What does a lens hood do?
A lens hood is a device that prevents stray light from hitting the front of a lens, which can cause lens flare and decrease contrast in photos.
Imagine a bright and sunny day. You’re trying to see something in the distance, but the sun is shining directly into your eyes making it pretty much impossible to see clearly. What do you do?
You put your hand up to shield your eyes from the sun, or you put a hat on with a visor. Both of these options create shade from the sun, so you can now see clearly.
This is what a lens hood does.
It creates shade for your camera lens, so when you’re looking into the sun through the camera, the pictures will still come out clear.
Lens hood before and after
A really good video here from Phil Steele showing the before and after effect of using a lens hood:
Types of lens hoods
There are two types of lens hoods: petal-type and cylindrical:
Petal-type hoods are used on standard zoom lenses and cylindrical hoods are used on prime and telephoto lenses.
What is the difference between a petal lens hood and a normal lens hood?
A petal lens hood has a unique shape that is designed to minimize Vignetting (darkening of the corners) in photos taken with wide-angle lenses. The petals of the hood are cut at an angle, allowing them to extend out further from the lens without appearing in the frame. This is particularly useful for lenses with a wider angle of view, as a traditional circular lens hood may appear in the frame and cause unwanted shadows or darkening.
On the other hand, a normal lens hood, also known as a round or cylindrical lens hood, has a traditional circular shape and is designed to prevent glare and lens flare from entering the lens by blocking light from non-image forming sources. The shape of the hood is generally determined by the angle of view of the lens and the physical design of the lens barrel.
While both types of lens hoods serve the same purpose of reducing unwanted light from entering the lens, a petal lens hood is specifically designed for use with wide-angle lenses and helps to minimize Vignetting, whereas a normal lens hood is more universal in design and can be used with a wide range of lenses.
In short. Petal lens hood for zoom lenses. Normal lens hood for fixed focal length (prime) lenses.
What lens hood should I buy?
This depends entirely on the type and brand of lens you have.
The safest bet is just to turn to our old friend Amazon, click here and enter “your lens” and “lens hood”
What is lens flare?
Lens flare is a phenomenon that occurs when unwanted light enters the lens and reflects or scatters within the lens elements, resulting in a series of bright spots, streaks, or ghostly shapes in the image. This often happens when shooting towards a bright light source such as the sun, a lamp, or even streetlights at night.
Lens flare, and the severity of it, can be caused by different things including the quality of the lens, the number and arrangement of lens elements (the number of bits of glass inside the lens), and the position and intensity of the light source. While some photographers intentionally use lens flare as a creative effect, most of the time it is considered undesirable and can negatively affect the overall quality and clarity of the image.
When should you use a camera lens hood?
The simple answer is you can use one all the time if you want to. Even when you’re indoors or shooting at night stray light can still affect your images and decrease contrast.
Additionally, a lens hood can protect the front of your lens from accidental knocks or bumps, which can be a lot cheaper to replace than the lens itself. Remember to keep your lens clean as well, as this can increase contrast and reduce lens flare.
This is an important thing to note, especially when shooting outdoors or with children. Children are fascinated with camera lenses and if you’re trying to take their picture, they want to touch the lens…and sometimes they succeed. Skin is inherently oily so even if the kid isn’t covered in mud they’ll still leave a mark on the lens. Make a habit of keeping a lens cloth in your pocket and cleaning the front element regularly. Otherwise you could think you’re taking a the picture of a lifetime only for an oily fingerprint to catch the light and create the lens flare from hell.
When not to use a lens hood
Like all rules, there are always exceptions. If you want to intentionally create lens flare for artistic purposes, then you can choose to remove your lens hood.
In this image, the lens flare provides a focal point and leads the eye down the road, through the picture and ultimately creates a sense of depth.
Lens hood with flash
hen using the pop-up flash on your camera, the light may be blocked by the lens hood, resulting in a shadow at the bottom of your picture. This won’t happen if you’re using a flashgun, as the flash is higher up on the camera and will miss the lens hood.
James Popsys makes a good point in his video here:
To summarise his points, if you don’t need to use a lens hood, then they can act as a sail when it’s attached, so don’t bother putting it on. This can be a problem if you’re taking photographs of the landscape on a tripod on a windy day.
In conclusion, using a lens hood can greatly improve the quality of your images by reducing lens flare and increasing contrast. It’s recommended to keep one on your lens at all times, except for when you want to create lens flare, are using a pop-up flash or if you’re shooting landscapes on a windy day.