Lens Hoods – the lowdown on all the benefits

To hood or not to hood … that is the question? Well, it’s definitely one I get asked a lot by my students. For anyone unsure what lens hoods even are, see exhibit A below

Why do you need a lens hood?

When taking photos outdoors, particularly in sunny conditions, there are occasions when you have your camera pointed towards the direction of the sun and bright light. The purpose of the lens hood is to reduce the possibility of lens flare and improve contrast in your images. They also offer added protection for the front of the lens, should you ever bang into something or drop it.

Lens Flare

Lens flare shows as little orbs of light in your photograph that occur when light hits the front of your lens glass. It then reflects around the other elements within the lens and produces effects as shown below

Depending on what lens you are using, the effects will differ. Some will show as a row of orbs such as the image above or it could be a single orb.

Ghosting

No, you aren’t getting ignored of ‘left on read.’ Ghosting in the world of photography means that your image lacks contrast. This tends to happen when you are shooting towards the sunlight and the lens is at a particular angle to the light. It manifests as an image that is washed out and dull looking (see image above). This is where your lens hood kicks in and *potentially* can help. In theory, it should help eradicate ghosting and lens flare, but that isn’t always the case.

Good quality lens come with a coating on the lens front that is aimed at helping with both of the above issues. However, if you add a cheaper UV filter to the front of the lens, you really are undoing all the good of the more expensive piece of kit. A UV filter aims to block UV light but most photographers really tend to use them to protect the front the glass in your lens. If you purchase a lower quality filter, then it sort of defeats the purpose of investing in a great lens.

How to avoid lens flare and ghosting?

There are ways to help avoid the above issues. One is to change your position and shooting angle. Simply moving to the left or right, up or down slightly can really make a difference. You can see when you look through your viewfinder if there are orbs appearing in the shot. That’s the time to switch things up and get moving.

I will also use my hand to block the light entering the lens at times, if I have to shoot in a particular position. Simply by holding my hand at the edge of the lens / lens hood, I can angle my hand to reduce unwanted light entering the lens. This works really well but sometimes I find when using a heavier lens, I miss the lack of support you get when holding the camera with two hands. If I find that this is an issue, then I simply up the shutter speed or use a tripod.

You could also try a decent quality UV filter with your lens, therefore not taking away from the superior coating of a higher end lens.

Is lens flare ever a good thing?

There really isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. More of a ‘it depends.’ In terms of portrait or landscape photography, then the answer is more than often going to be no, it’s not. However, if you want to experiment and try creating something more artistic and abstract, then the answer is yes. When I know the images I’m taking are just for me, then I love to play around with light and seeing what type of interesting effects I can produce.

What to learn more about the technical side of photography?

If you found this useful and would love to learn more about the different types of equipment you use in photography, why not consider signing up for my Beginners Photography Course? We cover lots of topics, including lens information. The various lens that you can use and how they impact on your work. Or maybe you would like to join me on one the monthly Photo Walks – the next one is in Bundoran, Co Donegal in June 2022. I’d love to have you come along.

I hope you enjoyed the post and feel free to share with anyone you think might find it useful