In the portrait photography world, there is a very popular type of equipment, it is the ring light.
Its usage is very simple: place the light directly in front of the subject, and place the camera in the center of the light circle to shoot. The resulting photos tend to be evenly exposed and have few shadows, a favorite among photographers.
In addition, the ring light can also create a specially shaped ring-shaped catch light – which will undoubtedly make the eyes more attractive, especially when taking portraits and close-ups of faces.
However, the usefulness of the ring light doesn’t stop there. These lights of special size and shape have many “other uses” than ordinary photographic lights – which may not be what they were designed for, but are just as good.
1. as a “normal” main light source
While the ring light can be placed directly in front of the subject to provide “even and dead-end” illumination, it can also be placed in other locations and used as a “normal” camera light — and it works just fine.
Because of its “hollow”, you have to put it a little further away and crank up the brightness and tilt the panel towards the subject.
You can also occlude the light body with other objects to control the area it illuminates, or to add shadow effects.
The special structure of the ring light makes it a “self-contained softbox” light source. Maybe it requires you to adjust more parameters (brightness, position, angle, etc.) when using it, but its lighting effect is better than “normal” photography lights.
2. As a fill light source
In addition to acting as a “normal” main light, the ring light can also be used as a fill light source, mixed with other studio lights such as photography lights, flashes, etc.
Compared to a “normal” fill light source, the fill light effect of a ring light will be softer – similar to the effect of a normal light source loaded with a large softbox.
It is worth mentioning that the power of the ring light is often not as good as that of the flash, and you need to adjust the power of the flash.
3. As a prop
Most LED ring lights don’t get hot when powered on, and you can use them as portrait photography props to make your photos more lively and interesting.
Let your model play with the ring light and take some fun photos. In this way, not only can you get a few special photos, but also help to liven up the atmosphere, reduce the tension of the model during the shooting, and be more helpful for the next shooting.
4. As a composition tool
When the ring light is working, it is a bright ring. It has high attention and is not ugly, and can be used as “material” for framed composition:
You can also place it behind the model to create a circular halo. Trust me, the resulting photos will be eye-catching and fun.
Post time: May-30-2022 BACK