Ring lights are immensely popular for video creators, streamers, makeup tutorials and photography. Not only that, they are genuinely useful to have around the home for a multitude of tasks. You may want one to make your family photographs pop, improve the quality of your work webcam video calls or just make applying your own makeup in the morning that bit easier. You may well have seen influencers using them and think ‘what is that and why do I need one?’, well. I’ll fill you in on the purpose of the ring light and then break down in categories the single best one for the most common applications.
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What is a ring light?
You’ve definitely seen one before, whether it’s on your favourite influencers video or at the dentist. A ring light is as simple as it sounds, a light that is a complete circle.
In some cases it is a single glass tube that has been shaped into a circle to create a seamless and and perfect circle of light, in other cases the configuration is of many bulbs placed next to each other in a circle formation. The difference is only apparent when you see the reflection in a persons eyes, otherwise, the effect is largely the same.
When buying your ring light you need to know the difference between the two types. One is referred to as continuous and one is referred to as a strobe. Continuous lighting is as it sounds, you flick on the switch and the light stays on until you turn it off again, these are typically low powered lights that are good for make up, macro photography and video lighting where you will be shooting quite close. Strobe lighting is another way of saying flash. The same as when you use the flash on your phone to take a picture, a strobe is just like that. Strobes are much more powerful, which is why then can only flash once before charging up again. These are typically used by professional photographers in the studio or on location where you need more power. Make sure you get the right one for your needs.
Why use a ring light?
Ring lights create even, flattering light on a subject, which is perfect for make up application and tutorials as you can see the face with no distracting shadows. You can achieve soft lighting with a soft box, but the light is one directional and so creates shadows. The other great advantage of ring lights is that the continuous lighting is LEDs, so it’s low powered, light weight and incredibly small relative to the power output it can achieve. If you’ve ever been to a wedding or a fashion show you know that space is ofen at a premium. Ring lights on a stand have a very small footprint and give you excellent quality of light. Being lightweight also means you can transport your gear without getting back ache! The other cool feature about ring lights that you’ve probably seen is the reflection it produces in the subjects eyes. These are called ‘catch lights’ and, because the light is a circle, the reflection in the eyes is a circle too, which is really flattering for portraits. The other cool thing it does, is create a uniform shadow around the subject if they are close to the background, which looks like an aura.
Does the size of the ring light matter?
Yes. The bigger the ring light, the more light it will emit and therefore, the more even the coverage will be when it lands on a face. Large ring lights also mean that you can place them further away from your subject. This is most beneficial for the model as they wont feel the heat of the light and the it wont be so intense having a bright light shone in their eyes for an extended period of time.
What is colour temperature and why is it relevant?
Daylight appears cooler and more blue than the light in your bedroom, which is often warmer and more yellow. If you’re going to use your ring light for video calls you’ll probably want it to match the colour of the light already present in your room so there’s not a huge contrast in colour shift. Many ring lights have the ability to change the colour of the light so this shouldn’t be a huge problem, but it’s worth knowing just in case it doesn’t have that feature. Colour temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin, you may see daylight written as 5500K. All you need to know is anything in the 3000K-4000K range is warm/yellow, the higher the number goes after this, the more it shifts towards blue light.
What else do I need to know?
Make sure that the ring light stand or attachments are fit for purpose. If you buy a cheap ring light it will have a cheap mount for your phone/video camera ad will probably break after only a few uses. Remember the saying, buy cheap, buy twice. Mobile phones don’t tend to weigh much, but you want them to be secure, you don’t want to be in the middle of a live stream and you accidentally kick your desk which sends your phone flying. Likewise cameras and video cameras are heavy and require really sturdy fixings, this means more weight. Heavier tripods and stands and heavier fixings will be required to make sure that it stays in place. A cheap ring light stand with a heavy camera attached to it will break the fixings and cause it to collapse.
Pay attention to the power source too, is it battery or mains operated? Do you need to be able to use it in clients homes on location, or will it stay in the same place in your studio?
Ring light – My review
Of course to review a ring light, you need to buy one. So I did.
I bought this ring light from Amazon.
It was the only way I’d be able to properly judge the quality of what’s available on the market and then properly advise people if the extra money is worth it. Yes that is my actual working desk. None of this Instagram nonsense, pretending that life isn’t messy, that’s where I work and where I’m typing this from.
