Ring Light/Macro Camera Flashes

Macro Camera Flashes

When searching for that wow factor, macro photography can provide you with the results you are looking for. To obtain images of the simplest of things, but with the greatest of detail, macro photography alongside specialised equipment can yield immense satisfaction for a professional photographer. While lenses are key to achieve the detail of the subject, lighting is equally as important in order to capture the right angle and effect proper lighting can have. One thing is for certain: macro flashes can produce dramatic lighting effects that create edgy catch lights in a photograph.

A ring flash first entered the photography world as a simple piece of equipment that could easily attach to the camera lens. It provides a uniform source of light on the subject. Ring flashes tend to give off a flattening effect in the photograph due to the light source coming from all directions and the close proximity of the light and lens. It also softens the shadows by producing light from all angles. Often times, ring flashes when photographing nature help to obtain the finer details on insects, plants, or other inanimate objects.

While ring lights are very much similar to ring flashes, these LED lights provide a continuous light source and can act as a flash. Some benefits of these lights include the affordability as LED ring lights are more cost effective, producing images that are equal to those that use ring flashes. Additionally, they remove concern over flash sync speeds and dedicated connections of any kind. These are often synonymous with wanting to use fill lighting where you use light to fill in any and all shadows. This is most beneficial when photographing people.

Larger than a typical ring flash, an adapter is not a flash unit in and of itself. It is a device that attaches to a flash that pumps light through it, with potentially several stops of light. These devices are normally for fashion or portraiture. Many times this equipment will cause pictures to have circular rings reflecting in the eyes of the person you're photographing.