Honestly, I cannot believe this went under the radar for me. Photographer Dani Diamond just broke our ring light record, not by making it any bigger, but by adding a clever inner ring making it the first double-ringed DIY light I’ve seen.
The outer diameter is 4 feet and it features 12 bulbs in the inside ring and another 15 (actually 14) bulbs on the outside, making it a 27 bulbs monster. The only bulb that is missing, making it a 26-bulber is the topmost bulb that Dani uses as a clever mounting point, booming it rather that mounting it on a light stand.
The original idea came from Jay Russel, and Dani expanded it by making a double-ringed light. He introduced three slits into the design and those separates” the inner ring from the outer ring. This slits-design is double duty – it makes the ring light lighter and it allows Dani to shoot through the slits getting a side angle on his models.
Some fun facts:
- Dani estimates the build at $120 which is significantly lower (like 1/20th) than any pro light this size.
- This project is so cool that sunlite – a lighting manufacturer backed it with 1,000 light bulbs.
- Dani uses sunlite’s 42 Watts halogen bulbs, which give out 750 lumens each totaling in
almost 20,000 lumensa ton of light. - Project took two days to build
- Dani uses a fan to take the heat away from the ring, and those double duty as hair light for his models
How cool are the photos? Here are some samples:
