If you shoot with both eyes open - how?

bigrob

bigrob

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Ok I have seen it mentioned quite a few times to shoot with both eyes open.

How do you do this (or get used to it)?

A problem I am having some of the time is trying to watch the action from just above the camera then trying to get the camera up and focussed when I suddenly see some action I want.

So if you are the two eyes open kinda guy please help.

Do you end up closing one eye when you actually pull the trigger?
 
For years, and years, and...well you get the picture, I used my right eye at the wiewfinder. Couldn't do the 'both eyes open' bit no matter how hard I tried! Then last year, the optician decided I had a stigma in my right eye, (explains all the crap shots!) so I started to use my left eye at the viewfinder, took some getting used to I tell you! Now I have discovered that I CAN do the both eyes open bit! Not a clue why or how! :shrug:
Not that much help to you I know, but try using your 'other' eye to the one you use, see what happens!
 
Thanks wontolla - I'll give that a go at the weekend.
 
Just thinking, do most people look through the viewfinder with the same eye?

I'm a right kind of guy.

Do the *spit* Nikon users use their left eye?
 
alexw9 said:
Just thinking, do most people look through the viewfinder with the same eye?

I'm a right kind of guy.

Do the *spit* Nikon users use their left eye?
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Most of them don't use ANY!! :D
 
Ahem! :suspect:

I use my right eye for the viewfinder but when photographing something like football I can keep my left eye open in a slightly defocused fashion so I'm aware of action outside the scope of the viewfinder. :shrug: Hard to explain but if the OP tries it you'll probably get used to it quite quickly and find it quite useful.
 
bigrob said:
How do you do this (or get used to it)?
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There's a surprisingly simple and stupid sounding way to teach your brain how to separate the input that it's getting from each eye, but it takes a bit of practice!

Next time you finish a bog roll keep the cardboard core. When you are at home relaxing, hold the tube up to your dominant eye, and aim it slightly off the centre of your vision. One of the easier ways to do this is to pick two main focus points, say the television, and a picture on the wall. Now you just have to concentrate on either subject.

Once you have got used to deciding which eye you look through, you will notice that you will also be aware of the 'data' being picked up by the non focused eye.

It takes some getting used to, but after a while you will be able to control which eye you see through and switch between them, as well as picking up on peripheral activity.

Once you've got used to doing it that way, start practising with your camera which should come naturally by now.

It's a technique that's used for certain types of shooting, although obviously you don't practice using loo rolls! :D

It'll probably work best with your camera in Landscape mode!
 
I use my left eye, but keep the right open....

I cant close one eye at a time is the only reason..
 
When I was photographing swallows in flight I just started shooting with both eyes open and found my hit rate went from really terrible up to just terrible.

Following the randon unpredictable flight path of the bird using just my right eye meant I would often loose it from the view finder.

I then tried keeping my left eye open and it worked. I's hard to explain but I then saw both the bird enlarged through the viewfinder on top of the smaller bird in the sky.

Another trick for finding your strong eye..........

Hold 1 finger up at arms length and with both eyes open place it directly in front of something accross the other side of the room. You will see a blurred finger but you should be able to line it up.

Now without moving your head or finger - close your left eye so you're only using your right. If your finger stays still (remains aligned to your object) then your right eye is dominant. If your finger appears to jump way off to the right - then your left eye is dominant.
 
I had to grab the camera...

I shoot with my left eye, if I open my right then I get an eye full of camera/hand combination. Perhaps I will try with the right, it just doesn't feel 'right'.
 
I keep both eyes open, don't ask how it started, it just came naturally. You will normally find a person has one eye which is more dominant (not necessarily the same side as your dominant hand), but I'm a freak....no eye dominance, meaning both my eyes have equal depth perception etc.

I wonder if eye dominance has anything to do with it?


EDIT: another test is holding the 2 index fingers and thumbs together creating a vertical view finder. find a fixed object, raise hands so object is in clear view inside the view finder. slowly bring hands towards your face (still focusing on object). the view finder should end up around one eye (or at least towards one eye), this will be your dominant eye
 
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i tried the one eye approach and it used to turn the closed eye into a spasm like it was trying to open so i started shooting with two eye and it helps keep an eye (pun intended) on the action outside the finder and maintain whats in the finder ;)
 
dinners said:
Hold 1 finger up at arms length and with both eyes open place it directly in front of something accross the other side of the room. You will see a blurred finger but you should be able to line it up.

Now without moving your head or finger - close your left eye so you're only using your right. If your finger stays still (remains aligned to your object) then your right eye is dominant. If your finger appears to jump way off to the right - then your left eye is dominant.
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I just get double blurry finger when doing this. One blurry finger disappearing when I close an eye...:shrug:

I can only shoot with both eyes open when shooting with my right eye in the viewfinder, I always find my nose gets in the way otherwise.:lol: Once you can focus and adjust each eye individually it's really easy to get things aligned nicely, very useful when shooting with long lenses, one eye looking at a magnified narrow FoV and the other looking around normally, adjusting the "strength" of each image every so often to check both images are fine.
 
