Want a nice, even, non-directional light source for your macros and even short-range portraiture? Ring flashes are the way to go. But they’re also expensive, and most people probably wouldn’t even use them enough to warrant buying one even used to make it worth the purchase. However, how does about $5 and some time and effort sound for a pretty nifty fix?

The website Fring (short for Fiber Optic Ring) has a VERY creative method for channeling the light from your onboard flash into a circle of light around the edge of your lens/hood. With a little bit of MacGuyver-style ingenuity, you can build yourself a pretty sweet-looking piece of DIY hardware that will for sure have your friends in awe of your cleverness.

Hop on over to Fring to see how you can make one yourself, and come up with some great-looking images like these. I feel somewhat bad about suggesting a tutorial that I haven’t tried myself, however I know that at this point I don’t need one of these lights, so it’s not worth my effort at this point. When I do, however, this will be the way I go, and I may update this article later on.

Fring – DIY Optic Ring Light [via Lifehacker, via Hacked Gadgets]