Get a Perfectly-Lit Shot Every Time With These 9 Affordable Halo Ring Lights

Get a Perfectly-Lit Shot Every Time With These 9 Affordable Halo Ring Lights
Contributor: Alex Kidman
At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

If you work in the content creation industry, are a photographer, or you happen to be someone who likes to take photos or shoot videos in your spare time, there’s probably been many occasions where you’ve faced an unavoidable battle with lighting.

Whether it’s a dark, gloomy day or the middle of summer where you’re fighting off bright glares —  finding the perfect lighting 24/7 is almost impossible and hard to rely on. While big, professional studio lights would help you counter this problem, they can be a massive investment and take up a load of space.

And yes, while most smartphones come with some kind of “beauty mode” for the front-facing selfie lens — whether it be a filter to try to improve your features or Photoshop smoothing — there’s a fair amount you can do on-camera to improve your selfies, but you can’t easily modify the level of light around your face. So, that’s where a halo ring light comes in, folks.

How do they help?

Human beings don’t actually have flat pancakes for faces, and that’s a big problem if you’re trying to get a perfect snap. Our faces are contoured with bumps and lumps, noses and eyeball sockets and plenty of other places where light can fall unevenly, making us look significantly less attractive. It’s an issue that only worsens with age because every wrinkle is also a potential source of shadows. Unless you’re going for that perpetually hungover/sleepy look – and very few of us are – that’s less than desirable.

A circular ring light – also called a Halo light – can solve all these problems by providing a balanced lighting array around your entire face. With LED ring lights, you can also often opt to use colour washes on the light itself, which can be great for accentuating particular features, making the most of your makeup, or just to present you in – quite literally – a new light.

Everybody wants to look their best in selfies, and this range of the best halo ring light options in Australia will make your Insta posts pop.

Whether you’re looking for a selfie ring light or a full-blown kit with a tripod, there’s an option for every kind of content creator.

The best ring lights in Australia

Buy the Embellir 14″ LED Ring Light With Stand

Image: eBay

If you’re looking to start fresh and invest in the whole kit and kaboodle, this kit includes a 14″ ring light with adjustable colour temperature and brightness so that you can get accurate lighting and hues for your dream shot, a smartphone mount for ease of recording and a 360 degree rotating and height-adjustable tripod that can be tailored to wherever you are. They also throw in a bag for you to store or carry it with you on the go.

Where to buy: eBay ($66.45 with code ‘BRAND5OFF’)

Buy the LED Light With Stand and Phone Holder

Image: eBay

A little bit smaller than its predecessor is this 10″ halo ring light that has been marketed as “perfect for live makeup tutorials” – or any other kind of live-streaming you’d care to engage in – with a simple tripod and smartphone holder also part of the package. The 10″ ring light offers three white colours – warm, cool light and daylight – with different brightness and colour temperatures.

Where to buy: eBay ($23.59)

Buy the SOFER Selfie Light

ring light sale
Image: Amazon

If you shoot your video from your desk or while sitting down, you probably don’t need a tripod, which is where a smaller ring light might be a good match. It’s functionally much the same as its larger counterparts, so you get three colour temperatures and 10 brightness intensities to choose from, but it’s much smaller and can clip onto your computer. This particular model also functions well as a selfie ring light.

Where to buy: Amazon ($33.99), eBay ($38.50)

Buy the GSKAIWEN 60W LED Lightring light sale

One of the best features of this light is that it’s incredibly easy to use. Instead of playing around with colour filters for hours, you can turn the knob to adjust the level of light with ease. The actual light itself is designed to give a soft glow with no glare or flashback, while multiple cooling holes at the back prevent it from overheating and extend the life of the lamplight.

Where to buy: Amazon ($139.90)

Buy the Neewer Camera Photo Video Light Kit

ring light Australia

This Neewer Ring Light Kit contains everything you’d need to get started taking better selfie shots or making YouTube or TikTok videos. It features a 48cm ring light with 5500K lighting – very bright in lay person’s terms – along with standard orange and white colour filters to let you get your best-looking video the first time out. The included tripod can hold your phone in the middle of the ring for easy shooting or a DSLR, and it comes with a simple Bluetooth shutter so you can quickly take shots or shoot video.

Where to buy: Amazon ($115.49), eBay ($160.25)

Buy the Ring Light Webcam Mountring light Australia

If you’re looking for a ring light to clip onto your computer that’s even smaller than the SOFER, this model is perfect for you. This Logitech version is just 3.4 inches in width, so it’s incredibly compact and great to carry around if you create content on the go. A 360-degree rotating arm allows you to adjust the light to your exact needs, while a second arm is fitted with a phone bracket to hold your device as you film.

Where to buy: Amazon ($19.90), eBay ($36.08)

Buy the Portable USB Rechargeable Selfie LED Ring Light for Phone

Image: eBay

This super affordable mini ring light is for those among us who are just here to snap a killer selfie. Clipping right onto your phone seamlessly, the device will give you great lighting no matter where you are — be it a dark club to a dimly lit restaurant. The best part is that because it’s tiny, you can even slot it into your bag or pocket for nights out.

Where to buy: eBay ($6.09)

Other affordable ring lights in Australia

Neewer Table Top 10-inch USB LED Ring Light $44.54

This is a great model if you’re after a free-standing ring light to pop on your desk. With energy-saving light beads, three light modes and 10 levels of brightness – you can adjust the level of light to perfection. It’s one of the top-rated ring lights in Australia for shooting makeup tutorials if this is primarily what you’ll be using it for.

Neewer Table Top 10-inch LED Ring Light $49.99

The price is attractive, and while you might think that means Neewer’s Table Top 10-inch Ring Light is super basic, you’re actually getting a fair quantity of features for your money, including three light modes – white, yellow/white and yellow – 10 levels of brightness and a simple desktop stand. It’s pretty clearly built mostly for smartphone use, although it does feature a universal ¼” screw thread for other camera types.

Editor’s note: Descriptions and features are as taken from manufacturer/seller claims.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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