After being in the photography industry for close to 10 years, I often get asked by amateur photographers “I want to up my photography game, what’s the best new camera?” to their surprise my response is usually a LED light.
While a new camera definitely can enhance the quality images, it wont help one better understand the importance of lighting and composition. However once you play around with an artificial light source for a few days, you slowly start to see things a in a different light (pun intended).
Fortunately LED lights are an extremely affordable option when compared to other lighting options which makes them great for new or intermediate photographers. Because of this, I have researched and reviewed 5 of the best LED lights for photography. But first…
How LED lights can benefit your photography
Continuous LED lights have a variety of uses in different types of photographic applications. I’m sure you can come up other uses for your own personal photographic lighting needs, but these are my main uses.
- Portrait photography: LED bulbs are long lasting, stable, and operate without an excessive amount of heat build up. Regular photoflood lamps get very hot. This can make a subject uncomfortable, plus it makes the incandescent bulb more prone to breaking if transported before cooling down enough. LED lights allow you to take advantage of your camera’s automatic features without the pricey dedicated compatibility functions of certain strobes. This makes them great for a portrait photographer with a limited budget.
- Product photography: The high output of LED light intensity makes it easy to adjust our camera settings for whatever depth of focus is wanted. Since we can use any shutter speed when the camera is on a tripod, we can then set whatever aperture is desired. If we need a small f-stop for depth of field, or if we need a wider open aperture for selective focus, continuous LED lights give us that flexibility of shutter speeds necessary for correct exposure.
- Pet photography: Making pet portraits is popular. Some animals are startled by the intense POP of light coming from strobes. LED lights can give us the modeling we need while keeping a perhaps already skittish pet calm. A calmer pet leads to better pictures.
- Architectural and real estate photography: Sometimes, a room or a featured detail needs more controlled illumination to be better viewed. LED lights give us a great view of what is visible and what needs more light.
- Group photography: A group of businessmen, a wedding party, a class reunion, can all present a challenge when using strobes due to not seeing the lighting result before taking the exposure. Sure, we can look at the image on our viewscreen, but it is sometimes easier to see the light and shadows as we are setting up so that we can adjust light placement and subject posing with expediency.
Different types of LED lighting kits
- Panel lights: This is perhaps the most common type of LED lights for photography. As the name implies, these are made up of a bank of LED mounted on a panel which can be either camera mounted or adapted to a light stand or tripod.
- Ring lights: Many ring lights are fluorescent tube bulbs, but there are some excellent choices available in LED ring lights. Useful for shadowless close up photography, such as what you might need for certain small item products.
- Battery powered: Most higher intensity continuous lights will be AC powered, but a fair amount of smaller LED lights are battery powered for increased portability. Some high power LED lights can be run both from batteries or from AC.
- Light kits: Not really a type of light, but there are many kits on the market. Some kits are as basic as two lights with stands, others incorporate booms, umbrellas, soft boxes, or remote controls.
How I found the best LED lights for photographers
My criteria probably differs from yours, but I would wager not by much. There are a few basic things that we can all agree on should be considered when choosing the best LED lights for photography.
- Size and weight. For many photographers, being portable is a key consideration. A light’s size and weight factor into that. For camera mounted lights, being truly compact is a prime need.
- Power supply. Is it battery powered? That would make an LED light extremely portable. AC power is used for many higher intensity lights. Some can be powered either way.
- Brightness. Some are very bright, some are adjustable.
- Price. While we aren’t opposed to spending for a quality product, we don’t want to waste money either. We look for a good balance of value.
A Review Of The Top 5 Best LED Lights For Photography
1. Neewer 2 Packs Dimmable Bi-color 480 LED Lighting Kit (Best Tested)
First up on my list is a very strong choice for being one of the best LED lights for photography. This two light kit has at its heart the dimmable bi-color LED light itself with 240 white and 240 yellow long lasting LED bulbs.
These two colors of light combined with variable power, allowed me illuminate a variable white balance from tungsten through to daylight balance, a 3200K-5600K color temperature range.
This unit is constructed with a U-shaped bracket mount which, in turns, mount directly to the supplied light stands. The light stands adjust from 26 inches to 75 inches which is more than my tripod!
If you do opt for the batteries, they are Sony style lithium ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery packs. These are the same battery packs used on several current and older Sony camcorders which are relatively inexpensive.
There are two different battery size packs available, the smaller pack holding a charge for about 50 minutes and the larger battery pack with a charge of just under 90 minutes.
Continuing on the dimmable function, both lights can go from 1%-%100 which is important for light balancing and exposure variation. Adjusting the brightness was controlled with the power knob on the back side of the light panel. A second knob controls the color temperature which was also a nice touch from Neewer.
