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A ring flash is a circular light that is often operated with a camera lens in the center to take photographs. Unlike
A macro ring flash typically consists of a power and control unit mounted on a hot shoe, and a circular flash unit mounted on the front of a lens. Power is supplied by
Eye full.jpg, A closeup image of an eye showing reflected ring flash, a common effect in fashion photography
File-Pentax AF160FC Ring Flash.JPG, Pentax AF160FC ring flash and Pentax K20D camera with macro lens mounted under tripod for photographing ants
Katarina_-_League_of_Legends_(9524253566).jpg, A model photographed with a ring flash
A ring flash is a circular light that is often operated with a camera lens in the center to take photographs. Unlike point light source
A point source is a single identifiable ''localised'' source of something. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other source geometries. Sources are called point sources because in mathematical modeling, these sources ca ...
s, a ring flash can illuminate a subject with minimal shadows by closely and evenly surrounding the optical axis
An optical axis is a line along which there is some degree of rotational symmetry in an optical system such as a camera lens, microscope or telescopic sight.
The optical axis is an imaginary line that defines the path along which light pro ...
of the camera lens. This makes it a popular choice for various types of photography, including macro, portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...
and fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography which is devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items, sometimes haute couture. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking a picture of a dressed model (person), model in a photo ...
.
Closely related to the ring flash is the continuous ring light, which can produce a consistent level of light for video recording or to see a live preview before capturing photographs. Continuous ring lights are popular for improving picture quality on video calls, social media selfies, and video blogging. For example, Cornell University offers a photo kiosk equipped with a continuous ring light and iPad to take social media profile pictures for students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Modern continuous ring lights frequently use light-emitting diodes
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light ( ...
(LEDs) because they are bright, energy-efficient, and capable of producing quality light.
Ring lights and flashes vary in diameter and thickness, as well as the amount, color temperature, and quality ( color rendering index or CRI) of light output. Some ring lights allow for the adjustment of brightness and color temperature.
History
The ring flash was first invented by Lester A. Dine in 1952 for use in dental photography.Construction
A macro ring flash typically consists of a power and control unit mounted on a hot shoe, and a circular flash unit mounted on the front of a lens. Power is supplied by batteries
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
in the shoe-mount unit and a cable conveys power and control signals to the circular flash unit. In larger ring flashes, which are typically used for fashion photography, power may be supplied by an external battery or line power supply, or the power supply and light may be combined in one unit.
Light is usually generated by one or more flash tubes or by multiple LEDs. In some flash units with multiple flash tubes, each flash tube can be independently enabled. Some ring flashes have focusing lenses that result in ideal light distribution at a particular distance from the subject.
Other devices are available that project light in a fashion similar to ring flashes. For example, flash diffusers have no light source of their own, but instead mount in front of a conventional flash unit and transmit the light to a ring-shaped diffuser at the front of the lens. Some other passive light modifiers can shape the light from a conventional shoe-mounted flash into that of a ring flash. These adapters use diffusers and reflectors to "bend" the light in an arc around the lens axis and then emit the light from that arc. These devices maintain any through-the-lens (TTL) lighting functions that are shared by the camera and flash because the timing of the light has not changed.
Applications
Ring flashes are commonly used in macro (close-up) photography. When the subject is very close to the camera, the distance of the flash from the optical axis becomes significant. For objects close to the camera, the size of the ring flash is significant and so the light encounters the subject from many angles in the same way that it does with a conventional flash withsoft box
A soft box is a type of photographic lighting device, one of a number of photographic soft light devices. All the various soft light types create even and diffused lightBrooks, David. ''How to Control and Use Photographic Lighting''. HPBooks, ...
. This has the effect of further softening any shadows.
Ring flashes are also popular in portrait and fashion photography because they soften the shadows created by other, off-axis lights, and create interesting circular highlights in a model's eyes. Ring Lights are also often used in the beauty and cosmetic industry, mostly by make-up artists. This is due to the lightweight and compact features of a ring light that make it suitable for freelance beauty and make-up artists.
Ring flashes are also used in microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...
. The ring flash (usually LED) is mounted on the objective lens of an optical microscope
The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible light and a system of lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of micro ...
. The main use of this tool is the photographing of microscopic organisms. A ring flash works on a microscope in much the same way as it does on a camera; it reduces reflections while bathing the subject in light.
See also
*Close-up
A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, photography, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot (filmmaking), shot that tightly film frame, frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard s ...
* Macro photography
* Micrograph
A micrograph or photomicrograph is a photograph or digital image taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnified image of an object. This is opposed to a macrograph or photomacrograph, an image which is also taken on a m ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring Flash Flash photography Photographic lighting