Are Ring lights worth it?


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Are Ring lights worth it? Should I get one or two or what is the right number? And is it worth the cost? Let’s start there.

It’s certainly possible to buy a Ring light and in some cases even two for under or around $100. So the investment isn’t huge at all. Here are some featured options currently available on Amazon. (Pricing accurate as of the time I wrote this.)

Name Top Feature Price Size
STALLY Ring Light 32 Color Modes $22.98 10.2 inches
Video Conference Lighting Kit Monitor Clip-On Design $23.99 Smallish
Sensyne Ring Light Extendable Tripod Stand $29.99 10 inches
Aureday Selfie Ring Light Lightweight Camera Compatible $29.99 14 inches
PEYOU Ring Light 3-in-1 Dimmable Design $33.99 12 inches
Evershop Ring Light Overhead Phone Mount $35.99 10 inches
Weilisi Ring Light 38 Color Modes $39.99 12 inches
NiceVeedi Studio Light (2-Pack) 2800-6500K Dimmable $52.99 Not specified
NEEWER Ring Light Kit Professional LED with Stand $92.99 18 inches

My setup currently involves two Ring lights positioned above and in front of me. Ring light positioning does matter. I also want to avoid that glare on my glasses.

Here’s how that looks:

 

How I positioning my ring lights

OK, but some might be quick to say: It’s all just toys. Sigh. And certainly it can be fun getting things set up to look as good as possible on livestreams and video podcasts. But there’s a real business reasons to get it right: Looking the way we want to look on these public appearances matters to branding – personal and the company. So, I wanted to test it. Here’s a picture that I took without any Ring lights on. This is just the regular room light and a bit of light from outside on a cloudy morning.

Picture of Christoph without Ring lights

It’s not horrible and probably could even be touched up in Visme a bit to lighten it up. But that’s extra work. Perhaps better lighting could help us avoid it.

Then I turned the lights on and snapped this picture:

Picture of Christoph with Ring lights on

I would say there’s a positive difference. My face is more defined, though I’m not sure that’s good. Ha ha. Whether you – or I – like my face isn’t the thing here. The reality is that with lighting you can look better on those livestreams and podcasts and even important meetings and that’s why the answer to are Ring lights worth it is a definite yes!


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