wnagel Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

Have never used a ring light.

Fill me on uses.

Thanks.

rodpark2 Loc: Dallas, Tx

Basically eliminates shadows since light is coming from circle. Used a lot for macro, but can produce unique results in portraiture. Distance from subject male a huge difference. Usually fits around the lens so the lens is centered in the ring.

Vietnam Vet

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=ring+flash+portraits&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

https://www.adorama.com/alc/what-is-a-ring-light

Here is a portable one I use for location work.
https://www.paulcbuff.com/Flash-Units/alienbees-ringflash.html

The circle in the eyes is the trademark of a ringlight in portraits. You can get away from it by using a diffuser. Women's portraits look fabulous when photographed with it. You will also see a usually barely noticeable shadow on the background of your model. It should be a standard light for any portrait photographer.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

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amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I use a ring light for high magnification macro work... approx. 2X or greater magnification. The one I use is a Canon MR-14EX, which has dual light tubes that can be set individually for up to 8:1 light ratio.

For less magnification I prefer a twin light setup and use a Canon MT-24EX with a custom mounting bracket instead of the supplied lens mount. This allows more versatility positioning the two flash heads. The MT-24EX also allows up to 8:1 lighting ratio to be set, but because the flash heads can be positioned farther away from the subject, makes for more dramatic lighting effects, less flat lighting.

Left: MR-14EX on Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (magnification range from 1X to 5X).
Right: lens & ring light used to photograph a tiny, freshly hatched snail at approx. 3.5X...



Left: MT-24EX on Stroboframe dual flash bracket and Canon EF 100mm macro lens (range infinity to 1X).
Right: lens and twin light used to photograph a turtle are approx. 0.25X.



The main reason I prefer the twin light for moderate magnification macro is because ring lights tend to make for relatively flat lighting effects, without much shadow modelling at other than high magnifications. The little snail (about 4mm) above used the maximum 8:1 lighting ratio possible with the MR-14EX.

Actually, a lot of the time when I don't have a macro lens and macro flash with me, I just add some extension tubes to make a non-macro lens focus closer and use a standard flash diffused with some white gauze over the flash head. Sometimes I'll even use that single flash with a macro lens. The flash is too powerful for close-up work normally, but works fine after I diffuse it with the gauze over the head, as shown. The images below were shot this way. I was photographing birds with a long telephoto when I saw the garden spider and its web... the flash was used as a fill. I spotted the praying mantis in my garden at home and used the same rig, but set the flash full power to act as the primary light source that would make the backgrounds go black (it was a busy tangle of stems and branches).

Left: Canon 580EX flash with diffuser and off-camera shoe cord, for close-up work.
Right: Diffused 580EX as fill for garden spider in web, 70-200mm zoom fitted with 25mm extension tube.
Below: Diffused 580EX as full flash for praying mantis, 100mm macro lens.

wnagel Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

Thank you. Your answer and examples were most helpful.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Personally, I find a ring lit portrait to give an unnatural ring glint in the eye of the subject which distracts me. Personal preference.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The ring light was developed by Lester Dine to assist with intra-oral photography (inside the mouth). The design allows for almost axial lighting so it can illuminate teeth inside a tight space, like the mouth. That lighting is really flat and usually uninteresting for creative close-up photography. I’ve worked with a university dental school for 23 years helping students learn to shoot with a ring light, and often suggest taking the light off the lens-holding it a bit off to the side so the geography of the teeth can be seen better. Because they are designed to be used at close distances, they don’t need to be very powerful.
Ringlights used for portraiture/fashion on the other hand are bigger and need to have more power.

Bill P

Ring light: something that fits onto the end of a lens and is barely larger. Used for macro.

Not a ring light: The larger things that are used for fashion/portrait work: Much larger light, usually at least a foot or so in diameter with a hole in the middle that you shoot through. Originally strobe, but now fluorescent or led. It's called a beauty dish. only dumb under-educated millennials call them ring lights, and if you see you using one but not shooting through the center, run fast!

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"...The ring light was developed by Lester Dine to assist with intra-oral photography... This... GoofyNewfie got it right... In fact there are "Lester Dine" branded AF 105mm f/2.8D Nikkors still being sold used on the web... same optics, different label...

btw, the AF 105mm f/2.8D Nikkor was a tool of choice for dentist back in the day...
All that is water under the bridge with the advent of fiber optics... my dentist has a camera that I can only dream of... macro photography redefined...

Ring lights are now the mainstay of YouTube video grues...
Especially makeup artist... lots and lots of kit available for placing a camera in the center for shooting videos... Canon holds the lion's share since it actually can AF effectively in this scenario...
Obviously these are continuous lights...

For still photography? Not widely embraced for a myriad of reasons... i.e. lack of modifiers...