How do I prevent this glare nonsense?

[Adoroam]

This glare has happened in a bunch of my pictures. I manage to photoshop it out but it takes ages and never looks as good as if it had just never happened. Does anyone know what's causing it or how to stop it? Here is one I photoshopped. The first image is the fixed one. Photo Album - Imgur

[Doug Pardee]

Take off your UV filter and throw it away. You're getting reflections off of it.

[OsmosisStudios]

Maybe Im blind, but I couldnt see the difference: it does look like there's some motion blur, and bloom from the overexposed background.

[IABoomer]

I saved both and viewed at 100% before I saw the problem, which is a flare at the waist level.

If you're using a UV filter, try removing it. If you're shooting with entry level lenses, you might want to try a lens with an antireflective coating. I can't see a lens hood helping, since it's not really incidental light, but direct light. Not sure if a polarizer would do anything or not.

[Adoroam]

Ah, that makes sense. Honestly, I only have the filter on because I didn't want to ruin the lens. I am a very clumsy person.

[Ett]

Rather try and be less clumsy. Honestly, UV filters do more to ruin your photos than anything else, unless you're buying the really expensive ones.

If your lens has a lens hood, just leave it on. That way, you ensure that you always shoot with it on (which you should be doing anyway), and it also protects your lens. I have an 85mm 1.4G lens, which is quite an expensive chunk of glass, and I don't even have a filter on that thing. Remember - the more glass the light has to go through, the more your image quality is going to drop. Bare lens is the way to do it IMO.

[Adoroam]

Got any advice on what types/brands of lens hoods are best. I don't want to cheap out and get crap.

[Jonbar18]

Originally Posted by Adoroam

Got any advice on what types/brands of lens hoods are best. I don't want to cheap out and get crap.

Get the main brand (the one who made the lens) one made specifically for the lens. Anything else is crap and runs the risk of vignetting and takes up the valuable filter thread

[ceremus]

What type of UV filter are you using, Adoroam? And how much did you pay for it?
You can use UV filters successfully with few flaring issues excepting things like nighttime shots when you're shooting directly into a brighter light source, but it needs to be a filter of good quality. Specifically you need one that is a multi-coated filter, that is the filter's glass will have the same kinds of coatings on it that help to prevent flaring on the lens's elements themselves.

Generally, if you paid less than $40 for something like a 58mm-sized filter it's not going to be multi-coated, and it's going to be more susceptible to flaring issues like the one you experienced.

You can also forgo using UV filters and just use the lens hood as others have suggested. Although going this route it's probably a good idea to get your more valuable lenses insured. If you're removing one form of insurance from your lens, it's a good idea to back it up with another.

Originally Posted by Jonbar18

Get the main brand (the one who made the lens) one made specifically for the lens. Anything else is crap and runs the risk of vignetting and takes up the valuable filter thread

I've used 3rd party hoods just fine myself (e.g. Pearstone), but those were the ones that were made specifically for a particular lens, so they would attach properly to the front bayonet mount.

[Biomech]

Maybe Im blind, but I couldnt see the difference:

Me neither, until my man instinct kicked in and I looked at the girls ass :P