DIY Photography Hacks: kill lens flare with simple black card

In the latest installment of our DIY Photography Hacks series we show you how a piece of black card can be used as a powerful lens hood that eliminates the harsh lens flare you encounter when shooting urban night photography.

 Your worst enemy when shooting urban night photography (a popular subject this time of year) is lens flare. Lens flare is caused by stray light entering the lens, which kills contrast and saturation in your images. In it’s worst form you can end up with horrible streaks and destroyed shots.

The solution? Keep some black card and tape handy and you’ll never have to suffer flare again. Below we show you step-by-step how to do it. this lens hood is more powerful than most traditional lens hoods on the market.


 

1 Cut it
Take some black card and cut a strip long enough to go around the circumference of your lens and wide enough to protrude a few centimetres over the front element.

 

2 Shape it
Wrap it around the front part of your lens and tape it together so that the circular tube can slide backwards and forwards freely to create your custom-size lens hood.

   3 Test it
Look through the viewfinder and slide the hood forwards until the edges begin to creep into the frame. Back it off a little to avoid vignetting and tape it down.

With flare

 Without flare

 4 Boost it
For powerful stray lights, use the spare card as a hand-held flare buster. Get it in between your lens and the light source. Check the results on your LCD.

Featured on: Digital Camera World