Lens hoods and concert photography. We take a look a the pros and cons of using that extra plastic to shield lenses from stray light, beer, and sweat.
Hi,
Do you use lens hoods when you shoot concerts? I’ve heard conflicting advice on that. What is your opinion?
Sara
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the question. I almost always use lens hoods when I shoot concerts, though for larger f/2.8 zooms, the size of their detachable hoods can certainly be prohibitive.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the pros and cons of using lens hoods:
Pros:
Cons:
To the last point about attaching the hoods, the simple solution for me is to keep the hoods in shooting position throughout a shoot, even when they are not in use.
For me, the pros outweigh the cons by a good margin, with the most notable reason being reduction of flare. With designs with large front elements like the 70-200mm f/2.8 that are highly prone to flare, I don’t think twice about twisting on the hood.
It’s worth noting that for those shooting without “protective” filters, a lens hood is an even more important step against keeping junk off your glass.
Love lens hoods? Never use them? Have your say.
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Letters, Photography Tutorials and tagged with advice, concert photography, lens hoods, tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Welcome to ishootshows.com, your source for music photography featuring daily concert coverage, portrait features, and photo advice from professional music photographer Todd Owyoung.
Support this site by purchasing your photo equipment through my affiliate links to B&H Photo Video or Amazon.com
Learn more about how you can support the features of ishootshows.com.
Shooting Caitlin Rose and band before the Old 97s was a fantastic warm up, and a nice way to dust of…
Here’s a little preview from a recent shoot with my friends Option Control toward the end of l…
Today Adobe has released the beta version of Lightroom4, the successor to their popular image manage…
You’ve seen it before – weird, colored blobs in your photographs radiating outward from some…
About that time when I said about the megapixel war being over with the release of the Nikon D4 and …
New Q&A topic posted: Lens hoods and concert photography. Always use hoods? Hate ‘em? Have your say: http://is.gd/lXdw
I’m really enjoying these new Q&A sections, and I’m especially looking forward to the upcoming ones you’ve mentioned on Twitter.
“The added length of a lens hood may cause your 70-200mm f/2.8 to scare small children.”
This made me laugh. I picture a large crowd of children running screaming from a very confused, well-meaning photographer.
Hey Ally, glad to hear you’re enjoying this new feature. Please feel free to submit your own questions or suggest topics.
If anything, I think that the increased intimidation factor of lens hoods is probably the one issue that ever makes me think twice about using them.
While there are instances when the “big bad pro” look is an asset, there are some gigs for which I may remove the hood of the 70-200mm f/2.8 for a lower profile, particularly when it may be blocking someone’s view. These situations are fairly rare, but they do exist.
I always use lens hoods. I attach the hoods before the shooting starts and let them stay on until I am done photographing. I really can’t see the downside to this…
Hey Michael, thanks for the input.
I typically use lens hoods. The only time I don’t is, as you mentioned, when I’m in a particularly small venue.
Honestly, the things I’m most curious about are the ones that you’ve already planned to post: AF modes, how you got started, and hit rate for shows. If something else comes to mind though, I’ll be sure to submit it. It’s always interesting to hear the suggestions and experiences of other photographers, and I appreciate that you’re so willing to share yours with the rest of us.
Hi Ally,
Great, I plan on publishing those posts over the next two weeks or so. I have all of them written except for exactly how I got started, though a lot of the story is in the FAQ if you want to check it out there. I’m glad to share what I can.
Thanks for the comment.
I always use lens hoods for the same reason Todd mentioned. And I too, always just keep them on when not in use except for my 70-300 as it takes up valuable space in my bag otherwise. Remember that most hoods will go on in reverse as well so they can be stored on the lens without taking up any more space. I have been in several situations where my lens got bumped and my camera spun around and smacked something near me. But with the hood on, it hits first and absorbs the impact. Leave them on! :)
Hey Corey, thanks for your thoughts on this topic. You’re right, most lens hoods can be stored reversed without taking up too much extra space, unless the bag is packed very tightly.
just in case I get to shoot a show – I keep the hood on but in reverse… might try the other way for the above mentioned reasons
thanks
Hey Stephan, try it out. At the very least, the lens hood isn’t likely to hurt the images.
