# Which eye do you shoot with?



## Schruminator (Mar 13, 2013)

Just a random question I was thinking about: which eye do you raise the viewfinder to when you're shooting?

I instinctively raise the camera to my left eye and always have. However, I was debating if it'd be worth learning to use my right. 

That is, with my right eye still on the viewfinder, in theory I could use my left to look past the camera and survey the scene-- then quickly switch to using my right when I needed to aim, compose, and shoot.

Obviously it's not too important in the grand scheme of things, but I was just curious where you guys stood.


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## rpt (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. I have learned not to close the right eye. It does help. One can anticipate better.

*Edit:* I am right handed but I can do some things almost as well with both hands. And when I ride my bicycle, I get on from the right side while all my right handed friends get on from the left side 
I guess I am just messes up


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## alexanderferdinand (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. And leave the right relaxed open.


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## RLPhoto (Mar 13, 2013)

Right eye.


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## Cariboucoach (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. Eye where glasses and my left I seas better.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

Right Eye ... when I read the title, I thought, what kinda random question is that .. but having read a couple of reasons, I think it is an interesting question ... it'd be nice to see what others have to say.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Mar 13, 2013)

Right eye.


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## Timothy_Bruce (Mar 13, 2013)

Right eye most of the time. Left eye in some close ground macro situations. 

When I am in vertical and a flash blocks my view I close the left eye. 
( or when there are strong lights blinding the left one ) 
Most of the other time I leave it open. helps with models and to be aware off actions out of the lenses field of view.
It is a bit complicated at first too see different things with both eyes but it gets better with time.


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## MARKOE PHOTOE (Mar 13, 2013)

BOTH EYES but LEFT EYE on the VF. There must be a correlation with the handedness of the shooter. I'm a LEFTY and shoot left-eyed. 

Curious what the relationship is with other shooters.


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## RS2021 (Mar 13, 2013)

Right

SLR camera designs are asymetric in good many cases though not all...and favor the right eye position. 

Take your typical canon SLR and place it to your right eye and your left will still clear much of the body and will be able to provide normal eye view.

Place it on the left eye and parts of the body will obscure more of the right eye view.


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## steven kessel (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. It's my dominant eye, meaning it's the primary eye that I use for vision. This may come as a surprise to most readers, but nearly all of us have dominant eyes. Normally, the dominant eye is on the same side of you as your dominant hand. So, most right handed people are right eye dominant and vice versa. I'm part of the 20% of the population that is cross-dominant, meaning that I'm right handed but my dominant eye is my left eye. Curiously, my vision is weaker in my left eye than my right eye, although with glasses it corrects to 20/20.

Here's a simple test to determine which of your eyes is the dominant one. Extend your dominant arm completely and raise the first finger. Look at it with both eyes. Close one eye while watching the finger. Then, open that eye and close the other eye. Does the finger appear to move when one of your eyes is closed and remain still when that eye is open and the other is closed? When the finger doesn't appear to move you're looking at it with your dominant eye.


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## notapro (Mar 13, 2013)

I will shoot with both eyes, but mostly with the left.


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## Roadtrip (Mar 13, 2013)

Right handed - left eye dominant. Tried to make myself shoot right-eyed but it just wasn't as comfortable (or natural) as using my left eye. Guess I'm one of the 20%'ers....


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## KevinB (Mar 13, 2013)

My Good one !! ;D


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## KyleSTL (Mar 13, 2013)

Right (dominant eye). Don't wear glasses (always had 20/20), and I close my left eye when looking through the VF. My dad has always shot with his left eye, which I always thought was weird, but it could be just his dominant eye. The ergonomics are better for using right eye on SLRs (and even more so on rangefinder cameras), but I guess one will typically use their eye with better vision.


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## RS2021 (Mar 13, 2013)

Speaking of dominant arms/eyes...

Just as when you enter a class room and vast majority of the chairs have the built in swing up writing tables placed optimally for right handed writers....the side on which the camera hand-hold or "grip" is placed asymetrically probably favors the dominant arm of majority of consumers... the right. That is what they will use to carry the camera or to swing into position. Left hand dominants will have to just adjust 

This also places the right eye dominantly (not sure if right eye is dominant in most people or not) and ergonomically everything ends up favoring right handed folks.


