Hi all!

Do you use the lens hood for isolations? Is it useful to enhance the contrast / correct exposure of the object while still keeping your background white?

Thanks,
Michael

This is with respect to product photography using a light box?

A lens hood won't correct exposure, all it does (apart from the protection mentioned by other posters) is prevent off axis light falling onto the lens and bouncing around inside - this light can reduce contrast and introduce lens flare.

To keep your background white you need to be aware of the metering capabilities of your camera. The camera light meter reads the light reflected from the object and background and calculates an exposure designed to render the scene a mid grey (18% grey). If you have a lot of background in the scene, the image will be under exposed by a couple of stops. A black background is the reverse and will be over exposed to render it grey.