# Newbie to lighting / Suggetions for DIY Ring Light



## christinartnd (Aug 27, 2014)

hello!  so im a newbie to the website (and a newbie to the idea of lighting) and I wanted to get some advice! :mrgreen:

i post a lot of videos on youtube and usually my lighting is a bit spaced out. generally lit from the ceiling with spotlights, there are shadows here thereand everywhere and its a bit unflattering.

Im looking to upgrade my equipment and look into some lighting - and I want to start with some very basic stuff. I've done my research and im really interested in a ring light. I like the general overall look and would also use it for other photos, i.e. makeup photos I take on my iphone (yes, simple I know!) or DSLR. etc. (I'm using a Nikon D5100.)

as my budget is ABOUT £50-60 i've realised that the price of ring lights start at about £30-50 , and then they shoot up to around £190+ and there really is no inbetween. 

Has anyone, or would anyone be able to give me a bit of help on how to combine the two ideas on how to make a small setup for a ring light... In theory what I'm thinking of doing is buying a ring light for my DSLR (ive looked at a lot of reviews and found a few of the best ones!) and then what kind of bracket or additional stands would I need in order to get it standing on its own on either somethig similar to a microphone stand with a clasp or a tripod? surely there has to be SOME way to do this?

I basically want the ability to move it around. I want to test it both on the camera and off the camera whilst i'm shooting video, however I don't want to have it in my hand, manually moving it... I don't step too far away from the camera when i'm recording. Guitar shots are usually close ups and vocal takes can't be more than about a meter away which seems appropriate for the ring lights i've looked at. (something like http://www.amazon.co.uk/dodocool-Am...eywords=nikon+d5100+ring+light#cm_cr_dpwidget )

If anyone could give me any information that would be really really handy.


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## Village Idiot (Aug 28, 2014)

Just buy and AB ringlight. It's probably one light from AB that's not overpriced.


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## astroNikon (Aug 28, 2014)

Get your lights off the ceiling and onto light stands then you would be able to eliminate the shadows from hanging the lights from the ceceilingand last thing you want to do is start mixing different lights nd colors which will throw your White  Balance off.

and there's a great book  to read about lighting, angles etc.  I'll post it when I'm on a pc

Lso Yongnuo makes an affordable ring light


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## CameraClicker (Aug 28, 2014)

Video is not like stills.  Video needs continuous lighting.  Stills can use bright continuous lighting or flash.  
The  whole point of a ring light is that it circles the lens, usually to  eliminate shadow during macro photography, but sometimes to create a  round catch light.  The led variety gives a round string of pearls look.
Off camera, a ring light is not going to have the shadowless look.
From  your description, you might want a Beauty Dish, powered by a continuous  light source.  But, a beauty dish is a parabolic reflector that focuses  the light, and if you have someone on stage, they will be moving around  and an off camera focused light will not follow them unless you have an assistant.

I'm a little confused about your statement that you don't step far from the camera while recording!  Are you not holding the camera?  Or, is the camera on a tripod and you are the subject?  What is a "vocal take" and why do you have to be close to the camera?


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## christinartnd (Aug 28, 2014)

Village Idiot said:


> Just buy and AB ringlight. It's probably one light from AB that's not overpriced.



have looked for AB ring light and cant seem to find one ( only found the unit which was $399 ! ) 

does everyone else think the macro one and attaching it to a stand is a bad idea then ?


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## astroNikon (Aug 28, 2014)

After reading this on my laptop I'm with CameraClicker.  I'm confused on what you are trying to accomplish.
What type of venue are you trying to photograph/video ?
How are you currently doing it.

Your description was great in that you knew what you were talking about how your setup is, but anyone reading it has no idea.
Be as descriptive as possible so people understand, otherwise your answers will be as accurate as your description.

fyi .. I don't know video well and didn't see that on my phone.


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## Braineack (Aug 28, 2014)

~$40USD?  you get what you pay for. I assume those LEDs aren't bright enough to really light you up well enough.   PLus I'm not a huge fan of ring lights of portraits, especially if you want to highlight your makeup application.

But sounds like youre focusing mainly on YT videos and not photography?


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## CameraClicker (Aug 28, 2014)

christinartnd said:


> Village Idiot said:
> 
> 
> > Just buy and AB ringlight. It's probably one light from AB that's not overpriced.
> ...



If you want to shoot video, any flash is a bad idea.

If you are shooting a band on stage, with stage lighting, flash can overpower the stage lighting and give you white light, or at part power you can fill shadows -- but only for still photos.


