Best Phone Lights for Samsung Galaxy: Selfie, Ring and LED Lights

Good light often costs nothing: great photos can be taken with light from a window, in open shade or just before sunset. But if you're video calling or making videos where you're talking to the camera in the evenings, taking selfies at night or photographing food or products indoors, a small camera light can help out.

Below, we explain the different types and which specifications are important, what will work with a Galaxy (which has no built-in magnets), and how to position the light to get the best effect without flattening the face. We've based our comparisons on manufacturers' published specifications, as accessed on 12 November 2026, and haven't used any of these lights ourselves.

Do you need a light?

For still photos, you often don’t need one: Night mode combines several frames to brighten a dark scene, and a window gives softer light than any small LED. Video suffers more in low light. This is because a phone can’t combine multiple frames the way it does with Night mode when capturing photos, so the result is noisy, smeary footage. The flash is just a small LED and produces harsh light, since it’s located right next to the camera.

• You could do without a phone light if you mostly take pictures outside during the day, or can bring your subject near a window.
• Buying a phone light is a good idea if you film yourself talking in the evening, make video calls in poorly lit rooms, take pictures of food or products indoors, or take selfies at night.
• Before you invest in a phone light, try using your phone’s torch as a light source. On newer Galaxy phones, you can adjust the brightness of the torch by touching and holding down the Flashlight icon in Quick settings. Point the torch at a wall to bounce the light and take a quick product picture to see if the results are good enough for your needs.

The specs that matter

CRI (Colour Rendering Index) indicates how similar colours will look compared to those seen in a reference light, scored out of 100. Photo and video lights usually aim for at least 95, and colours, particularly skin and food tones, may be subtly inaccurate at lower scores. TLCI is similar but refers to colours as seen through a video camera rather than the human eye. Both figures are averages, though, not guarantees.

Colour temperature is given in kelvin. Around 3200K is warm, like indoor bulbs, while 5600K is akin to daylight. ‘Bi-colour’ lights can be adjusted to match the room, which can help to avoid orange/blue colour casts on faces lit with a mixture of colour temperatures.

Brightness is given in lux. Be wary of comparing figures between different lights, as makers take their lux measurements at varying distances and colour temperatures. Bear in mind that brightness reduces according to the inverse-square law, meaning moving a light twice as far away will reduce brightness to a quarter. Lume Cube’s Panel Mini, for example, offers 550 lux at 0.5m and just 138 lux at 1m.

Mount and battery. How does it mount? Does it have a cold shoe or tripod mount, with a 1/4-inch threaded hole, or does it clip on or attach by magnet? Small lights may last just an hour or two at full power, so be sure to consider battery life if you intend to film long takes.

Magnetic lights on a Galaxy

Many phone lights are designed to take advantage of the MagSafe magnets on the back of iPhones, but Samsung's Galaxy S25, S26, Z Fold8 and Z Flip8 models aren't magnetic themselves. Samsung calls them "Qi2 Ready", and a Samsung UK product manager told Tech Advisor that owners of the S26 would need a magnetic case. So you'll either need a case with magnets, or a non-magnetic case that you add a stick-on magnetic ring to (some lights, such as the Ulanzi LM19, come with one included).

Phone lights compared

For selfies and video calls: a magnetic selfie light

The Ulanzi LM19 and Neewer BL48B clip onto the back of the phone by magnet and light your face from just above the front camera. Both are compact and inexpensive, and can slip into a pocket or bag and travel with you. The LM19 comes with a magnetic ring sticker for non-MagSafe phones, and its colour temperature ranges from warm to cool. The Ulanzi GL01 GlowUp spreads the light even wider, with panels on either side of the phone.

For food, products and video: a pocket LED panel

A small panel is easy to pop on top of a mini tripod and take anywhere: next to a plate of food, behind an item you’re shooting, above your desk and so on. Adjustable from 3200K to 5600K, the Lume Cube Panel Mini is about the size of a credit card and has 1/4-inch threads on two of its sides. Lume Cube gives an estimated battery life of around 1.2 hours at full brightness and 2.2 hours at half. The 20W Zhiyun Fiveray M20 is much brighter, rated at 2,010 lux at 0.5m.

For desk videos: a ring light on a stand

A ring light surrounds the phone with an even circle of illumination for shadowless lighting and distinctive circular catchlights in the eyes. The Neewer RP10-H is a CRI 93+ rated 10-inch ring light with a tripod and two phone holders. Ring lights are ideal for “talking head” and make-up videos, but for anything with depth, lights that cast a little shadow and add a sense of dimension to a scene are better, so a panel to one side looks more natural.

How to place the light

1. 1

   Move it to one side

   Light from the side (around 45°) and slightly above eye level will add some shadow to the opposite side of your subject’s face, which will help define their features. Lighting from directly in front of the camera will flatten facial features.

2. 2

   Bring it closer for softer light

   The bigger your light source is (in relation to the subject), the softer the shadows will be. A small light source placed close to your subject’s face will create softer shadows than if you used the same light source from across the room. Instead of moving the light further away, dim it.

3. 3

   Bounce or diffuse it

   Try bouncing your light off a white wall or ceiling, or shining it through a piece of baking paper, to transform a harsh light into a soft glow.

4. 4

   Match the room

   Try to match the colour temperature of your light source to the other light in the room. This would mean using a warmer setting for lamps and around 5600K if you’re shooting next to a window. It’s difficult to correct clashing light sources after the fact.

5. 5

   Set the camera to match

   Use Pro mode and set the temperature (in kelvin) of your camera’s white balance to match that of your light source. This will ensure that white objects appear white in your images.

Galaxy camera settings for lit shots

• Flicker under LED and mains lighting. Artificial lights can sometimes cause images to flicker. Samsung says the problem can be minimised by using Pro mode and setting the shutter speed to 1/120 second or slower. Our shutter speed guide explains why.
• Portrait mode’s Studio effect only lightens your subject and not the background, Samsung says. It works like a software version of a key light.
• Expert RAW’s Virtual Reflector, available in its Labs section on supported models, emulates the effect a reflector would have and can help lighten shadows when shooting close-ups and portraits.
• Selfies at night. With a light on your phone, try Photo mode before Night mode, as the latter’s longer exposure can result in blurred images if your face moves during the shot. Our selfie settings guide covers the front camera.

For window light, golden hour and other low-light situations, see our low-light photography guide. For other accessories, see our gear and accessories hub.

Frequently asked questions