Ring lamp for makeup: why does a makeup artist need it and how to choose it?

Why does a makeup artist need a makeup lamp?

High-quality ring lamps illuminate the face as brightly as possible, leave no partial shadows, do not change facial features or distort colors, so using them in your work is as effective as possible.

Workplace lighting . Most often, for high-quality and uniform illumination of the client’s or model’s face, makeup artists choose illuminated makeup mirrors. But if your workplace does not provide for its presence, as a last resort you can get by with such an option as a ring lamp.

Work away. If you often work on the road, you simply cannot do without a ring lamp. Bridal preparations, evening advertising shooting and other formats of work outside your studio or salon - in any case, you need good light to do your work well. Ring lamps are ideal for this purpose and are often available in compact formats that easily fold into a carrying case.

Photo and video shooting. To build a portfolio and maintain your own accounts on social networks, beautiful photos of your work are important, and light plays an important role in this case. A smartphone, camera, or even a camera can be mounted on a tripod, which is often sold complete with a lamp.

How to choose a ring lamp for makeup?

Dimensions. If you plan to work on the road, give preference to small-sized lamps. Ideally, collapsible models that fit in a case.

Autonomy. Always pay attention to whether the lamp has the ability to operate on removable batteries. They should ensure autonomous operation of the ring without wires for at least a couple of hours. Batteries are essential if you plan to operate the ring light on the road.

Availability and quality of a tripod. Of course, to further work with the lamp you cannot do without a tripod, so be sure to pay attention to its availability and characteristics. It is important that the tripod is of high quality: it does not fall or wobble, it maintains an angle and does not fall over.

We recommend paying attention to heavier racks, as they are much more reliable. But if you need a lamp for work on the road, lighter options will suit you. One of them is a tabletop tripod.

Holder for smartphone, mirror or camera. To illuminate your workplace and, of course, for photo and video shooting, you will need to install a smartphone or a small makeup mirror on a tripod, so you cannot do without a special holder.

Product body. On the reverse side it should have a sufficient number of slots for good natural ventilation. The more there are, the better.

Number of LEDs. Now let's move on to the technical requirements. Small models of ring lamps, which can be used by both novice makeup artists and bloggers and professionals, have 240 LEDs installed. But the professional ring lamp for high-quality photography already has 480 LEDs.

Ring diameter. Lamps with a diameter of 35 cm or more are excellent for eyebrow artists and makeup artists. At the same time, for local illumination of a certain area, 35 cm is quite enough, and for illuminating the entire face, you can choose a lamp with a diameter of 45 or 54 cm.

Light temperature adjustment. To perform makeup, makeup artists usually use neutral light, but to create an atmospheric photo or emphasize some details in your makeup, you may also need cold or warm light. In this case, it is convenient to use the regulator that is equipped with more expensive models. Budget lamps change the temperature of the light using special overhead diffusers.

Light level adjustment. As a rule, high-quality LED lamps have a switch that allows you to control the light level from higher to lower.