If you really liked it, you’d put a [ring light on it!].
What if I told you that you could make your next video pop with vibrancy using a DIY ring light for under $20? Sounds to good to be true right? But in actual fact, making a homemade ring light is super simple, cheap and quick!
Before I get stuck into my guide, let me first address why so many video creators and makeup artists use ring lights. And is it worth your money making one, let alone buying a new one?
Here are some of the main advantage of using a ring light:
- Consistent shadowless light: This is preferred by many videographers and makeup artists as it gives an accurate representation of the subject
- Adaptable to cameras: With the ring light design, it’s super easy to put your camera smack bang in the middle of the light which gives a lot more options for recording video.
- Easy to setup: Ring lights can be setup in almost under 1 minute which is almost nothing when compared to umbrella lights, LED panels lights or soft boxes.
- Ring lights don’t over heat: 90% of ring lights use LED’s so you can record for hours on end and not have to worry about getting hot or the LED lights blowing out.
If you prefer video tutorials, then lucky you because I have created a full tutorial for this exact guide!
Things you’ll need for the homemade ring light
Here are a list of things that I used to make my DIY ring light. Most of these items I found lying around the house with exception of the LED lights and the cardboard. If you don’t have the other items, you can easily pick them up for super cheap from almost any store.
- LED strip lights, you can buy them on Amazon here
- Cardboard, preferably a double sided packing box
- Aluminium foil
- Permanent marker
- Clear Sellotape
- Box cutter or knife
- Something circular to trace e.g. pot lid, bucket etc
- Wax paper (optional, but recommended!)
- Cable ties (optional)
- Wire coat hanger (optional)
Total price: $20-25
Ok so now that I have my items ready and my plan set out, it’s time to starting making my homemade ring light! Lets get stuck in!
How To Make a DIY Ring Light For Under $25!
Step 1: Trace the outline of the ring light frame on the cardboard
First things first is to trace the outline of the ring light that we will have to cut out from the cardboard. To do this I found a largish pot lid from the kitchen which seemed like it would be a good size.
From there I traced around it on the cardboard and then did it free hand around the outer circle to form the ring. I would recommend not doing the ring to thin as you’ll need room for the lights and it might make the ring light too flimsy.
Step 2: Cut the ring from the cardboard
Next is the only real dangerous part of this DIY ring light tutorial and that is only because there are sharp objects involved. So please be careful! Unfortunately I didn’t have a box cutter to cut out the ring, so I had to use a sharp kitchen knife instead.
When cutting out the ring, I started from the inside and once that was done, then cut the outer side. When doing it this way I was creating a more stable cutting platform which was a lot safer. Once done, we now have our cardboard ring which is starting to come to life!
Step 3: Apply the aluminium foil around the card board ring
After that step is complete, I then wrapped the card board ring in aluminium foil. The main reason behind doing this is to add more reflectivity once the LED lights have been attached. I highly recommend doing this step as it’s quite surprising how much extra brightness the foil can add to the lighting effect.
Step 4: Attached the LED strip lights to the aluminium cardboard ring
Moving onto the next step is attaching the LED strip lights to our brand spanking new shiny circle. The lights I am using are a 3 meter LED strip that has a power adapter with an adhesive back for easy installation. I picked mine up from Amazon for a great price. Also these lights give out about 600 lumens which is pretty bright!
Attaching these to the ring was really easy. First I peeled off the adhesive tape covering and then started sticking from the inside out and followed the perimeter of the ring. From memory the lights went around close to 3 times which gives a nice consistent light profile when lit.
After the lights were attached, I just patted them down to make sure they were sticking well to the aluminium foil. Moving on!
Step 5: Secure the aluminium foil and LED lights with sellotape
Once the lights had been attached, I then went around the ring light with some clear sellotape just to keep everything in place. I did this about 5-6 times just wrapping the tape around where I thought it would be needed. This step also helps the aluminium foil from moving as it is not glued to the cardboard.
Step 6: Turn on the LED lights to insure everything is working
Ok now we are making some great progress and we are nearly towards the end of this build. Before I decided to go any further, I quickly plugged in the ring light to see if everything was operational. Viola! The lights turned on and the the aluminium foil is doing a great job of making this light nice and vibrant.
Step 7: Apply the baking paper to the ring light (optional but recommended)
Last step! This one is optional but I would highly recommend doing it if you having any baking paper lying around. While I could have finished with the above step, the light was almost too bright and had to be softened a bit. Typically a purchased ring light will have multiple filters and diffusers that can be attached which.
So the baking paper acts in the same way to soften the LED lights as they can be harsh when not defused properly. This also means it wont strain your eyes when looking into the light for prolonged periods.
To attached the baking paper, I did the same method as in step 3 and simply tore the baking paper into parts and gradually wrapped it around the ring light. From there I then secured it with wrapping the sellotape around each part.
Step 8: Time to enjoy your new DIY ring light!
Ok now we are done! All in all the complete build only took be about 30 minutes and I am so happy with how it came out! I have used professional ring lights before and this one is pretty close to the same brightness and look. I will definitely be using this light in all my upcoming videos!
Also for propping up the light, I hung it from the top of my camera on the tripod. Being so light it made it fit quite firmly.
If you want to learn more a bout ring lights, check out these other helpful guides below.
- DIY light for camera lens
- DIVA ring light using different lights
- Great guide on creating a professional ring light with tripod
If this tutorial has helped you or you think there are some other things to be added, please let me know down below in the comments. Thanks for reading and happy recording 🙂