Six principles of how to shoot creative portraits with ring flash.

Lead: Ring flash is an excellent light source. The use of ring flash is very common in fashion, and it is often used to take obscene photos. However, the ring flash used for high-end fashion photography, coupled with that set of power supply, is not cheap. Let's have a look!

Fortunately, now we have some cheap options, and we can even DIY a simple ring flash? As long as you have an ordinary hot shoe flash.

This paper will introduce seven creative methods of shooting with ring flash.

1. Used as fill light.

The most common use of small ring flash is as a filling light source. Because the light of the ring flash is parallel to the optical axis of the lens, there are some subtle effects besides providing auxiliary light.

Use it as a photo frame

Although this is not very important, can you use a ring flash as a border in the photo? It can provide a perfect white ring.

More interestingly, using super wide-angle lens (such as 8mm fisheye), you can also use the edge of the ring flash to create more creative effects. For example, photographer Fallon Chan did it.

Illuminate the details of a strong photo.

David Hobby showed a very cool way to use the ring flash. He used several hot-shoe lamps as hard light sources to shoot Gao Fancha, and then used a ring flash to fill in the details.

4. Create interesting eye light

One of the most famous uses of ring flash is to create unique eye light. Because the flash is annular, the obtained eye light is also annular.

If you want to try this effect, you need to pay attention to the distance between the flash and the model. The closer the distance, the better the lighting effect.

Of course, if you are very keen on this effect, try to make the model wear a pair of sunglasses. Although the use of ring flash is not always useful, it is worth a try. In addition, you can add some patterns to the ring flash.

Used as main light

Of course, the ring flash can also be used as the main light source, even if it is a single light shooting. Pay attention to the shadows that gradually spread from the center of the picture to the surrounding areas on the model.

6. Used to take macro photos

If you want to take macro photos, the ring flash is a perfect tool. The light source of ring flash is relatively uniform, which can provide perfect soft light effect.