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Photographing friends with the ring light

02.29.2008     Comments     Related    
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Photographing friends with the ring light
My friends Lauren and Erin were kind enough to test out my new diy ring light today. This is a good example of what you can produce with your very own diy ring light.

As far as this shot is concerned, little to no setup here. You set the light in front of your subject, plug it in and shoot. No snoots, reflectors, diffusers, umbrellas or other light modifiers of any type. With a ring light you get total illumination of your subjects face and the catch light in the eyes is awesome too.

The down side to a ring light is the same as the upside, you don't and can't control the light. This means you run the risk of blowing out the highlights on your subjects face. This is fine in most cases where you're using a ring light (for that high-key fashion type look, or maybe an urban look).

While a ring light is a useful light for portrait photography, it also clearly has limitations and it not useful or practical for every application.

Post Details

Date: 02.29.2008
Tags: ring light   portrait   ringlight  
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Comments    Comment Feed

Photolord 02.29.2008 #
Crazy COOL effect with your light. I love it! I need to try that. I was looking at your article on how to make the light and it kind of scared me at first. I'll need to check it out in greater detail. Keep up the great shots.
PictPicture 02.29.2008 #
Wow amazing picture! I love your photoblog layout too! It's so simple to read and navigate. Keep taking great photos, and hopefully you'll get a chance to submit some to my site. It's a place for photographers to submit their photographs to be voted on by the community.
jyoseph 02.29.2008 #
Photolord: Thanks! Don't let the length of the tutorial scare you. The length should be more reassuring since hopefully it means this tutorial is more in-depth.

PictPicture: Thank you also! I'll come by and check out your site.
KC 02.29.2008 #
I love what it does for the eyes!

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