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## cayenne (Mar 13, 2013)

steven kessel said:


> Left eye. It's my dominant eye, meaning it's the primary eye that I use for vision. This may come as a surprise to most readers, but nearly all of us have dominant eyes. Normally, the dominant eye is on the same side of you as your dominant hand. So, most right handed people are right eye dominant and vice versa. I'm part of the 20% of the population that is cross-dominant, meaning that I'm right handed but my dominant eye is my left eye. Curiously, my vision is weaker in my left eye than my right eye, although with glasses it corrects to 20/20.
> 
> Here's a simple test to determine which of your eyes is the dominant one. Extend your dominant arm completely and raise the first finger. Look at it with both eyes. Close one eye while watching the finger. Then, open that eye and close the other eye. Does the finger appear to move when one of your eyes is closed and remain still when that eye is open and the other is closed? When the finger doesn't appear to move you're looking at it with your dominant eye.



Yup, I was just about to chime in with the dominant eye aspect.

I found out about it when I was working with my eye Dr. about getting bifocal contacts, and we went for the 'mono vision' option...where my dominate eye (right) is fully corrected for distance, but my other eye (left) is slightly under corrected for distance, allowing me to better see things up close.

It would sound like it would be weird, but after about 5 min, I stopped noticing anything, and could see distance and up close again with my contacts in.

The brain is an amazing thing....

cayenn


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

Come to think of it I've actually never seen anyone using left eye to view through the VF or maybe I just haven't noticed ...looks like there are quite a few people on CR who use their left eye ... this is what I love about CR, always finding out some new interesting info. Now I'm really curious to observe everyone who with a DSLR.


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## lol (Mar 13, 2013)

I ran a poll on another photo forum on the subject of which eye was used, and it was near enough 50/50. I also asked about handedness, where the results were within line with the general population whatever that ratio was. Obviously the two are not tied together.


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## Stig (Mar 13, 2013)

Left... and since some time now with right eye mostly open


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## Rat (Mar 13, 2013)

If dominant hand and eye are on the same side, I'm cross-dominant too - but I shoot with both eyes. Used to just shoot with my right eye, when a friend asked me which eye I favored, I checked, and found: both. Ever since it's whatever eye comes in handy  I do have a tendency to close the other eye 

[edit]Coming to think of it, "normal" people do reason with the left half of their brain, emotion with the right... That would mean that left-eyed people have a more 'logical' style of shooting and righties would be more improvisational or something. Might be bs, might be an interesting research topic


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## JonAustin (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm right-handed (and nowhere near ambidextrous), but have always looked through the viewfinder with my left eye, closing my right. I've tried using my right eye, but it just doesn't feel natural. I wish I did use my right eye (and I may have to practice / train myself to do so more), because I think I'd have less oil from my nose / cheek on the back LCD that way (maybe not).

I've been wearing reading glasses for about 10 years, and probably need to get prescription glasses, but have been putting that off (vanity). I don't like wearing glasses when shooting, and I have the diopters on my viewfinders adjusted all the way in one direction, so that the in-focus image in the VF is clear.


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## jsexton (Mar 13, 2013)

Both eyes open, right on VF.


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## Jeremy (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. But I'm a righty...sort of. I say that because my sister studied handedness in grad school. And after a few tests, she said I was probably supposed to be a lefty but society nudged me to be a righty. After hearing that, I really started to pay attention and found that for most tasks (except writing or throwing a ball) I have no dominant hand.


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## BK (Mar 13, 2013)

I use my left eye. I find that I drop into a variation of Joe McNally's grip if I really need to reduce camera motion while handheld. That works much better with my left eye than my right. This basically involves using both hands to jam the camera into my left shoulder. A quick Google search of "Joe McNally Grip" will bring up a bunch of images and even a short video.

I had always instinctively shot with my right eye until I found this method and simply discovered that I prefer using my left eye after all.

I think comfort probably reigns supreme over any practical reasons for choosing one eye over the other though.


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## BruinBear (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. I'm heavily left eye dominant but right handed. Works for cameras but not too much for that other type of shooting


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## Kernuak (Mar 13, 2013)

I naturally use my right eye, probably because of the camera ergonomics, although noone has told me that's how it should be. Ironically, I'm right-handed, but left eye dominant and hadn't thought about that either. I'm naturally curious as a scientist, but it seems that curiosity doesn't extend to eyes, as I also hadb't thought about the lack of colour perception in the dark affecting the colours seen in Aurora .


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## kubelik (Mar 13, 2013)

I am left eye dominant which has been further reinforced by an injury to my right eye, so I use the left eye in the viewfinder. it leaves smears on the LCD screen and mashes my glasses into my face, but it's still more comfortable than shooting right-eyed.

oddly I shoot pistol with both eyes open but I find that I naturally close my right eye when shooting with a camera.


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## Jace (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye with the right eye still open.