Overall this Neewer LED lighting kit was easy to use, bright, and portable which makes it a great contender for almost any photographer. Highly recommended!
2. SAMTIAN 160 LED Video Light Kit
Next up on my list is a very budget friendly kit. It comes with two small LED light panels, two short stands, and the batteries that are already included. Not bad for under $100!
As for the size of the light panels, they are 4 x 6 inches, most of that area being the lights themselves, the housing is also about 1 inch thick. An advantage of being this small is that one light can actually be mounted on a camera with the supplied hot shoe mount.
I found they were light enough, even with the battery mounted, so as to not make on camera mounting worrisome or cumbersome at all, except on the smallest, least robust cameras.
Color temperature is changed by a set of filters. Unfiltered, the lamps are daylight (5600K) balanced, the filters converts the color temperature to tungsten (3200K). Easy to change, the lights also come with a clear diffusing filter for softer light.
With smaller lights, diffusers are sometimes vital, since smaller lights are closer to a point source than a large light bank would be.
When it came to mounting the lights to the tripod stands, everything was pretty straight forward. The lights have a 1/4″ thread hole on the bottom, which fit snug with the stand while also being compatible with most photographic tripods.
My kit also came with two ball and socket heads to allow the lights to be positioned at whatever angle needed which was a nice touch.
3. EachShot ES240 18″ Ring Light Kit
Moving onto the next unit only my list is the highly capable EachShot 18” ring light kit.
Having the larger opening in this ring light really did make this light more versatile. Smaller ring lights are usable, but I find a larger diameter to be more versatile for portraits and makeup photography.
When it came to the lights, this unit uses 240 5500K LED’s as opposed to fluorescent lights which are more temperamental and put out more heat. LEDs are also more durable for transport and have a longer useable life too. An advantage of LED’s is that you can easily dim the brightness for your desired look.
Besides varying the color temperature with filters, I could also adjust the power output of the lamp. A control on the supplied cord and AC adapter allow this. Even though the lamp requires a special AC adapter, there is no provision for battery power as one might expect with a configuration like this. At least, none that I could find.
Mounts are included in this kit and they can be used to affix to the included light stand without any hassle. The light mount is fully adjustable for many angles and is compatible with most DSLR and point & shoot cameras plus smartphones.
4. GVM LED Light Kit For Photography & Video
This kit is a little pricier than I was originally considering for this review, but it has quality and features that make it one of the best LED lights for photography. It comes with three lights, three stands, a remote control, and a case for transport.
The GVM light is fully adjustable for any angle within its U-shaped bracket with the lights adjusting for color temperature and power level. Those levels are controlled with knobs and push buttons behind the panels with other features like the remote control and slaving channels.
A nice about this panel, is that the back panel LCD display let me know the exact settings and channels.
That adds quite a bit of cost, but if a photographer needs the high quality and features of this LED light, and wants it to be completely portable, than that’s just something we’ll have to budget for. Not every outfit can be priced for lower budgets, but I don’t mind recommending higher quality when it’s worth it.
These 13” square lamps are heavy, too, but their all aluminum construction makes them heavy duty, not merely heavyweight. Heat dissipation allows a user to operate these lights for hours on end.
I really liked the full function remote control. All features were available via the remote control. All things considered, the cost wasn’t as high as some other lower quality lights I’ve tested. If a photographer has a higher budget, this is one of the best LED lights for photography.
5. Neewer 14″ LED Ring Light
A very budget friendly ring light, the Neewer 14” LED ring light is perfect for smaller cameras and smart phones.
It is AC powered, again with the annoying shortness of the cord, and is adjustable power by means of the same knob that is the on/off switch. Turn on and twist all the way for full brightness. Any setting in between stays as set.
Our kit came with a smart phone adapter and a Bluetooth remote. Since the instruction sheet had minimal information, I was really working hard for a while to get anything about the light to match up with the Bluetooth. Then it hit me. Bluetooth is for the smart phone.
As tested, the kit comes with filters for diffusion and warmth, camera adapter, smart phone adapter, a lightweight, but tall stand, the remote, and a carry case. Though small in size, it’s a fully capable light kit. For a smaller budget, it is one of the best LED lights for photography.
Which is LED light Best?
Hey, are the Ginger vs Mary Ann debates ever fully resolved? They both have more pros than cons on their sides. Besides, they are both beautiful women. No wonder Gilligan kept “accidentally” sabotaging the rescue attempts!
If you’d like to learn more about how to light your next photography shoot, see these great resources below.
- Lighting facts every photographer should now
- How to light a portrait shoot
- How to setup a home lighting studio