I always shoot both eyes open but thats because it feels more natural to me and I started straight off doing this - its probably because I spent most of my teenage years with two eyes open looking through microscopes and I've just passed the technique onto using the camera. Its a little harder now since I wear glasses and I find they get a little in the way :-( but hopefully when I finally get round to laser surgery it'll be easier
 
wontolla said:
Most of them don't use ANY!! :D
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Thats right....because our NIKON camera's are so far advanced that WE have live view now...:D

Dont forget to wind the elastic band up before you go shooting....;)
 
I keep my left eye open as much as possible in order to pick up action in the periphery of my vision. With the 400 attached you can't see as much around where the lens is pointed due to the diameter of the thing, but you get a good idea of what's happening in the left hand side.

Otherwise, I'll pop my head over the camera to see what's going on, and somehow At the same time I'm pointing the camera at the general area of the action so when something does happen I can quickly duck down and i'll be pretty much on target to shoot whatever it is.
 
I look through the VF with my right, all the while keeping my left on whatever I'm seeing. Have always shot like this (maybe it's something to do with wearing specs - I don't know) and I just feel comfortable doing it. I generally only close my left eye (the one not looking through the VF) when I want to focus on info displayed in the VF like ISO, aperture etc...
 
I've always just had my right eye to the VF and left eye closed. I'm very much right eye dominant, so using my left to the VF or having both eyes open feels pretty strange.
That said, if I was to fire a rifle, I'd use my left eye in the sights and brace it against my left shoulder - because I'm left handed.
However, I do pretty much everything else (sports etc) right handed!
 
AFC said:
Thats right....because our NIKON camera's are so far advanced that WE have live view now...:D

Dont forget to wind the elastic band up before you go shooting....;)
Click to expand...

HOW can you say that with your handle?? A F C = Always Fancied Canon!!
 
Hi bigrob,

Another way to practice is to watch the telly and defocus your eyes so you see 2 tellys side-by-side, you can then get your brain to "switch" concentration from one image to the other, difficult to explain as it feels like you're actually moving slightly to look at each.
It's something I do as a fascination with how the brain works without previously linking it to photography.

Useful for when you're trying to get the Red Arrows nose to nose!

let us know how you get on.
QS
 
Dinners,

I just tried your finger test and saw 2 fingers depending on which one I concentrated on they jumped both ways :thinking::bang::bang:

Anyway that aside, I only recently tried both eyes open tracking a buzzard flying in the lakes and found it quite easy (even better using right eye and holding camera in portrait position using the battery grip trigger.

I plan on using this for tracking the rugby players :thumbs: the amount I missed last year because I wasn't quick enough to find them in the viewer.:bonk:

Think I found this easy because I used to use a single point sight on my rifle and used both :eek:eyes open
 
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i've tried using my right eye and keeping the left eye open but all i see is a double image, and have to close my left eye so that I can focus my right eye in the viewfinder.

However when I use my left eye in the viewfinder I can happily use my right eye open and see both images in focus if this makes sense. Therefore I think I'm left eye dominant, and need to use my left eye in the viewfinder.

Is it possible to retrain the brain to make the switch from left eye to right eye:shrug:
 
Manxmaid said:
I use my right eye for the viewfinder but when photographing something like football I can keep my left eye open in a slightly defocused fashion so I'm aware of action outside the scope of the viewfinder. :shrug: Hard to explain but if the OP tries it you'll probably get used to it quite quickly and find it quite useful.
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I use my right eye defocussed through the viewfinder and my left eye focussed on the wider action (and therefore have to crop afterwards).

One advantage of using your left eye through the viewfinder is, apparently, to use the McNally death grip (where you jam the camera into your shoulder for extra support).
 
Tried it today at a rugby match. Right eye to view finder and left eye trying to see what was going on.

Oh my goodness, I don't get blurry vision like that even after a bottle of fine Chenin Blanc...
 
LOL
 
I use both eyes, right on the view finder left on the world. I also look over my glasses through the viewfinder, people think thats a little odd.
My vision defect is such that the sight in my left eye isn't briliant even corrected, so i generally 'look' through my right day to day.
I also find I don't get much from 3D movies, I can only assume its because my eyes work more independently than normal.

HTH
J
 
I took me months to prefect the two eye style. watched a thing about Apache pilots having to split their vision so they could operate the helicopter.
 
Do it sometimes.
I hold the camera a wee bit away from my face to do it.
Probably made easier by the exceedingly good vf on the D3, haven't tried it with my D200 yet.
 
I always shoot with both eyes open. This is probably because my left eye is virtually useless and completely overpowered by my right :)
 
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