I know many photographers use ring flashes for both portraits and macro photography, and I was wondering if there was a difference in the flashes that can be used, I like to take portraits but most all of the flashes I can find online are macro ring flashes. Can I use this for portrait photography or do I need to find a portrait ring flash? Thanks!
a ring flash is a ring flash, regardless of how it is advertised. A macro ring can absolutely be used for portraits. There are also flashes that are designed with portrait use in mind such as the ABR800, which can also be used for macro.
http://www.alienbees.com/abr800.html
October 5th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
yes you can, here’s a good example of it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidparks/3155134183/in/faves-vangorkumphotography/
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October 5th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
a ring flash is a ring flash, regardless of how it is advertised. A macro ring can absolutely be used for portraits. There are also flashes that are designed with portrait use in mind such as the ABR800, which can also be used for macro.
http://www.alienbees.com/abr800.html
References :
October 5th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
The thing you have to watch out for with the cheap "macro ring flash" units is the guide number. Most of the cheap ones are very low powered, meaning they are OK at 12" from the subject, but would be pretty much useless at any distance. There are also a lot of LED ringlights out there, which are a continuous light source and not flash. Not a bad thing, but you have to make sure you know what you are buying.
All of the camera mounted units will be called macro right light or macro ring flash. It’s just a name, you can use it for anything you want.
For studio work, the Alien Bees (or similar unit) would be a much better option. Much more power to play with.
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