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## Click (Mar 13, 2013)

Right eye.


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## Vivid Color (Mar 13, 2013)

Right handed, right eye is strongly dominant, and I look through the VF with my right eye.


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## Haydn1971 (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm practically blind in my right eye, so need to use my left eye which makes using the buttons, wheels and such on the back of the camera a pain and my nose is always banged up against the back of the camera - left dominant camera would be a godsend for me ! 

Although, I am right handed !


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## Dave_NYC (Mar 13, 2013)

Right eye. For some reason it just feels like the camera fits more snugly up against my eye socket, though that may have something to do with my grip, or that I'm right handed.


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## LOALTD (Mar 13, 2013)

Right-handed

Left-brained

Right-eye'd

No glasses/contacts.

Shooting with my left eye feels gross!


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Mar 13, 2013)

Schruminator said:


> Just a random question I was thinking about: which eye do you raise the viewfinder to when you're shooting?
> 
> I instinctively raise the camera to my left eye and always have. However, I was debating if it'd be worth learning to use my right.
> 
> ...


Usually right eye, it feels more natural plus the camera bodies were designed to fit that better anyway. Also you can sometimes keep the left eye open and get a clear view to peep. Occasionally when you need to peep with a second eye and it needs to be to the other side I will left eye shoot though.


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## Stewbyyy (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. Left handed. I keep my right eye open at all times too.


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## lholmes549 (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm right handed, but have always used my left eye for looking through the VF instinctively... Interesting topic!


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## TexasBadger (Mar 13, 2013)

Left eye. My dominant eye.


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## Bennymiata (Mar 14, 2013)

I'm left handed and left eyed.
Whenever I take pictures, I leave greasy smears on the LCD (especially on warm days) and my nose is pressed hard against the rear of the camera.

Today's DSLR's are all designed for right-eyed people without a second thought for the large percentage of leftys.

When I was a kid, back in the early '60's, I was given an Exacta SLR (film), and this was the only SLR (that I can think of) that was actually designed for left-eyed users.
So much so, that even the shutter button was on the left.

Someone needs to think about making handed versions of today's DSLR's.
How hard would it be to make a left handed version of a 5D3?


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## RustyTheGeek (Mar 14, 2013)

steven kessel said:


> Left eye. It's my dominant eye, meaning it's the primary eye that I use for vision. This may come as a surprise to most readers, but nearly all of us have dominant eyes. Normally, the dominant eye is on the same side of you as your dominant hand. So, most right handed people are right eye dominant and vice versa. I'm part of the 20% of the population that is cross-dominant, meaning that I'm right handed but my dominant eye is my left eye. Curiously, my vision is weaker in my left eye than my right eye, although with glasses it corrects to 20/20.
> 
> Here's a simple test to determine which of your eyes is the dominant one. Extend your dominant arm completely and raise the first finger. Look at it with both eyes. Close one eye while watching the finger. Then, open that eye and close the other eye. Does the finger appear to move when one of your eyes is closed and remain still when that eye is open and the other is closed? When the finger doesn't appear to move you're looking at it with your dominant eye.


Ditto for me on cross dominance and the discussion on dominant eyes. My left eye is more in focus and dominant over my right eye but I am right handed. I use my left eye 95% of the time for my photography and close the right eye when I really need to concentrate.

HOWEVER - There are more ways to check eye dominance and I have found some ways can give conflicting results. The way most firearms instructors test eye dominance is to focus on a distant point - make a triangle hole between both hands held at arms' length together with thumbs out at 90 degrees (make an "L" with both hands) and thumbs crossed. Block out everything except the distant point in the hole. Slowly move your hands toward your face and the eye the hole ends up at is your dominant eye. I have personally found the vertical finger method or the "A-OK" thumb/finger circle method results change depending on which hand you use.

I also use my left shoulder to steady the camera on in low light and I tend to hold my breath as a hold over habit from firearms shooting practice.


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## aalbert (Mar 14, 2013)

Right handed, shoot right eye most of the time, but switch hit to the left eye if my right eye contact lens is acting up, or when shooting sports with action coming from the right / natural body position favors left eye (leave both eyes open very often - habit from shooting pistols in competition). Switch hitting doesn't really bother me....


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## iMagic (Mar 14, 2013)

Right handed but left eye dominant. Does that make me a freak?


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## J.R. (Mar 14, 2013)

Right eye ... With the left open usually surveying the scene


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## Hobby Shooter (Mar 14, 2013)

Left eye, I'm right handed though. I live in a tropical country currently and the LCD ends up messy from my oversized nose. I have found that I close my right eye while framing, but just as I push the button I often open my right eye. Not sure why.


