also super unwieldy on mirrorless.

I'm thinking about trying it off-camera to see if that changes my opinion. I do really like the ring catchlights.

 

[DGMPhotography]

I have the same modifier. I loved it at first, ended up being less enamoured of it. It is very specialized, and only works with certain focal lengths, with certain headshots, at certain angles. If everything isn't perfect, it looks like crap. If I'm indoors, I can easily get more pleasing results from bouncing the flash. It's also super unwieldy on mirrorless.

I'm thinking about trying it off-camera to see if that changes my opinion. I do really like the ring catchlights.

Please feel free to post some of your shots with it! I'd love to see.

 

[cherylynne1]

Honestly, most of them never even made it to the editing stage because I just wasn't happy with the way they shaped the face. Here's a quick snapshot of my daughter as I was playing around when I first got it. I was just testing what I could do with lighting (I liked the idea of a dark background with Christmas tree lights) but I never got around to doing formal versions of it: DSC00576

 

[OGsPhotography]

I hold a flash off camera right beside the lens, by hand, with the camera in tripod all the time to do macro plant shots. Just seemed like the thing to do. Only way really for me then I can angle the light how I like it.

Canon has a cheap new macro lens out with a built in ringlight, I think its M mount.

 

[DanOstergren28 3]

Ring lights don't necessarily have to be "on camera" or on the lens axis. They make for great high contrast lighting at an axis that's away from the camera as well.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Ring lights don't necessarily have to be "on camera" or on the lens axis. They make for great high contrast lighting at an axis that's away from the camera as well.

Yeah, I do plan to try it off camera as well, and see how that looks with the catch lights.

 

[DanOstergren28 3]

Ring lights don't necessarily have to be "on camera" or on the lens axis. They make for great high contrast lighting at an axis that's away from the camera as well.

Yeah, I do plan to try it off camera as well, and see how that looks with the catch lights.

If you put a scrim over it you get a look thats very similar to a softbox.
https://orig00.deviantart.net/e17c/f/2017/210/e/4/untitled_by_danostergren-dbi6nld.jpg

 

[Solarflare]

Why are ring lights so popular, and yet everyone talks about how bad "on-camera" flash is?

Mostly really because it flattens wrinkles of older people.

For the same reason I like the soft focus mode of my AF 105mm f2 DC. Soft focus at your fingertip is a really nice feature to have.

As others have already mentioned - it also creates very nice round highlights in the eyes. As one of the links here shows, thats ever true if used not around the lens.

Plus unlike the on camera flash that creates very harsh, visible and unfortunate shadows - the ring flash creates basically no shadows at all. Its the ideal fill flash, making sure everything receives a bit of light.

Thats why I would like to get one. But yeah, they are not for drama in your image. At least not when used with the lens looking out of the middle of the ring.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Ring lights don't necessarily have to be "on camera" or on the lens axis. They make for great high contrast lighting at an axis that's away from the camera as well.

Yeah, I do plan to try it off camera as well, and see how that looks with the catch lights.

If you put a scrim over it you get a look thats very similar to a softbox.
https://orig00.deviantart.net/e17c/f/2017/210/e/4/untitled_by_danostergren-dbi6nld.jpg

Might as well get a softbox at that point right?

 

[DanOstergren28 3]

Ring lights don't necessarily have to be "on camera" or on the lens axis. They make for great high contrast lighting at an axis that's away from the camera as well.

Yeah, I do plan to try it off camera as well, and see how that looks with the catch lights.

If you put a scrim over it you get a look thats very similar to a softbox.
https://orig00.deviantart.net/e17c/f/2017/210/e/4/untitled_by_danostergren-dbi6nld.jpg

Might as well get a softbox at that point right?

I think it still crreates higher contrast light. Also, if you cut a hole in the middle of a 5 in 1 reflector, you can get a similar effect by shooting through the hole in the reflector in natural light.