When it comes to meetings, Zoom calls are the new normal for many of us who are still WFH, now and indefinitely. The wrong angle and unflattering lighting can make you look… well…not your greatest. We’re all for loving yourself as you are au naturel, but if you can make yourself look even better with the right technology, why not elevate your appearance?
If you’re stuck in dark, grainy lighting on video calls with your boss, during presentations, and while conducting interviews, it’s not going to leave a great impression. The perfect solution lies in the influencer’s best friend: the almighty ring light.
We’re willing to bet you’re familiar with ring lights by now, but for the clueless millennial men unindoctrinated among us: A ring light is basically a circular, LED-light device made to provide bright, even lighting to the face, and effectively make you look like a million bucks. They’re commonly used for selfies, portraits, streaming, and videography, and usually offer adjustable brightness and color temperature options, and illuminate even the darkest backgrounds and mask skin imperfections and blemishes by minimizing shadows.
Before you add any old ring light to your cart, let’s be clear: We’re not talking about those gigantic, as-seen-on-beauty-influencers’-feeds ring lights, the ones that require a person-sized tripod to set up. We’re recommending miniature models made to clip onto your laptops, smartphones, and tablets (so you can look professional—and not like you’re about to log onto an Instagram Live to do a makeup tutorial—whether you’re at your desk, coffee shop, or just the couch).
The best ring lights offer all these features along with a few other tech-savvy additions, and we’re proud to say we found ‘em. Cheers to looking hot.
Selfila Video Conference Lighting Kit
Color temperature can truly make or break you visually. (Instagram filters are proof, given that everyone knows Clarendon is the go-to with its color-enhancing properties.) Warm light creates a more relaxing and natural feel, while cool lighting can be more flattering and professional. Selfila’s Video Conference Lighting Kit offers five modes: warm, warm white, natural white, daylight, and cold white. The color brightness can be adjusted to five levels via remote control, ranging from 3,200 to 6,500 degrees Kelvin to be exact (degrees Kelvin are used to measure color temperature). The ring light itself can be rotated 360 degrees and can easily clip on your laptop or computer monitor. It charges through an included USB, and right now, it’s 27% off.
JIOZER Selfie Ring Light
A ring light on a tripod can be unwieldy if it takes up too much space in your home, but practical (and easily repositioned) when it’s mini. This highly rated JIOZER model has three color temperature options—cool, neutral, and warm—but offers a whopping 10 brightness levels. The tripod extends up to 13 inches for customizable adjustment for your height, while the ring light rotates 360 degrees and moves 180 degrees vertically. It offers a phone attachment option and disconnects from the ring light so you have the option to clip it on your tech.
Kimwood Clip-On Ring Light
This is a very compact ring light, making it great for travel, with the clip coming in at barely 1.5 inches. It can sit pretty on your phone all day without being a nuisance, so you can take a Zoom call remotely without sacrificing video quality. Features include five brightness levels, three dimmable light modes (cold, natural, warm), and two and a half hours worth of battery per charge (via USB cable). If this sounds like the ring light for you, you’re in luck: It’s currently 52% off.
Bekada Clip-On Desk Light
What makes this ring light stand out is that it clips onto a desk and is ultra-adjustable. It can be bent into any shape to change lighting direction while having a built-in sponge pad to protect furniture and tech. The premium LED light has 10 brightness levels and three lighting modes (warm white, warm light, and white light) that can be powered via remote control. Oh, and it’s 20% off.
Meixitoy 120 LED Phone Light
While this isn’t technically a ring light, it does everything a ring does… just shaped like a rectangle. It turns completely vertical for multi-range use and can be embedded into a tripod for shooting TikToks, your art film, or your vacay in the Maldives. Its high color rendering index improves dark backgrounds and image quality in dim light, in addition to offering 10 brightness levels and three light modes (warm yellow, bright white plus warm yellow, and bright white) that are adjusted through a knob. It has a high-capacity battery that charges via USB-C.
You’re gonna look better, which means on calls and on video, you’re gonna feel better—so get ready for your time in the spotlight ring light.
Your faithful VICE editors independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. We may receive a small commission if you buy through the links on our site.
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