Self Portrait with homemade ring light

[n.e.photo]

Turns out self portraits are a real pain to do :) but I was bored this afternoon so I took a walk down to the basement studio to play with some lighting.

http://www.nathanelson.com/post/me1.jpg

[kawter2]

I like it a lot! I am a fan or ring light shots

[Livinthalife]

I like it! Well done, care to share the setup of a homemade ringlite?

[COKE CAN]

Awesome shot sir!

I like it! Well done, care to share the setup of a homemade ringlite?

And please drop some knowledge on us!

[g-money]

Nice Job, I like it. Is that a reflection of the ring lights I can see in you eyes?

[song4themoon]

great shot! Very well done!

[zacwolf]

ringlights make eyes so nice, im quite jealous

[Rhinotherunt]

The ring catch lights in the eyes really set this off! Makes him look even tougher! Well done!

[redspyder]

Nice shot, the ring worked well. Great composition for a self portrait.

[henry_b]

very good shot, i like the catch lights a lot

[cleverer]

Love it!

[Khaos05]

awesome shot...looks like something that should be on the cover of a rockstar's cd :D

[laimis.s]

great shot. how do you deal with focus when doing self portraits (without using remote).

[n.e.photo]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone :) As far as the setup for the homemade ring light I am putting a little something together to show its build, the only picture I have from it right now is this :

http://www.nathanelson.com/post/cara-ring.jpg

With my lovely model Cara giving me her best "Price is Right" pose to help demonstrate some behind the scenes shots from my first run with the light. You can see the pictures of her from this shoot in the Glamour/Nude forum here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=228092

And to answer laimis, I had the camera set up on the ledge of a ladder with a box underneath it to give me the proper head height (I really need to invest in a tripod). I then focused on the chains and adjusted the focus back slightly to where I knew my face was going to be to keep the eyes sharp. After that it was a matter of setting the 10sec timer, walking to the chains, and waiting for the shutter :) I also had the DOF set to f/2.8 so I didn't have a lot of room for error in the focus, which can make it a pain in the ass, but I think the end result of shallow DOF is worth it.

Other posts involving Cara as my model can be found here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=231592
and here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=228541

[locky]

What bulbs did you use for the ring light? Thanks!!

[Livinthalife]

I wanna know all the details! lol brand wattage...lol I will definetly have to TRY to make one in the near future.

[D. Craig Flory]

A ring light has it's place for product photography, but not for people. It's the same reason that we look our worst, in a rest room, where there are lights all the way around the mirror. A face it's broadest in that situation and the same with a ring light. It also gives no direction to the lighting and a poor ratio. Also, the catch light in the eyes in not attractive at all. If any of you want to try a ring light, try it on some table top macro photography since that's what it is designed for.

[n.e.photo]

A ring light has it's place for product photography, but not for people. It's the same reason that we look our worst, in a rest room, where there are lights all the way around the mirror. A face it's broadest in that situation and the same with a ring light. It also gives no direction to the lighting and a poor ratio. Also, the catch light in the eyes in not attractive at all. If any of you want to try a ring light, try it on some table top macro photography since that's what it is designed for.

Ouch, now thats just vicious :) As far as looking our worst, I beg to differ, as would photographers like Paul Buceta and Ric Diaz (especially), who do unreal ring light work. Not to mention that the ring light is a major piece of equipment used in fashion photography, and one that is making a large comeback. There are different types of ring lights, some built for macro, some for fashion, I recommend reading up on a product before bashing the hell out of it :)

As for catchlights, some love it, some hate it, just like any other style of photography. If we all shot the exact same way what a boring world this place would be. I happen to like it, as with many other people, and I will continue to use it, along with some of the best photographers out there.

As for the rest of you that asked questions about the bulbs, I am currently using Sylvania 75W Daylight balanced light bulbs. If you do build a ringlight like mine you are going to need fast lenses. The 75W bulbs give me about 1/60th at f/2.8 but I love the shallow DOF look that it gives, so really the wattage of the bulbs is all about how much DOF you want in your pictures. Keep that in consideration.

[Cybnew]

Love the lighting!