I almost always use my hoods as well. There are some instances in my job, though, where I need to either keep a low profile or lose some of the “intimidation factor,” causing the hoods to come off. Often asking random people if they would like their picture in the newspaper is easier if you don’t have an enormous camera lens…for this reason I’ll be using my little 50mm for mugshots from now on instead of the 17-55 as the picture quality barely matters when the shots are printed so small anyways.
Some lenses, though, don’t benefit much from an attached hood…my 10-22mm is a classic example. The hood is so shallow that it doesn’t make much of a difference at all, not to mention that the 10-22 is the most flare-resistant lens I own, by far.
Hi Ryan, thanks for adding your thoughts. You’re right that lens hoods don’t benefit some lenses. Ultra-wide angle lenses are a classic example. In general, the wider the field of view, the more shallow the lens hood has to be to accommodate it. Case in point, most circular fisheyes don’t have any lens hood to speak of. Telephoto lenses, on the other hand, have massive hoods against stray light.
New Q&A topic posted: Lens hoods and concert photography. Always use hoods? Hate ‘em? Have your say: http://is.gd/lXdw
I always use lens hood, a must for gig photography.
Other than those pros Todd has listed out.
I find this one especially true for the extra protection against knocks and bumps part, my main lens for shooting gigs currently has a metal hood, no fear of the lens getting destroy by knocks and bodysurfers.
But some lens hoods, more for those wide angle lens, are pretty much useless, doesn’t block out much flare because of their stupid designs (loopholes when use in portrait position) and made of plastic.
Very prone to get destroy in gig shoots in my opinion.
On the overall, I will still encourage people to use lens hood all the time.
Hey Shiro,
Thanks very much for your thoughts on this topic. Again, you’re right – the lens hoods for wide angles are marginal at best. Still, I do appreciate what little hood there is on the Nikon 14-24mm, considering the bulbous front element. The stubby little petals do help deter fingerprints.
I’m pretty sure if the lenshood of my 70-200/2.8 scared little children, then my 100-300/4 will kill them on the spot. That lenshood is huge!
And I pretty much always use lenshoods.
I’ll bet, Marc. The hood of the 500mm f/4 alone could just about swallow up a D3 and 70-200mm.
Thanks for contributing to the discussion, it seems like most everyone uses lens hoods all the time.
I always use hoods for everything except gigs for some reason. I might try using a lens hood at the next gig and see how it goes. I tend to shoot smaller bands that don’t get huge crowds so it’s pretty easy to avoid bumps etc because there’s often plenty of space near the front of the stage with no one but me and maybe an assistant shooting.
Hey Craig,
Yup, for smaller shows, I can certainly see how one could go without lens hoods, especially if you’re going for a lower profile.
Also, a lot of it depends on the intensity, placement, and type of lights used. Not all gigs necessitate using lens hoods by virtue of one or more of these factors. At the very least, though, they’re not going to hurt.
If I use a lens hood, it is for protective reasons. I like stray light coming in my lens, to be honest, as it can create a cool effect. Plus, it is smaller and more maneuverable in the pit as todd mentioned, or even out of the pit, which can be even more of a hazard. I always shoot with protective filters on, too, so i get some more protection there
-Tony
Hey Tony,
I know what you mean about liking stray light. There are specific times when I’ll let the lens flare up to a certain extent as a means of introducing more interest in the shot. Thanks for bringing up this point.
Hi Todd,
i just want to ask which type of filter should i use in a concert? i just want to protect my lens from the crowd since i bought a standing ticket.
thank you.
Just made a post about filters and which ones I recommend. You read it here:
http://ishootshows.com/2011/09/07/using-filters-as-lens-protection/
The filters I recommend are Nikon’s L37c or Nikon Neutral Color filters, with the later being great for DSLRs.