Photo by lmnop88a (used under the CC-Attr-2.0 license)
So, to help remedy this problem and motivate you to always use a lens hood (if you’re not already!), here are four great things they can do for you:
1 – Prevents lens flare
The primary purpose of the lens hood is to prevent lens flare (see photo below).
Photo by Kurt Nordstrom (used under the CC-Attr-2.0 license)
When the sun is shining on your lens but its not in the lens’ field of view, lens flare will occur in your photo and will make it hazy or washed out (reducing contrast). Use a lens hood to prevent this.
Another tip: sometimes the lens hood isn’t enough in preventing flare, so that’s why I always wear a baseball cap too (which you can use as a sort of manual lens hood to block the sun from shining on your lens). Just make sure your hat doesn’t show up in the photo!
2 – Protects your lens
The lens hood can also provide a lot of protection for your lens, since it adds a large buffer of space between the glass and the outside world. Not only does this protect your lens if you accidentally drop it, but it also helps prevent dust and dirt from blowing onto the glass.
This added protection lets you walk around without a lens cap, which helps a lot when photographing birds or other quick moving wildlife.
3 – Gives you something to rest things on
The lens hood is a great thing to rest your homemade light diffuser on, when doing so doesn’t disturb another flower. This just frees one of your hands.
4 – Makes you look like a pro
With a weird looking thing like a hood on your lens, people will look at you and say, “wow, that guy (or girl) must be a pro!” It makes your camera look kind of intimidating–and cool! If this isn’t a good enough reason to use a lens hood, then I don’t know what is! 
Is it really worth $30 for a piece of plastic?
Yes… and, yes! Although the price of a lens hood may seem outrageous (when it doesn’t come with your lens), they are definitely worth it. The protection they provide is, by itself, a good enough reason to always use them.
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About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, computer scientist, and founder of PhotoNaturalist. You can usually find him hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains or the Mojave Desert, both located in the beautiful state of California.
Depending on the shot, I kind of like flare – not in the example about but in other instances it adds a certain aesthetic.
Left a link to the wrong blog addy (I have 2). This one is more appropriate.
Well Steve I’m one of those you mentioned. Mine is basically in the stored position. I guess I need to get that nice piece of plastic off the stored and into the used. Thanks….I didn’t know it was such an important piece to the camora itself and the quality of my shots.
@renee – I agree, sometimes lens flare makes the photo more interesting.. like in those forest photos where the sun is peaking in between the trees. But, of course in those cases where the sun is shining directly AT the lens, a hood would be pointless anyway
@Crista – it really is a beautiful piece of plastic, heheh.. and an excellent insurance policy for your lenses
I agree, hard to overestimate the safety factor with a nice hood, especially the long ones on zooms. Nice post!
Lens hoods are certainly important, but can be more than a bit noisy in the woods—the plastic things of today. I still look for appropriate rubber hoods if I can get them. A well placed hand (or some other object) can work well as a sun shade in a pinch.
By the way, why on earth would anyone care whether or not they looked like a professional photographer? When I drive, I neither want to look like an F1 driver nor a cabbie as neither have anything to do with my driving. Same thing with photography. Is this weird?
(Yea, I know #4 was tongue in cheek. Maybe.)