purple ring light

What Is a Ring Light?

Have you ever seen a selfie or watched a video and caught a glimpse of a halo-like sparkle in a pair of eyes or an object? Then you probably saw the reflection of a ring light. But what is a ring light? Ring lights are a common photography lighting tool, and are even used for all sorts of artists, from tattoo artists to beauticians and even craftspeople who need a well-rounded glow.

So just what is a ring light used for exactly and how can it improve your photos? In this guide, we will go over the many benefits of using a ring light and the features that they offer to elevate your photos, videos and all-around content creation. 

HOW A RING LIGHT CAN IMPROVE YOUR IMAGES

Ring lights come in handy in a myriad of ways, for professional photographers, beauticians and content creators alike. Let’s explore some of their many uses.

Enhances Details in Macro Photography

Ring lights are an excellent lighting tool to have for up close shots. Lightboxes are useful, especially in a studio environment. However, we can’t always carry around a lightbox. Whereas a lightbox gives a subject matter an equally-distributed glow, ring lights can offer the same but with a more focused and concentrated lighting. Furthermore, ring lights can provide a more balanced, natural lighting temperature that can bring normally unforeseen details to the foreground. 

Creates an Even Glow in Portraits and Selfies

When taking portraits, a ring light can replace studio lighting gear. Ring lights can offer the same soft glow and professional quality without needing to transport an entire continuous lighting kit, speedlights or softboxes. With a simple ring light, you can capture your subject matter in the best light, keeping facial contours without creating shadows. 

Since portraits focus on the face, makeup artists also use ring lights to create an even glow as they apply cosmetics to models, brides or even themselves. Many makeup artists lean on ring lights to create quality footage as they record live demonstrations and upload to their vlogs.   

Lend a Different Hue for a Bit of Drama

Ring lights can create various colored effects to subject matter. This can be achieved by swapping out the standard bulbs with colored bulbs or even placing colored gels over the entire ring or in sections. It’s a dramatic effect that makes a stunning shot. This can come in handy with both macro photography and portrait shots.  At Case-Mate, our LuMee 18-inch and 10-inch ring lights even come with multiple color options.

RING LIGHT FEATURES TO CONSIDER

When it comes to ring lights, there are a few different types you can choose from, not to mention the size of the light itself. Here are some ring light features you might want to consider. 

The Diameter Size

When choosing a ring light, it’s important to consider the overall size for your needs. If you just need a ring light for on-the-go selfies, then a phone case with a built-in ring light is perfectly acceptable. However, if you plan on capturing videos for your content creation, you might want a more dedicated standing ring light to use in combination with a larger device like a DSLR camera or iPad. 

Adjustable Color Temperature and Dimmers

An LED ring light should offer a range of color temperatures and dimming capabilities. Not only can it lend a dramatic hue to your subject matter, but it is useful to adjust the lighting. 

Flexible Gooseneck

Say you’re capturing a flat lay on your desk or a floor, or demonstrating a manicure or craft. In this case, you might want a ring light with a flexible gooseneck. A gooseneck stand can position the lighting in a horizontal position as needed. 

THE CASE-MATE LUMEE RING LIGHT COLLECTION

Like the idea of a ring light to enhance your content or create amazing selfies? Case-Mate offers an entire collection of portable and desktop stylering lightsto elevate your photos and videos. Check them out below!

The Studio Ring Light

Looking for aring light with a standfor your home studio setup? Introducing the 18-inch LuMee Studio Ring Light, featuring a metal tripod stand, three flexible device holders and a Bluetooth-enabled Selfie Remote. Your studio lighting doesn’t get easier than this. Dimmable brightness levels and three light modes of warm, cool and natural help you get professional image quality right at home. Plus, it offers multiple LED color modes for an even more dramatic effect. 

Compact and On-the-Go Ring Lights

Of course, when you need a pocket-size, on-the-go ring light, we have those, too! Explore our versatile and compact ring lights for phones. We carry everything, including phone cases with our built-in signature halo ring lights that offer studio lighting in the palm of your hand. Each halo ring light phone case even offers a variable dimmer adjustable by a simple press and hold button.  

Discover our entire ring light collection for your content creation and more!