How to Build a Dirt Cheap DIY Ring Light
Ring lights are a great piece of kit for illuminating your subject evenly and creating a distinctive catch light in the eyes. Unfortunately, these lights are typically expensive, but this short tutorial by Instructables user gravityisweak will show you how to building your own for next to nothing.
This project makes use of a 12v halo ring lamp, typically used in cars and found on Amazon for $12. If you have a 3D printer lying around (and who doesn’t?) it will come in handy so you can create a threaded ring; otherwise, you can use velcro to attach the light to a lens hood. To complete the build, you’ll also need a 9v battery, and connector wire.
From there, the setup is pretty straightforward. Simply hook up the battery and mount it either using velcro or a 3D-printed ring and battery holder (design files for both the threaded ring, and a 9v battery holder can be found here and here), and you’re done!
Unfortunately, gravityisweak doesn’t share any sample photos taken with the ring light—which we imagine works a bit better for macro work than portraiture—but he does share some photos of the setup itself:
To see the full step-by-step tutorial with pictures to go along with it, head on over to Instructables. And if you do build this little DIY ring light, drop a sample photo or two in the comments for the rest of us to see!
(via Instructables)
