Welcome to the most random blog post I have made to date. This Neewer Ring Light Review may seem kind of off topic, but if you know me in real life you know that I’m a photographer + Lipstick junkie, and lighting is an essential part of both of those side hustles. A couple of my friends recently started their own side hustles selling cosmetics and other products, and my first piece of advice was YOU NEED A RING LIGHT!
Just so that we are all on the same page, I am not affiliated with Neweer. The opinions stated on this review of the Neweer Ring Light are my own. If you click my handy dandy links to the Ring Light kit that I own, I may receive a small commission as I am part of the Amazon Associates program. This small commission helps me keep PLA running smoothly.
Upon pointing them in the direction of the best ring light on the market in my opinion, I realized that there are a ton of people doing the same exact things who may be looking for an honest opinion from someone who has used a ring light on what specifically they should be looking for and why. Of course there are a ton of beauty gurus and YouTubers suggesting ring lights, but what about an everyday Mom of 5?
The Importance of Good Lighting
Let me start by saying that marketing on social media has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have changed the way that companies are reaching potential clients and a great image will sell a product.
No matter what your product or market is, creating good content requires good lighting. Whether you are making a video reviewing a blender, just talking to your audience, or applying makeup, great lighting will set you apart from your competition immediately.
A bright, white light is exactly what you are looking for when it comes to lighting, and a ring light is the only way to ensure you have the ideal lighting at all times. Even if you are just the average Momma and wife just like me, a ring light may be able to change your business! When taking pictures indoors, you will always be battling dull yellow lighting, exactly what you don’t want.
Neweer Ring Light Review
When I was looking for a ring light a power of at least 55W and 5500K was a must. What does this mean? It means that your light is going to be powerful and bright! Probably brighter then most lights you are familiar with. The only other lights I saw that were 5500K were also being used for photography purposes. A quick Amazon search will tell you that the only other people searching for lights this bright are professional photographers.
I’ve noticed a ton of DIY ring light tutorials on YouTube and Pinterest, but the fact is you aren’t going to be able to make a light that has this type of power. Until you buy all of the materials for the DIY light, you may as well just buy the good light and save yourself the headache.The price of the ring light that I purchased last year has significantly decreased since then (by about $100!) so getting the best light is far more affordable then it used to be. The prices change on Amazon from time to time, but the going price right now seems to be around $100.
That is an absolute STEAL considering you are getting a kit with everything you need to get started, including a stand, cell phone holder, DSLR camera holder, all the cords you need, and a carrying bag. The stand that came with my kit alone is great quality.
Assembly
I noticed some reviewers on Amazon mentioned they were confused about how to put the light together. It looks like Neweer has addressed this issue by putting directions directly on the Amazon listing. I did not find the assembly to be a challenge, but I was familiar with using a lighting stand already.
Once my ring light was assembled, I was able to start using it immediately. I remember the first image I took with the light, and it was like night and day compared to my previous images. You can see the difference for yourself!
YYYYYAAAASSSSS!
I went from looking like a tired Mom of 5, to looking like I had it all together. My customers could actually see what my lipstick looked like now!
Pros and Cons of the Neweer Ring Light Kit
Pros
- Beautiful, bright white light that you need for all of your beauty/video/vlogging/youtube needs. Again, you will never be able to achieve this type of light by making something yourself. This light is the power of professional photography lighting.
- 240 small LED lights are spread out so you have even lighting. If you were to use just one lightbulb, you would not get the same even lighting.
- The Neweer Ring light is dimmable, so if you are using a mix of natural light + your ring light you can adjust the power as needed.
- Consistent lighting for images and video.
- Kits on Amazon that include everything you need! A cell phone holder, a stand, two different filters (orange + white), and a bag for storage and transporting.
- Price point has dropped significantly in the last year making the light more affordable for the average person.
- Kit comes with a hot shoe adapter that you can also use with a DSLR camera if you have one. I use my Canon EOS 6D fitted with my Sigma 18-35 mm F1.8 Art lens to take videos with the ring light. I have seen many YouTubers using the Canon EOS 70D as it has a flip out screen so you can see what your video looks like as you are filming. If you are looking for equipment strictly for taking informative videos I would suggest the Canon EOS 70D over the Canon EOS 6D. I am a photographer as well, so I prefer the 6D.
- My DSLR cameras are sturdy and secure on my ring light setup.
- Pictured here is my Canon EOS 5D Mark II on the Neweer Ring Light. The 5D Mark II is an old model that I am not currently using.
Cons
- I do have a iPhone7+ and the cell phone holders aren’t specifically made for bigger phones. This just means that I do have to stretch it a bit. Occasionally it can be a pain in the butt to get in place. This is really minor. To be honest I’m digging here for small details because the light is pretty fantastic.
- This is a personal preference, but some people do not like the fact that you can see the right light in your eyes on images. How much you can see it really depends upon how bright you have it set. This doesn’t bother me but I have heard others mention it.
- When I first started using the light, I did find it hard to be in front of for long periods of time. It wasn’t a light that my eyes were used to. It did take me some time to adjust to the brightness. If you have any sensitivity to light this may not be a good option for you turned all the way up. The nice thing is that the light is dimmable so you can set it lower if it is hurting your eyes.
How the Neweer Ring Light Helped My Side Hustle
I can’t stress enough the importance of lighting when it comes to posting on Social Media. Whether you are a hair stylist, YouTuber, blogger, photographer, makeup artist, or you are making videos for any other business venture potential customers will take you more seriously if your images/videos look high quality.
The biggest way my ring light helped my side hustle was that it boosted my confidence. I could put content on my Facebook page with confidence that my customers could clearly see the products. My lighting helped me look my best, as we are all trying to do. I went from being scared to post content, to being proud to post the beautiful content that I created. My photos also went from being inconsistent and yellow to bright and beautiful.
Even as a Mom of 5, I love having hobbies and side hustles. Not only do I use my ring light for selfies to sell my products, I also use it for food photography. It occasionally helps me use backlighting to take the beautiful images of food you see here on PLA.
Here are some other photos I’ve taken using my light.