[aacmckay]

A ring light has it's place for product photography, but not for people. It's the same reason that we look our worst, in a rest room, where there are lights all the way around the mirror. A face it's broadest in that situation and the same with a ring light. It also gives no direction to the lighting and a poor ratio. Also, the catch light in the eyes in not attractive at all. If any of you want to try a ring light, try it on some table top macro photography since that's what it is designed for.

Ouch....

I do not agree with that statement completely. While I think you're right that it can cause no direction to the light, I do think that a ring light makes an interesting catch light. Strobes still could be used to give direction to the light. I think that's why a lot of people have the ring light on a dimmer, so they can control it's brightness vs. the main strobes. The ring light is actually my favorite style of catch light at the moment. Oh well, it's all just an opinion anyways. It just seems that there's only two camps to the ring catch light. You love it or hate it.

[Kelsey-Lee]

Excellen shot! The focus is perfect, the effect created by the ring light fits the theme of the picture, (I love the chains) and your expression/pose is... awesome! Definately one for the portfolio!

[fivestardc5]

LOVE IT.. i want to try and build it

[COKE CAN]

A ring light has it's place for product photography, but not for people. It's the same reason that we look our worst, in a rest room, where there are lights all the way around the mirror. A face it's broadest in that situation and the same with a ring light. It also gives no direction to the lighting and a poor ratio. Also, the catch light in the eyes in not attractive at all. If any of you want to try a ring light, try it on some table top macro photography since that's what it is designed for.

I disagree completely

[Livinthalife]

As for the rest of you that asked questions about the bulbs, I am currently using Sylvania 75W Daylight balanced light bulbs. If you do build a ringlight like mine you are going to need fast lenses. The 75W bulbs give me about 1/60th at f/2.8 but I love the shallow DOF look that it gives, so really the wattage of the bulbs is all about how much DOF you want in your pictures. Keep that in consideration.

Thank you! So I guess if we wanted more DOF we could pop in some of those 3 step bulbs with different brightnesses if we are cheap. I got all kinds of ideas running through my head at the moment. Thanks for opening ANOTHER door into lighting.

[elise1030]

I love it! The catchlights give you an almost devilish look :D So are they just houselight bulbs? What is the diameter of the ring that your model is looking through?

[D. Craig Flory]

Hmmm, aacmckay made a very good point. If this was used, in addition to other lights, I may like it. As a main light source, I don't like it but would be very interested in seeing results on portraits with a key light in addition to the ring light.

[MARKinCORNWALL]

Great shot and composition

[Crashoran]

A ring light has it's place for product photography, but not for people. It's the same reason that we look our worst, in a rest room, where there are lights all the way around the mirror. A face it's broadest in that situation and the same with a ring light. It also gives no direction to the lighting and a poor ratio. Also, the catch light in the eyes in not attractive at all. If any of you want to try a ring light, try it on some table top macro photography since that's what it is designed for.

That's completely opinionated.

[D. Craig Flory]

I'd have to say that's the opinion of almost all pro portrait photographers. I can't speak for fashion photographers. As I said ... I'd like to see results with it along with a key light.

[tania622]

Well i'm no professional, but I love the picture

[kawter2]

I'd have to say that's the opinion of almost all pro portrait photographers. I can't speak for fashion photographers. As I said ... I'd like to see results with it along with a key light.


huuurrrmn

[scratches head]

[KevC]

Can't wait to hear more about the construction of the ringlight! Thanks!

[DanteCaspian]

A ring light has it's place for product photography, but not for people. It's the same reason that we look our worst, in a rest room, where there are lights all the way around the mirror. A face it's broadest in that situation and the same with a ring light. It also gives no direction to the lighting and a poor ratio. Also, the catch light in the eyes in not attractive at all. If any of you want to try a ring light, try it on some table top macro photography since that's what it is designed for.

What the hell?

[ABrownPhoto]

Your photo is awesome!

Your ring-light set-up is awesome

Please tell what kind of lights you used, as i think i'd like to make one of those!

[mytwogirls]

Very cool. I love the look of the catchlights.

[Sam]

This is one of the best self portrait shots I have seen here. Very creative and the ring light works great!