DIY: DIVA RING LIGHT INSTRUCTIONS

INTRODUCTION:
Hello beautiful people, before we begin with the DIY,  I just wanted to quickly explain what it is I am making because not everyone knows just from reading the tittle. I have made my own version of a "Diva Ring Light". This is a circular light used for photos or videos. As you all know I am working to improve my blog page and my YouTube page. Lighting is one of the main ways I can do that. By researching I have seen that a circular ring is good for lighting from all angles shoulders and up. When doing this project keep in mind that the color of your LED lights that you choose should be called "daylight" or "cool white". This color of LED lights will show the most true to color on pictures or videos. I did this DIY because the total coast was about $30 opposed to the $300 that the "Diva Ring Light" coast. I am a college student and ballin' on a budget! I will have materials, prices,  detailed steps and finished product with pictures included below.

MATERIALS (all prices will be rounded to the nearest dollar):

Walmart:
Flower wire wreath $2
Chapter 16.4ft flexible flat LED light strip in the color "daylight" $13
(2) 20 pack, 2" cable ties $1 ea.
Wax paper $2
Packaging tape in the color "clear" $2
Extension  cord 12' $3
Loews:
(2) small metal spring clamps $3 ea.
Household supplies:
(2) wire hangers
aluminum foil
scissor's
black electrical tape (optional)

Rounded total coast: $30

STEP 1:
Make sure your LED lights work so just plug them in and test them first just in case. You want to gather all your materials and get a nice open space to work in.  This took me a little over an hour and a half to do, I took a break to eat dinner so I do not have an exact time but it takes a while to insure it does not look sloppy. This will not be a project that creates stains so you can do it on carpet inside your home, it is not a messy project.

STEP 2:

Straighten the wire hangers as best you can.

STEP 3:

Wrap the straightened wire hangers around the flower wreath and twist them around to secure them. You want to attach them about 1/3 of the way. This will be used as a stand to clip on to a camera tripod later. I also put a couple of cable ties to secure it as well.

STEP 4:

I then got my lights and unscrewed the wall plug just to get it out the way for the next step.

STEP 5:

Attach the lights by creating a start point. At the starting point you want it to be on the outside of the circle. Put the top screw of the lights through the wires of the wreath to secure it. Then you want to wrap the lights and secure them with cable ties as you go around the circle. Again be sure to go from the outside to the inside of the circle. I know it looks crazy but this is what it should look like so far.

STEP 6:

Secure and tighten all cable ties, then cut off the extra tails.

STEP 7:

Turn the wreath over and begin smoothly putting aluminum foil on the back. This is used to reflect any extra light back to the front so that all the light is used. I secured this with a little of the clear packaging tape. Below is what it looks like from the front when you turn it back over.



STEP 8: (Optional)

At this point I did not like how the hangers looked exposed so I found some black electrical tape in my house. I just wrapped it around the hangers to cover them up. This is not needed although I think it will keep the hangers in place.

STEP 9:

Although we are coming to the end and this is one of the last steps, this is the one that took me the longest because this step can look sloppy if you do not take your time. Carefully wrap the wax paper around the front of the wreath. I also secured this with the clear packaging tape. Be careful wax paper rips easily. The wax paper is used to soften the light so that it creates as little shadows as possible. I did not notice any less lighting or any dimming down once I put the wax paper on. I tested the light before and after this step and I didn't notice a difference in the brightness of the light, it just softened the harshness if that makes sense.

STEP 10: WE ARE HERE AND YOU ARE DONE!!

This is the light in a completely black room!


 Next just attach the light to your cameras tripod with the 2 metal spring clips. You can look up other ways to  stand if you want as well there are many DIY light stands out there.

Now this picture is right when i finished so lets not judge friends lol! This is with the light and tripod directed on my face in a pitch black room. Now for lighting for videos and some photos I would suggest a couple of lights on each side of the subject but I wanted to show you all what it looked like by itself.


I hope you all enjoyed this weeks blog. Again I will be posting one every Sunday. Let me know if you have any questions down below in the comment section. Thank you so much for reading. Talk to you soon. Stay beautiful stay positive.

Yaya Hall
yayahal13@gmail.com
www.youtube.com/livelaughlearnlove3

Follow me on social media:
SnapChat: yayahall3
IG: hallyaya
Twitter: hallyaya
FaceBook: Yaya Hall

-----------------------THIS BLOG IS NOT SPONSORED----------------------------