Vloggers didn't get the memo about how to use ring lights

[Karim D. Ghantous]

I notice that quite a few video bloggers (vloggers) buy ring lights... and then put them next to the camera. They don't put the lens through it, as the manufacturer intended. Of course, you can use a ring light as a normal light if you wish. There is no law against it. I have done so myself, because that's the only light that was available to me at the time. But I think some people didn't get the memo about how to use these things.

 

[Alex Zeder]

And they are probably disappointed because they can't even hear their lights ring!

 

[M Harvey]

I think ring lights have been marketed the public as "beauty lights," with the assertion supported by the idea that they are "used in the fashion industry." (No one points out their use with dental cameras, of course.) Most people simply have no concept of how lights work or why they're designed the way they are, they just see them used by other vloggers and like the look, and so it's sort of become default equipment.

On the plus side, I suppose that on a per LED basis, they probably are softer than a more compact shape because they effectively cover a larger area, and that's useful for these applications. And when used off-lens axis, the larger ring lights may in fact function like the traditional "beauty dish" strobe modifiers that fashion/beauty photographers.

On a side note, I've been noticing these ring lights in salons. (In my city, it seems as if there's a salon on every block, and these powerful daylight sources can be blinding if you cross their paths!) While I could imagine they might be useful for certain kinds of detail work (e.g. evenly lighting a hand while working on nails), I think it probably just further reflects the idea the general public has that they're "beauty lights."