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## christinartnd (Aug 28, 2014)

CameraClicker said:


> Video is not like stills.  Video needs continuous lighting.  Stills can use bright continuous lighting or flash.
> The  whole point of a ring light is that it circles the lens, usually to  eliminate shadow during macro photography, but sometimes to create a  round catch light.  The led variety gives a round string of pearls look.
> Off camera, a ring light is not going to have the shadowless look.
> From  your description, you might want a Beauty Dish, powered by a continuous  light source.  But, a beauty dish is a parabolic reflector that focuses  the light, and if you have someone on stage, they will be moving around  and an off camera focused light will not follow them unless you have an assistant.
> ...




sorry if i didnt word it very well - i assumed people would understand!

so i said I record a lot of youtube videos - theyre covers/music videos. always/primarily in my bedroom. in any room, in a house (usually with poor lighting.) the camera is on a tripod as I record myself singing to edit in post production. the camera is only ever really focused on the face for vocal takes, and then something like a guitar or me playing guitar for a instrument take. 

does that explain it a little better? its a bit like beauty vloggers or youtubers who sit in their bedroom and have a camera on a tripod and just record stuff like that. i've looked at many videos and they all have ring lights and it seems this is the best light source for that kind of video, but I just didn't realise theyd be so expensive!


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## christinartnd (Aug 28, 2014)

astroNikon said:


> After reading this on my laptop I'm with CameraClicker.  I'm confused on what you are trying to accomplish.
> What type of venue are you trying to photograph/video ?
> How are you currently doing it.
> 
> ...



hey, im really sorry! newbie to this whole thing and never really post on forums. 
my setup is a nikon d5100 on a tripod. thats it for the moment (pretty rubbish setup.)

i will stand about no more than a meter away from the camera with a microphone and will video myself singing to whichever track. 

im looking for a ringlight for lighting - have seen many beauty bloggers use one and it seems to be the best thing, except its really expensive. was wondering if a ringlight for a macrolens would work well as i dont have much money to play with! (im really sorry if this is another bad description.)


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## CameraClicker (Aug 28, 2014)

This is a beauty dish, without the light.  Is this what you mean by a ring light?  Can you give us a link to a video?

BOWENS BEAUTY DISH 21" SILVER BW-1901 BW-1901


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## christinartnd (Aug 28, 2014)

Braineack said:


> ~$40USD?  you get what you pay for. I assume those LEDs aren't bright enough to really light you up well enough.   PLus I'm not a huge fan of ring lights of portraits, especially if you want to highlight your makeup application.
> 
> But sounds like youre focusing mainly on YT videos and not photography?




definitely. I will use it for photography now and again but it is primarily going to be for videos which is why i wanted the cotinuous light . can only apologise for my bad way of explaining this, sorry!


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## christinartnd (Aug 28, 2014)

CameraClicker said:


> This is a beauty dish, without the light.  Is this what you mean by a ring light?  Can you give us a link to a video?
> 
> BOWENS BEAUTY DISH 21" SILVER BW-1901 BW-1901



not exactly - this ring light 

640 LED Ring ? 5600k Daylight Continuous Light for Photo and Video. Soft, Even Diffusion

the macro ones look like this and are suitable if youre close to the camera / macro shots. which is why i figured it MIGHT just work for my kind of set up. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aputure-Ama...TF8&qid=1409230069&sr=8-3&keywords=ring+light


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## Braineack (Aug 28, 2014)

look how dark the shot is to just barely expose the girl enough: http://www.fastforwardtime.co.uk/image/lights/cn-r640-ringlight-for-dslr-filmmaking-3.jpg

and that was probably a very well lit expo.

exif: 1/120sec, iso100, f/2.4, 4.3mm (35mm equiv)

I love this: A technique frequently used in glamour shoots to add a sense of vibrancy and life to the model.

that girl looks dead in that sample shot.


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## CameraClicker (Aug 28, 2014)

That 640 LED ring is the size of a beauty dish.  Ring flash will not do video, you need ring continuous.  And, you don't want to spend money?

I'm thinking you want a scrim, and a bright continuous light.  Something like this.




from a different angle


Gives this:


Disclaimer: I don't have a clue how to play it, my first wife wanted a guitar and then never learned to play it, and left it behind.  Nice prop though.

That bright white circle is a scrim.  It happens to be a commercial one but you could pick up some white, see-through (loose weave, low thread count), fabric at the local fabric store and hang it on a line stretched between walls a few feet from where you want to perform.  The light is a Halogen Work Light available from Home Depot, Lowes, etc.  They come in various sizes, and you can get two on a stand.  They are the expensive part.  You might be able to use your spot lights to shine on the fabric, if they are bright enough.

The idea is that the light hits fabric and becomes a larger light.  By adjusting the light to scrim and scrim to subject distance, you can make the light to subject ratio be anything you want, and apparent size to subject size determines shadow hardness/softness, while brightness and distance determine how much light you have for exposure.


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