If working from home has taught us one thing, it’s that proper lighting on video conference calls is a tricky business. You don’t want to be too backlit and show up looking like the dark figure from everyone’s sleep paralysis scares, but you also don’t want to go direct-reading-light-to-the-face and look totally washed out.
Since it’s looking like we all might be working from our kitchen tables for a while longer, it’s worthwhile to invest in some gadgets that will help make the whole process easier. If you’ve got an important presentation to make over the next few weeks or want to look stellar on that 1-1 with your boss, we recommend a ring light for your virtual meeting lighting needs.
Ring lights are the lighting trick used by influencers, YouTubers, Twitch streamers and other digital professionals. These lights are the reason they look so warm, even-toned and presentable in all of their videos. Here are a few on Amazon to check out for your next presentation at the company all-hands or virtual happy hour where you prefer to look polished.
UBeesize 8″ Selfie Ring Light
This Selfie Ring Light from UBeesize is a dimmable light that features three different tones including warm, cool and daylight. Each mode has 11 different brightness levels for you to choose between, giving you a whopping 33 different settings for your next call. With a $44 price tag and an Amazon’s Choice rating, it’s an affordable and top-rated ring light that will instantly upgrade your audio-visual game.
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The tripod is weighted at the bottom for stability and extends between 17.5” and 51”. It’s made of high-quality aluminum and designed to lock into place and not slide or tip over with time. It comes with a phone holder or adjuster if you’d like to dial into the call with your smartphone and is powered via a USB port. It’s also very easy to use. With only four buttons you can power this top-rated ring light on/off, switch the lighting mode and adjust those brightness levels.
Neewer 18″ Dimmable LED Ring Light
This selfie ring light has over 9,800 reviews on Amazon and has a 4.5-star rating. It’s 18″ in diameter so it’s a little larger than the last option, if you need a lighting solution that’s a bit more comprehensive. It’s made of durable aluminum alloy which gives it strength and the soft tube allows the light to freely rotate until you find your preferred position. It comes with both white and orange color filters for a warmer atmosphere that are easy to change out and made of high light transmission plastic material. It also has a smartphone holder that can fit most smartphones and a shoe adapter that’s compatible with most DSLR cameras.
Consider one of these lights an investment in your professional persona for the foreseeable future. Trust us, soon enough your colleagues will be asking why you look so luminous during the Wednesday check-ins.
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