Ring lights are often used to light up products or objects in photographs. They come in various shapes and sizes, from large studio lights to smaller handheld units.
Ring lights are useful tools for product photography because they allow you to control the lighting conditions. This means you don’t have to worry about having to adjust the settings every time you take a picture.
But just how good are they? And how can you use them in photography? For beginners, it can be challenging to know how to operate ring lights successfully. We search and search but just can’t seem to find the answers that we need.
Well, no more! Keep reading to find out more about ring lights and how to use them for product photography. Get ready to become an expert in ring lights and product photography!
What Is Product Photography?
Product photography is pretty much as simple as it sounds- photographing products so that they can be advertised and sold. This is different from a marketing campaign where the product is placed in a particular place or setting as part of an advert.
Product photography tends to be simple photographs of the product so that a customer purchasing it online can have an accurate idea of what it looks like. This means the photograph needs to be high quality, well-lit, and professional.
What Is A Ring Light?
A ring light is a useful type of lighting used in photography. It is, as you would expect, circular, with a set of fluorescent or LED lights arranged in a ring shape. You can get them in many different sizes, but the most common ones have a diameter of 12 inches, 14 inches, or 18 inches.
They often have a stand which means you can position the ring light wherever you need it and you don’t need anyone to hold it in place.
The best feature of a ring light is that your camera lens will fit in the middle of the ring. This means that your photograph will be taken from the position of the center of the light source. Whatever you are photographing will be perfectly lit with very little shadow and no glare.
Your pictures will be bright and vivid, even if the natural lighting or the lighting in the room is poor.
Ring lights have become very popular in photography but they were originally designed to assist with the application of make-up, as the even lighting helps you to see your makeup properly to make sure that it is well blended.
They have also become very popular for taking selfies or portraits as they provide very flattering lighting to the face.
Why Use Ring Lighting For Product Photography?
Ring lighting is an ideal type of lighting to use for product photography.
As the ring light comes with a stand, you can position the light as far away or as close to the product as you need to to create the perfect lighting conditions for your photograph.
As your camera fits into the center of the circle of lights, there will be no shadows or glare that will affect the photograph or detract from the positive features of the product you are photographing. It also provides a very professional look to the photograph which will make the product more appealing.
A ring light illuminates the whole product rather than drawing attention to one part and leaving the rest in shadow. This means that any potential customer will be able to get a good look at the product to decide whether they want to buy it or not.
The product will stand out and look vivid against whatever background you are using. A neutral background often works best for product photography.
What Are The Benefits Of Owning A Ring Light?
As a photographer, there are many reasons why you should own a ring light.
Firstly, it will provide excellent lighting for close-up shots in lots of different scenarios. Whatever you are trying to photograph, you should be able to get a well-lit picture.
Second, you won’t need to spend lots of time editing your photographs to get rid of annoying shadows or awkward glare. The lighting should be perfect and will barely need any tweaking in the editing stage.
A ring light creates evenly distributed light in the photograph which is easy to look at and pleasing for the eye. This is great for product photography and portraits. The lighting quality is soft yet bright.
How To Set Up Your Ring Light
Another great thing about the ring light as a piece of photography equipment is that it is simple and easy to set up. It takes only a few minutes so you can straight into shooting your photographs.
The first time you use your ring light after purchasing, you will need to remove everything from the box and have a look at the instruction manual. Most ring lights tend to work the same way, but you should always read the instructions to ensure that you do everything correctly and you don’t damage the light.
Once you are familiar with the instructions, you will need to attach the ring light to the stand that comes with it. Screw the light onto the stand until it is nice and secure.
Next, you can plug it in to check the electrics and bulbs are all working. When it comes to replacing a bulb, check your instruction manual for a guide on how best to go about this.
Once you have checked that it is all working correctly then you are ready to start taking photographs. You should experiment with the ring light to get to grips with it and how to use it to create the effect that you want.
Position the stand as far or as close as you want to the object that you are photographing, then place the lens of your camera through the ring to take your photograph. Move the stand around to see how the distance of the ring light affects the outcome of the photograph.
You can also play around with the background lighting and your camera settings to see which combinations give you the best results.
Summary
Now that you know more about ring lighting, you can understand why it is so helpful when it comes to product photography. Get yourself a ring light and see what you think!