Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) Practice Exam

The lens hood is an essential accessory designed specifically to prevent lens flare during image capture. Lens flare occurs when strong light sources, like the sun or bright artificial lights, hit the front element of the lens at an angle, leading to unwanted artifacts and reduced contrast in photos.

A lens hood achieves this by blocking stray light from entering the lens at oblique angles, thereby allowing only the desired light to pass through to the sensor. This helps maintain image quality, enhancing contrast and saturation in the final photograph. Additionally, lens hoods provide a bit of physical protection to the lens against accidental knocks and scrapes, but their primary function is to manage light for better image quality.

In contrast, a lens cover and lens cap serve to protect the lens from dust, scratches, and other physical damage when not in use, while a lens protector typically refers to a filter installed in front of the lens to safeguard it from damage. However, these accessories do not specifically address the issue of lens flare during active shooting, which is why the lens hood is the correct choice.