Kobuk Loc: Roseville, CA

While on a trip to Brazil's Pantanal I noticed one of my clients did not have a lens hood on his lens I asked him why and he said he always makes sure he has the sun to his back more or less so he does not need the hood. I mentioned to him it not only keeps the glare out but also works to prevent one from breaking or scratching the filter & or lens but he did not agree. What do the rest of you think about this?

bikerguy

I always use a lens hood. Principally for protection. In 2015 I had a lens roll of a chair and land on a concrete sidewalk. The total damage was a small scratch on the lens hood. I consider lens hoods the cheapest insurance against damage that one can have.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Having a lens hood on has prevented me from damaging my lens/filter on many occasions. And every situation does not always lend itself to have the sun behind me.
But each his own.
p.s., I do remove the lens hood when using a polorizing filter.

AndyT Loc: Hampstead, New Hampshire

I agree with you. Also the sun to his back always is going to produce some pretty flat lighting. Seems like he could be missing out on side lit images that may produce more pleasing light.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Well, A lot of folks believe a lot of wrong things.

I use a lens hood for nearly all photos. I generally do not use a lens hood for indoor flash photography -no glare is present and the on camera flash is blocked by some lens hoods. It is not possible to use a lens hood for some macro photos as the hood gets in the way. Your friend is missing some great side light photos , however.

leftj Loc: Texas

This subject has been beat to death. Do whatever you want to do.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Not using a hood is a personal decision, just like using the wrong camera brand. Everyone should be allowed to try their own ideas, even the wrong ones.

V2volk Loc: St. Louis area

To each his own but I found they have saved my lens a lot of beating over the years, especially big ones that swing around a lot.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's almost laughable. If the sun isn't behind him, he can't take a picture? That really limits his choices.

He didn't agree about it offering protection? He must be tough to live with - or be with.

photophly Loc: Old Bridge NJ

I always use a lens hood……saved me on more then one occasion from damaging my lens and or camera.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

Don’t leave home without one. I shoot mainly birds and try to keep the sun at my back, but there are times that just doesn’t work. Back lite subjects sometimes make for great images. Why take the risk and it takes 5 seconds to put it on. Your friends thinking is misguided and silly IMO.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Ask your client to contact you with a damage report the first a “minor” accident causes him to rethink his opinion.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Well, the hood on my lens stores on the lens in reverse, but I can't adjust the lens easily when stored.
So I'll either have to reverse it on the lens,
or stuff it in my pocket.
Easier to just leave it on the lens.....
(Except when using a polarizer or long zoom and flash.)

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

I never have a clue where my lens caps go (if not the first time I use them, soon thereafter, they vanish, even in the house--like the odd socks), hoods do not just slip into the pocket. (I love the ones on some telephotos that stay on and just slide out.) When I go out to shoot, I generally take at least 3 lenses, all with different hoods and caps. If I take both medium format and small format, that is two bags of stuff. But since I almost always use a tripod, I do have time to fuss with set-up parts.

With large format, I almost always just held the film slide over the lens to shade it. And I did not shoot in blazing sun because the contrast was too harsh even with allowances in processing--on overcast days I could still get blackest black and snow white highlights, even with a just a vague sense of zones. I did get the compendium shade for a 4x5--it would be hard to find proper shades for odd-sized non-metric large format lenses that run from an inch to 6 inches across--but it is not easy in the field to be sure you don't get the hood in the picture, which was risky with shorter lenses.

It is an interesting challenge to shoot in glaring light. It is great if you can set up inside and shoot out, or partially inside, as from a porch or walkway--or under a tree. If you look around, there are often places to take cover. Or pull out the black umbrella.

Whatever the equipment, we can adapt to its best use and just don't try what is unlikely. Some shots just don't occur to me, which of course is a limitation. It's not like I am a photojournalist who has to shoot everything, ready or not. The hunt for a view is part of the shot.