What do lens hoods do?

Most lenses arrive with a lens hood included in the box. But it’s not always clear when and why you should use them. 

As a general rule, keep your lens hood on while shooting. It helps reduce unwanted light, lens flare and ghosting, while also giving the front of your lens some protection from knocks and the elements. There are, however, a few situations where you might want to take it off.

Connor Redmond is a photographer and writer at MPB, with three years of experience testing cameras and lenses everywhere from Scottish highlands to Cornish sandy beaches. Here, he tells us when lens hoods make a difference and when you can leave yours in the bag.

What does a lens hood do?

In simple terms, a lens hood is designed to block unwanted light from hitting the front of your lens. By reducing stray light, a lens hood helps you take clearer pictures.

The secondary purpose of lens hoods is to protect the front lens element from adverse weather conditions (rain, dust, snow), scratches and accidental falls.

Examples of lens hood on and off 

To see how much difference a lens hood makes, I photographed the same scenes with and without one.

Things can get a little trickier when the sun is low. Unlike the previous shots, which were taken around midday, the evening sun is less powerful, but ghosting is still possible. We found the lens hoods to be very effective here.

Sometimes, you might actually want to keep the flare in. For example, in the two images above, I prefer the one with the lens flare because it adds a bit more warmth and gives the photo more of a summer vibe. But it all comes down to personal preference. 

What are lens flares?

Light flares are those blobs or streaks of light that can appear in your photos when strong light sources, such as the sun or streetlights, hit the lens at certain angles. It can reduce contrast and detail, although photographers sometimes use flare deliberately for creative effect. 

While lens flares can be used creatively, they often distract from the subject and reduce contrast and detail, making images look ‘washed out’.

What is the ‘ghosting’ effect?

Ghosting can be another unwanted effect. This happens when light reflects between the lens elements, creating faint duplicates or shapes in the image. Using a lens hood helps minimize ghosting and light flares, resulting in clearer pictures and improved image contrast.

The quality of the coatings on your lens elements is equally important. Both the lens hood and lens coatings help control unwanted light, so keep them in mind if you’re having some difficulty controlling light spillage and can’t quite get the results you need.

Author Note: I probably should have been using a lens hood here; I was shooting directly into the sun. Lesson learned. But from a creative standpoint, I like how strongly backlit my subject is. So remember, flare isn’t always the end of the world. Happy accidents do happen. 

When to use a lens hood

As a general rule, keep your lens hood on. Take it off when it's causing a specific problem or when you deliberately want flare in your image.  You’ll definitely want to use one when it’s bright and sunny out; it helps block direct sunlight and reduce lens flare.

When subjects are strongly backlit, use a lens hood. When the weather is harsh, use a lens hood to protect the glass element.

When not to use a camera lens hood

There are also times when a lens hood can get in the way or limit your creative choices. Obviously, avoid using one if you want to use lens flares to help create a feeling or mood. In controlled environments, such as a studio, a lens hood can be less important because you have much more control over the direction of light.

You may also want to remove the hood for some macro setups. At very short distances, a large hood can get too close to the subject or block the light from reaching it. A hood can also cause problems when using a camera’s built-in flash. On some lens and camera combinations, particularly with larger lenses or hoods, it can block some of the flash and create harsh, weird shadows across the subject. 

When using super-wide-angle lenses, an incorrect lens hood can cause vignetting, where the hood blocks light around the edges of the lens, creating dark corners or edges in the image. If you don’t want that effect, pop your hood back in your bag. 

How to put on a lens hood

Lens hoods attach directly to the front of the lens. Depending on the design, you can either screw it on or twist it into place using a bayonet mount until it feels secure.

It’s important to use the correct fitting lens hood for each lens. Using the wrong hood can cause image distortion or dark corners in your photos. Many lens hoods can also be reversed and mounted backward on the lens for compact storage when not in use.

Before shooting, always listen out for that distinct click when screwing the lens hood on, so you know it is securely attached. You don’t want the lens hood to embarrassingly fall off as you raise the camera to your eye. I’ve definitely not done this before, no, never. 

Types of lens hood

There are several different types of camera lens hoods, each designed for specific lenses and shooting situations.

Cylindrical lens hood

A cylindrical lens hood is a simple, tube-shaped hood most commonly used with telephoto lenses. These lenses have a narrow field of view, so a longer hood can be used without appearing in the frame.

You’ll often see cylindrical lens hoods in sports and wildlife photography, where telephoto lenses are often used. You’ll find some examples of the sort of shots I’m talking about in our guide to sports photography and guide to wildlife photography and filmmaking.

Petal lens hood

Petal lens hoods (also known as flower hoods) have a distinctive cut-out shape designed to block as much stray light as possible without appearing in the frame.

They’re particularly useful on wide-angle and zoom lenses, while their shape helps reduce the risk of vignetting while still reducing stray light and lens flare. You’ll commonly used for landscape photography and architectural photography.

Square lens hood

Square lens hoods have become a bit of a trendy accessory in recent years, partly thanks to their retro look and association with Leica and other rangefinder cameras. They’re often seen on Leica rangefinders and premium rangefinder lenses. 

They can be effective at reducing lens flare, with their rectangular shape helping to block stray light without getting in the way of the lens’s field of view. However, for some photographers, the appeal is just as much about style and practicality as it is about the optical benefits.

Lens hood vs UV filter

Photographers debate whether a lens hood or a UV filter offers better protection. Regardless of what you might read online, they serve different purposes. A lens hood is generally better for reducing glare and ghosting, while a UV filter provides a physical layer of protection over the front of your lens.

A lens hood won’t solve every flare or ghosting problem. Sometimes the filter itself can be the culprit. Cheap UV filters with poor coatings add another glass surface in front of your lens, which can introduce reflections and undo some of the hard work your expensive lens is doing for you. You can use a lens hood and UV filter together, but things can get a little trickier with certain lenses, macro photography setups, or when using a built-in flash. In many cases, a lens hood provides better real-world protection and flare control. Read our guide to filters for more information. 

Read more tips and techniques and camera gear guides on the MPB Content Hub.