Made my own ring flash...check it out

Aaaah. So this is what they call "thinking outside the box." ... or outside the vegetable tray as it were. You have more courage and I do, posting something so ugly to a public forum. My garage is littered with similar DIY projects. For me it's more about building them than using them really. If you could see the grin on my face right now

I love building stuff like this. You should see the beer bongs I would build in college, and sometimes for a special occasion. Funny thing is I don't even drink beer.

Then why ever would you build such a thing

Alright, since you all really want to see a pic, here is one. It is the only shot I've taken. I have nobody to shoot today, my wife has been working all day. But, I happened to take this quick shot of my dad yesterday. (I built it at my parents so I could use all his tools!) I took a few quick shots just to see if it worked, this was the only one in focus. Hopefully, i'll get my wife or somebody at the superbowl party to pose for me. But here it is, to give you an idea.

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BearLeeAlive wrote:
Then why ever would you build such a thing

I built them all out of PCV and it kinda like giant legos! I would always test them out, though. That is the only way I could drink beer, drink it so fast you cant taste it. However I have "beer bonged" long islands before.

sounds like you're drinking the wrong kind of beer...

I had a bad experience with beer in college. Ever hear of the century club? 1 shot of beer every minute for 100 minutes. Well I went all the way to 200. I was a "little tipsy". Can't stand beer ever since.

But what a mostronsity!

I'm always a fan of using creativity to get the lighting you want, and also creating devices to end up with utilizing that creativity.

It just seems like through all the work you went through that a easier method must be available to get the same result. I understand not wanting to buy a ring flash as they amount to cash...

It just seems like this method is so much work to set up everytime you need a ring flash, and a soft box may very well do the same job and be easier to create.

What pictures are you trying to get with this? If they are macro, then I see how it could work well. If portrait or even shiny objects then simple reflectors or even a light box might be better.

Not trying to be over critical here, but with the shot of your dad, reflectors would have certainly achieved a much better result if properly used. You see the light reflecting directly back at you and the rings in his eyes? Just my opinion, but these ring flashes don't always work well in portraiture unless balanced with other light and used creatively..

A direct flash would have achieved results not much different.

Oh I know, my plain 580ex just bounched off the ceiling looks better than most of the shots I took with this. I built it more or less just to see if it would work. I doubt I'll use it much. It cost less than 20 bucks and only took a few hours to make. Plus I had a good time making it. I know this is a far cry from real studio lights.

shakin360 wrote:

Sorry, I know everyone can't go out and buy nice expensive lights. I'm not even implying that is what you need to do. In fact maybe after experimenting with this you will find a way of improving your design. I really think for a ring flash such as this to work it should be larger than your subject, so try it on a small subject and post the results. Perhaps a flower or something like that.

I was just kidding with the . I realized that it was a bit too small after the first shot. I still need to give it a real test and I will try the small subject idea.

I plan on getting some ABs once I get the funds.

shakin, your shot does show the special effect a ring could provide, even it's a bit too close to judge the the full potential. I am sure you could take better ones once you have time.

Looks pretty neat, I always do that. Make my own stuff, I dont want to pay top dollar for something, when I can easily make it at home.