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## DArora (Mar 14, 2013)

Right eye.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 14, 2013)

This topic got me to try using the left eye ... but it is no fun. How do you "lefties" manage? I mean, looking through the VF with my left eye almost makes it impossible to see anything with my right eye (unless I lift my head) ... But using my right eye, I can still see at least 80% of the VF view with my left eye, without raising my head.


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## Hillsilly (Mar 14, 2013)

Left eye. And I'm right handed. I understand the benefits of using the right eye, but it just doesn't work for me.

My natural tendency is to close my right eye. But if I do this too much, I end up with a sore eyes and a headache. Ultimately, the view from both eyes won't align for a period of time. No idea why. I have to consciously will myself to keep both eyes open.


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## Michaels (Mar 14, 2013)

I am left handed, I shoot camera's with my right eye and leave the left one open. When hunting, I shoot with my left eye and close the right one...go figure.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 14, 2013)

Michaels said:


> I am left handed, I shoot camera's with my right eye and leave the left one open. When hunting, I shoot with my left eye and close the right one...go figure.


Can you please repeat that


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## docholliday (Mar 14, 2013)

Both/either. Habit I picked up from years of shooting with a Hasselblad and waist level finder - and large format with loupes...right handed, but can also use left


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## J.R. (Mar 14, 2013)

I guess the biggest trick here is to start shooting with both eyes open. Most people find it disconcerting and avoid it but once you figure it out, using either eye is easy and it becomes a simple matter of choice. 

Personally, I use the left only if I'm having trouble with the contact lens in my right eye. I find the right eye more suitable because the left is free to survey the scene. 

People shooting with the left ... do you find any advantage with it or are you doing it only by instinct?


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## Kathode-Ray (Mar 14, 2013)

I'm mostly right and a bit left handed. I have a mouse at each side of my computer keyboard, I use the one on the left the most. The right one is for 'normal' people 

I use my left eye for the VF. I wear glasses and I use the EP-EX15 eyepiece extender, works very well!

Avoids some smearing of the LCD as well


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## RGF (Mar 14, 2013)

Right eye though at time I keep my left eye open


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## dstppy (Mar 14, 2013)

Shoot with left eye . . . literally.

Used to drive my grandfather crazy that I'd pull up a .22 and rock my head across it to aim (right-handed).

Do the same with the camera now that I think about it.

As for 2-eyes vs 1-eye, only shoot with the right one open if I'm trying to track something.


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## kubelik (Mar 14, 2013)

dstppy said:


> Shoot with left eye . . . literally.
> 
> Used to drive my grandfather crazy that I'd pull up a .22 and rock my head across it to aim (right-handed).
> 
> ...



just curious, do you still shoot like that? even though I'm right handed I've just gotten used to shooting left handed so my eye (and head and neck) doesn't have to be in a weird position. frankly, I've found the handed-ness of firearm operation not a big deal (it is annoying with the bolt on the wrong side, but I guess I don't shoot for speed so it's not been an issue)


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## gkaefer (Mar 14, 2013)

left handed, right eye dominant. using the right eye for VF with left eye open. the grip of my cam is on right side so I cant imagine doing the same the other ways round, because then the grip with my Hand is closer to my nose too....


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## cervantes (Mar 14, 2013)

Left eye when shooting in landscape orientation (so that the nose doesn't touch the display) right eye when shooting in portrait orientation (same reason). Sounds complicated but works very well after you get used to it.


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## sandymandy (Mar 14, 2013)

Using my right eye cuz the scotoma in my left eye is too big. Right eye scotoma is smaller


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## mrsfotografie (Mar 14, 2013)

lol said:


> I ran a poll on another photo forum on the subject of which eye was used, and it was near enough 50/50. I also asked about handedness, where the results were within line with the general population whatever that ratio was. Obviously the two are not tied together.



Interesting. I shoot with the left, which is my best eye. I'm right handed.



BruinBear said:


> Left eye. I'm heavily left eye dominant but right handed. Works for cameras but not too much for that other type of shooting



Not the only good reason to stick to camera's


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## mrsfotografie (Mar 14, 2013)

Hillsilly said:


> Left eye. And I'm right handed. I understand the benefits of using the right eye, but it just doesn't work for me.
> 
> My natural tendency is to close my right eye. But if I do this too much, I end up with a sore eyes and a headache. Ultimately, the view from both eyes won't align for a period of time. No idea why. I have to consciously will myself to keep both eyes open.



