Ring light

[shastashop]

Hi everyone,

Now that the weather is getting gloomy I need some help with lighting. Does anyone use a ring light for taking pictures of clothes? Just wondering how well they work. Thanks

[gdiesel70]

Yes, I’ve used a ring light since 2016 and love it. I prefer it  because it takes up less space than a 3-point light setup and it evenly distributes the light good enough for my needs. Sometimes I have to incorporate light from the window or use white cardboard to bounce the light to avoid ring reflections on surfaces like glass and jewelry. 

My original light was from Stellar Lighting Systems and it was excellent.  Then it fell down a flight of stairs and broke so I  bought a $120 ring light from Amazon—it’s good but clunky and not as bright as the Stellar light. 
I do have to tweak the angles sometimes and it’s not good for taking full length photos like long gowns and pant suits, so I place a small light on the floor and  bounce it the light off the wall behind the mannequin. Good enough. 

 

 

[slippinjimmy]

If you have been using natural light and are now switching to man-made lighting one key factor would be to ensure the appropriate white balance setting in your camera.

No experience with ring lights but I would guess that like all other lighting there is no consistency in the Kelvin rating which means one ring light might give poor results while another could give great results.