Straight out of the box, I’m really impressed.
As you can see from the box this ring light is unbranded, so I’m assuming there are multiple amazon sellers selling the same unit but with different branding. This was cheap at £30 with next day delivery as well. The stand is metal, overall the build quality is very good. The ring light itself is a decent size and the controls are easy to operate. When plugging it in to the USB port to turn it on, it immediately becomes apparent why you would spend more, sometimes much more money, on a right light. The brightness.
This is absolutely fine for using as a desktop lamp, zoom calls or even photographing small products such as watches and jewellery. If you need a ring light to take portraits or for professional make up use, these smaller and cheaper units just won’t do the job. Pay close attention to the power output of the ring light you’re buying. Expect to pay above £100 to get a ring light that will emit enough light for professional make up and model portrait photography.
Best cheap ring light with stand – Razer
The best ring light with a stand is the 12″ Razer. Not only does it come with a stand that is completely adjustable, it comes in at a really reasonable price for a ring light with a stand that is packed with features.
It plugs into your USB port so can run directly off of your laptop or PC whilst filming your tutorial or making a live stream. A range of colour temperature options from warm to cool means it will work perfectly with your existing ambient lights. It also comes with two swappable attachments for the best of both worlds: a ball head mount for webcams when streaming on PC, and a phone holder when streaming on mobile
Best ring light mirror – Fancii
For those of you working primarily in the beauty sphere, you need to know which is the best mirror with ring light. 
Whilst your camera can be setup to one side, you still need even illumination on your face whilst still being able to see exactly what you’re doing. Creating an even and sharp look is essential if you’re creating online makeup tutorials, this ring light with mirror is perfect. The Fancii comes out on top as it has a nifty magnifier attached to it for those more intricate parts of your tutorial, allows the user to adjust the temperature of the light, has a decent weight to it and is very reasonably priced.
Best ring light with tripod – Neewar
The best tripod with ring light is the massive twenty inch ring light from Neewer. It’s probably the best all round ring light on Amazon too so you can be sure of fast shipping. 
What makes it so good? It’s big compared to it’s competitors so it will produce much softer light. It comes with all of the features you’d expect such as adjustable colour temperature, has a phone holder and also a ball head to make it easy to move into a specific position, but unlike many others, it can be mains powered AND battery operated. Many of the smaller units struggle with power output as they only connect via USB, this monster does not disappoint and is perfect for streamers and make up artists alike. The tripod with the ring light is sturdy and perfectly able to deal with the demands a bigger light puts on it. The tripod with ring light means it’s ready to be deployed into your existing setup, as you can see from the image below, it’s perfectly suited to fit behind your desk and is tall enough to reach up and above your desk and illuminate the space perfectly.
Best ring light for iphone – Diyife
Whether looking for the best ring light for a phone or the best ring light for an iPhone, look no further than this little gadget.
It clips onto your iPhone and is the perfect ring light for selfies. It has a built in rechargeable battery and has three brightness settings. It fits neatly into your pocket or purse and attaches in seconds, making it the perfect travel companion for taking selfies or for going live on the go. It’s a simple clip on pinch design so it is compatible with all phones. Whether it’s an iPhone, Samsung or any other android phone, it will fit. It charges via USB which also makes it a great travel companion as you wont have to worry about it fitting different international plug sockets. It’s also a great device to travellers who wont use this ring light for selfies, simply flip it round and point it away from you and it’s the perfect fill light for food photography.
Best ring light for laptop – Rotolite
Working from home is the future, so it makes sense to invest in a light that will last. The Rotolite NEO 2 is the perfect companion to anyone who is likely to be communicating primarily through video calls.
You may well be on the hunt for a webcam with ring light, in my experience the ring lights that are attached to webcams are too small and therefore produce harsh light. The larger the light source the softer the light, so a tiny light on a webcam looks horrible. Rather than getting a webcam with a ring light with a webcam built in, you’re better off buying the too separately. The Rotolite as part of a ring light webcam combo will make even the lowest quality webcam look much better as the grain will be significantly reduced. Try purchasing this before upgrading your webcam.
Ring lights are fantastic tools to have at your disposal and can make any home office conference call, makeup tutorial or live gaming stream look professional. Considering how cheap they are and how good Amazons return policy is, you can order one, try it out, and if it doesn’t quite fit your needs, return it for another. Hopefully you’ve found this guide useful.