This problem I had, too. Until I switched from a 40D to full-frame 5D MkII. The 7D has enough viewfinder magnification that it almost appears as a FF viewfinder, so no problem there.


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## rpt (Mar 14, 2013)

mrsfotografie said:


> BruinBear said:
> 
> 
> > Left eye. I'm heavily left eye dominant but right handed. Works for cameras but not too much for that other type of shooting
> ...


That is amazing. My (air) gun shooting eye is the right eye. I guess it defaults to that as I rest the butt against my right shoulder...


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## RLPhoto (Mar 14, 2013)

To the OP, make this a poll. I'd like to see the stats on this.


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## gary samples (Mar 14, 2013)

I'm left handed and shoot with my right eye but left eye dominant it's a more comfortable hold on the camera for me


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## Skirball (Mar 14, 2013)

Wait what? I put it on live view and hold the camera out in front of me at full arms length.


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## Runibl (Mar 14, 2013)

I'm right handed and use left eye when shooting with the camera.
Although always used my right eye for archery and such.


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## Jan Jasinski (Mar 14, 2013)

Left. Sometimes I have my right eye open depending on what i'm shooting.


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## SiliconVoid (Mar 15, 2013)

Technically both, as I do not close my other eye - but in typical posture and situation it is my right eye at the viewfinder..
=)


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## Schruminator (Mar 15, 2013)

Alright, I've tacked on a poll. Good to see I'm not the only odd one that uses his left eye!


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## applecider (Mar 15, 2013)

Left eye at VF. R handed

I was strongly right eye dominant and had a profession where I used monocular scopes with the right eye (now retired). Also used to use the right eye to look through the VF I've since gone mostly blind in the right eye and have of necessity become left eye dominant.

I am surprised at how many here on poll are shooting with left eyes.. maybe it is an artistic thing.


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## Click (Mar 15, 2013)

Right eye.


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## expatinasia (Mar 15, 2013)

Right eye.

For those that shoot with their left eye, don't your noses have a tendency to hit some of the controls?

As I shoot with my right eye, My nose just messes up the lcd screen.


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## aroo (Mar 15, 2013)

This thread is so interesting -- I've always thought myself some kind of freak for using my left eye since the camera does seem to be designed for the right. Never would have expected to be in the majority on this (at the moment, the poll shows twice as many lefts as rights)! I write right handed, play most sports lefty, and can comfortably use either hand in most situations.


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## rpt (Mar 15, 2013)

dstppy said:


> Shoot with left eye . . . literally.
> 
> Used to drive my grandfather crazy that I'd pull up a .22 and rock my head across it to aim (right-handed).


Good lord! And you did not hurt your neck? You must have a very supple neck.


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## Jeremy (Mar 15, 2013)

I usually leave both eyes open. I was taught to shoot an M-16 this way in boot camp. You keep both eyes open so you can see what else might be coming. I guess it works well for cameras too.  Though, as a left-eye photographer, I see very little from my right eye (too much camera in the way).


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## mb66energy (Mar 15, 2013)

Always right eye for view finder
Always left eye open to see what (or who) is going on

Only one severe problem with this procedure:
During a solar eclipse in 1999 I used a 600mm lens WITH FILTER to observe
the sun and its corona. After the total eclipse I have remarked the dangerous
situation for my LEFT eye (open as always) after several seconds and
had a black spot for several weeks (luckily it was off center of my personal
image field!).


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## BumpyMunky (Mar 15, 2013)

Right eye in VF, but both eyes open.

Right handed. Golf, baseball, tennis right handed, but hockey left handed. Mostly with both eyes open too.


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## insanitybeard (Mar 15, 2013)

Unless I'm using live view, I always use my right eye. Why? Force of habit I guess, but using my left eye would just not feel natural nor balanced. And also because my vision is better in my right eye than my left.


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## Runibl (Mar 15, 2013)

expatinasia said:


> Right eye.
> 
> For those that shoot with their left eye, don't your noses have a tendency to hit some of the controls?
> 
> As I shoot with my right eye, My nose just messes up the lcd screen.



Generally no. But since getting my new camera, I have twice turned on live view with my nose 

I'm gonna see if I can teach myself to use right eye. There are a few advantages with using the right eye, that I would love to get.


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## TotoEC (Mar 15, 2013)

I shoot with my creative eye ..


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## nda (Mar 15, 2013)

L


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## Leejo (Mar 15, 2013)

Primarily Left handed, but a stronger right hand...
I could shoot with either eye now (previously one was weaker than the other) so I use my right eye as that is easier with the camera!


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