With diffuse, flattering, wrap-around light, the best ring lights are ideal for adding a professional pop to your photos and videos. Well suited to a wide range of subjects, ring lights excel at portraiture and facial lighting. Think about how you want to use the ring light. Are you just capturing casual photos on your phone? Then, you won’t need to spend a lot of money. But what if you are producing a weekly video podcast or episode for your YouTube channel? Then, you’ll want to pay more for a ring light that gives you more options.

The diffused light evenly illuminates faces, softening shadows, flattering the facial features and creating iconic halo catchlights. It’s no surprise, then, that ring lights are now some of the most popular lighting choices for YouTubers, vloggers and makeup artists. Increasingly they’re also being taken up by those looking to give their Zoom and Skype video calls a professional polish. Depending on how you plan to use your ring light, the power source can be worth noting. If you’re mainly working indoors you’ll want a mains powered light. Need a more portable option for working on the go? Look for a light that can run off of batteries. USB powered lights are also quite common and these are great for keeping cable clutter to a minimum. They can also be run off of a USB power bank which can come in handy. Some of the best ring lights for phones will offer advanced features, such as the ability to adjust the light’s color temperature or RGB output. Some are also powered by an AC adapter, whereas others use batteries — or have both options. Consider your needs.You’ve no doubt noticed that natural light can appear cool and blue, while indoor incandescent light can seem warm and yellow. If you plan on matching your ring light to any ambient lighting you’ll need to make sure it offers some form of colour temperature control. Most ring lights include the option to adjust the temperature, either electronically with an adjustable dial, or using interchangeable filters. Look for a 5500K or daylight setting if you plan on working mainly with natural light, or a 3200K or tungsten setting for working indoors. What other features should I look out for? The Raya Bendie-Brite Folding USB Bi-Color LED Ring Light is the best ring light if you’re on the road a lot and want a ring light that can travel with you. It’s lightweight (weighing less than a pound) and can fold in half, so you can take it with you to shoot your vlogs or video chats or capture some casual selfies. However, although it’s small, it has some more advanced features, such as the ability to adjust the color temperature and brightness for your project via touch-sensitive controls. This ring light earns its "Pro" designation with distinction. At 17 inches in diameter, it's an inch smaller than the Lume Cube Wireless Ring Light (below), but it gives you a half hour more battery life, and the new light stand is a half-foot higher.The new remote control is a godsend for lighting yourself without having to keep getting up and down, and the improved diffusion is a dream for lighting portrait subjects. The quality of light is also absolutely spot-on, which is particularly important for creators shooting content such as makeup tutorials. READ NEXT: The best tripods for iPhones The best ring lights you can buy in 2023 1. EOTO 18in Ring Light: Best budget large ring light You get a huge number of settings at your fingertips, since you're able to adjust the light’s color temperature, hue and brightness all independently. We were particularly impressed by its ability to produce many different types of light, including vibrantly colored light, via the RGB settings, which you won't find on every ring light.

Key specs – Ring diameter: 13cm; Brightness: 2500 lumens; Dimmable: Percentage increments; Colour temperature: 2900-7000K; Advertised CRI: 96; Internal mount: None; Power source: 6x AA or included mains adapter As you’d expect from a larger light, the Elgato provides a soft, shadow-free look along with bright halo catchlights. However, unlike a lot of large lights, it features a solid desk-mounting stand, rather than a traditional tripod, which means it’s easier to position and takes up no floor space. Given their donut-shape, ring lights are perfect for headshots and close-ups, whether you're shooting still images or video. So if you photograph or film yourself or others directly looking into the camera, a ring light is perfect for you. Ring lights can also be used like more traditional LED light panels, to provide overall key or fill lighting to a scene, but they are tailor made for shooting faces. Do professionals use ring lights? Besides that, most lights are flexible and let you switch between different color temperatures. Read our recommendations for the best phone tripod with a ring light. But before that, There are two dials on the front, one for cool light, and the other for warm, rated for a color temp range of 3,200 to 5,600 K, but you can't tell what the setting is because this unit is all analog. The hot shoe mount in the center of the light is easy to work with, but was tight even on my iPhone XS, so larger phones will be a problem. There's a bright red, Bluetooth-based smartphone camera shutter remote in the box you can use to start or stop a video, or shoot a still with your phone mounted.

The Cutest Ring Light 

Ring lights can illuminate a subject from multiple sides, which results in a pleasing, well-lit appearance, free of harsh shadows – a look that is generally flattering on faces. Ring lights are also well known for the iconic, attention-grabbing, halo-shaped catchlights they reflect in the eyes. Additionally, consider the size of the light: some are quite small and portable, which means you can take them on the road with you; others are larger and heavier, which may weigh you down. Ring lights are far from the only style of light on the market. Indeed you’ll find plenty of alternative light panels and softbox options available. Where ring lights have an edge, though, is the quality and coverage of light they can produce relative to their price and size. An LED panel or softbox capable of producing a similarly sized diffuse light is likely to be significantly bulkier, pricier – or both. Does ring light size matter?