Ring Flash Week: Intro and Resources

Welcome to Strobist Ring Flash Week and the first post thereof. First off, there seems to be some confusion as to whether it is a "ring flash" or a "ringflash" or a "ring light" or a "ringlight."

I am going with "ring flash" for the most part unless there is a reason to differ in a particular circumstance. But the important thing was to get all four versions into the first paragraph to make the search engines happy.

(Now, c'mon -- isn't the honesty refreshing?)

The goal of this week is three-fold:

1. To elevate the ring flash technique discussion to somewhere above the "up against the wall" single-light shot.
2. To show you how to build a completely new DIY version, which is speedlight-based and is powerful enough to use in full daylight. A few of you have seen it, and know just how pumped i am about it.
3. To prime the pump for discussion and group design input for a small, cheap, passive ring flash light mod that will very likely actually be manufactured.

More on that last one later, and much more after the jump.
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This Week's Menu:

Today: Overview and a list of internal and external gear resources.

Tuesday: A look at a reader who is shooting cool ring flash stuff and a high-end commercial shooter who uses it well, too.

Wednesday: The design process for my own version.

Thursday: How to build the DIY Strobist HD Ring Flash.

Friday: Shooting/Experimenting with the HD Ring Flash.

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Ring Flash Resources

Below is a list of internal and external ring flash resources. Please feel free to add any links you may have along these lines to the comments to improve the value of the list.

Whether you are going the cheap DIY route or the expensive studio route, there is something for every wallet size.


The shot at left, BTW, is of Czech model Lenka. She was shot with the DIY ring flash designed by Dennison Bertram, which is linked below.
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:: 3 Affordable Ring Flashes, Compared ::

:: Ringflash, Jill Greenberg using ::
:: Ring flash overuse of, Joe McNally on ::

:: Andrew's fake ring flash in a pinch ::
:: Paul's fake cardboard ring flash ::
:: Over-and-under sort ring-ish flash ::


:: Dennis' DIY ring flash ::
:: Jedrek's DIY Ringflash ::
:: Richard's DIY Ringflash ::
:: Tommy's Fold-Flat DIY Ringflash ::
:: David X. Tejada's DIY tungsten ring light ::
:: How to make said tungsten ringlight ::