Left or Right: Which Eye do You Shoot With?

[straightupmode]

hi everyone,

i'm new to the forums and feel like a noob to the hobby. was an avid point and shooter for years and now i've upgraded to a dslr (rebel t1i) and i really want to take photography seriously. back in the day i would use the lcd to frame the shot because my camera DID NOT have a viewfinder. now that i'm on a dslr, i find myself using the viewfinder A LOT more than the lcd. i favor it more because when i'm looking throgh the viewfinder, all i see is "the shot". i'm not distracted like i am when using the lcd. in bright situations, looking at the lcd is awful. plus the lcd sucks the hell out of my battery.

okay let's get back to the topic. i use my left eye for the viewfinder to frame my shot. with my left eye on the viewfinder, the back of my right thumb conveniently covers my right eye (my right thumb sit on the back of the camera when i'm holding my dslr). it's convenient because i don't have to squint my right eye. when i squint one eye, the other eye closes just a little bit. this may seem negligible to you but if you do it constanly over and over again and for long periods of time, it just feels stressful on my eyes. when the right thumb is covering my right eye and my left eye looking through the view finder, i feel no strain on either eye. sorry, this may sound wordy for trying to explain something simple.

yesterday, i tried shooting with my right eye and immediately saw why some would use this way. you see everything with the left eye and you simultaneously see "the shot" through the viewfinder with the right eye. i then squinted the left eye, focused the right eye and took the shot. now here are some reasons why i choose NOT to shoot this way. squinting: remember what i said earlier? after a few shots, i'm blinking as if i just put visine in my eyes. then i got a headache. the same kind of headache i get when i try my sister's eyeglasses on. it's like a junior version of vertigo when looking at both views at the same time.

anyways, the point of this thread is to see what eye you photographers shoot with. why you shoot with that eye and not the other. hopefully some links to online articles on left/right eye shooting.

also setting a poll, hope it works. please click on your eye preference.

best regards and keep that shutter clicking,

~tuan

[Bluenoser]

I use my left eye, but that's because I have no choice. My right eye is "lazy". A condition that could have been corrected when I was young had I known how. Of course now that I'm in my 50's, it's too late to correct.

[Saralonde]

I use my right eye. I don't think my reason will help you, but I had LASIK and my eyes were adjusted differently (for closeup and far away). The difference in minimal, but the right one is better for photography.

[arlon]

Left eye. It's just a little sharper than the right. Some cameras (my d200) don't have enough diopter control to adjust properly for my right eye. I've always been able to get a perfect correction on the left without glasses. My right eye is the dominant eye though.

Problem with left eye shooting is my nose occasionally hits the control wheel and changes things...

Originally Posted by straightupmode

now here are some reasons why i choose NOT to shoot this way. squinting: remember what i said earlier? after a few shots, i'm blinking as if i just put visine in my eyes. then i got a headache. the same kind of headache i get when i try my sister's eyeglasses on. it's like a junior version of vertigo when looking at both views at the same time.


~tuan

Are you adjusting the viewfinders diopter control for the eye you are changing to? If not you really MUST adjust the diopter control on the viewfinder for what ever eye you want to shoot with. With the diopter properly adjusted (unless you're eyes are so bad you don't have enough adjustment) there should be no squinting or eye strain.

[straightupmode]

yeah, i adjusted my dioptic day one and afterwards the crosshairs were very sharp. i might have bad eyes too, if squinting doesn't strain good people's eye. guess eye doctor appointment wouldn't hurt my piece of mind.

Originally Posted by arlon

Are you adjusting the viewfinders diopter control for the eye you are changing to? If not you really MUST adjust the diopter control on the viewfinder for what ever eye you want to shoot with. With the diopter properly adjusted (unless you're eyes are so bad you don't have enough adjustment) there should be no squinting or eye strain.

[no.absolutes]

I use my left eye, it just feels more natural. Surprisingly, it is my worse eye and I have a stronger prescription contact in it.

[kirbinster]

I wear glasses for distance, but never wear them for anything but driving. I typically use my right eye for looking through the viewfinder, with one exception - when I hand hold a very long lens. A pro showed me how to hold my left arm up with my elbow pointing towards the subject and then to rest the lens on my elbow and use my left eye. This helps to stabilize the camera and you would be amazed at how well this approach can work.

[Taallyn]

I use both eyes. I keep them both open while shooting and will use which ever is best at the time. For instance if following action going from right to left, I will use my left eye as that allows me to follow a bit further in that direction while rotating at the hips. Reverse if action is going left to right. Sometimes I find my self using one eye one time and the other eye the other time. It doesn't seem to make a difference for me.

[Gonzo13]

Both. I shoot with my right eye most of the time but for macro shots I usually use my left eye, I have found out that my left eye is more light sensitive while I was taking science classes and having to look through microscopes.

I think that this question has already been asked in another thread I just couldn't find it in search.

[autofocus]

I wonder if this has anything to do with left brain / right brain dominance? I always shoot with my right eye