Left or Right?

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Feiertag

Feiertag

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I bumped into Michelle Valberg about 3 years ago while shooting Snowy owls. She is a Nikon ambassador for Canada and a professional wildlife photographer. Her photos have been on postage stamps and Canadian currency coins. To read a little more about Michelle's accomplishments, (if interested):

Michelle Valberg

Photographer Michelle Valberg is a Nikon Ambassador. Find out more about her and her photography.
en.nikon.ca en.nikon.ca

I noticed that she looks through the viewfinder with her left eye. I use my right. I was wondering which eye, you use?
 
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Feiertag said:
I bumped into Michelle Valberg about 3 years ago while shooting Snowy owls. She is a Nikon ambassador for Canada and a professional wildlife photographer. Her photos have been on postage stamps and Canadian currency coins. To read a little more about Michelle's accomplishments, (if interested):

Michelle Valberg

Photographer Michelle Valberg is a Nikon Ambassador. Find out more about her and her photography.
en.nikon.ca en.nikon.ca

I noticed that she looks through the viewfinder with her left eye. I use my right. I was wondering which eye, you use?
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I use my left eye because my right eye is much weaker. I have noticed that other photographers use their right eye. I also know of instructors who teach that wildlife shooters should use their right eye in the viewfinder while watching the scene with their left eye.
 
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Have always used my left. I'm right-handed and always hold camera/lens in left. I tend to brace and stabilize that arm tucked into my chest so just felt more aligned with this position to have left eye looking through viewfinder.
 
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I am right eye dominate and left handed (I'm weird, I know). However, I look through the viewfinder with my left eye. I have no idea why, just how I did it when I first started. It may have been to give more room for my thumb when using the advance lever to move to the next frame of film.
 
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Everybody has a dominant eye. It can be the right or the left. People will generally automatically put their dominant eye to the camera. If you are right handed but left eye dominant (or vice versa) you are said to be cross dominant . There is a greater occurrence of cross dominance in women than in men. My wife is cross dominant. We learned about all this when she was trying to learn to shoot skeet and had a really difficult time of it.
 
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DripDryMcFleye said:
Everybody has a dominant eye. It can be the right or the left. People will generally automatically put their dominant eye to the camera. If you are right handed but left eye dominant (or vice versa) you are said to be cross dominant . There is a greater occurrence of cross dominance in women than in men. My wife is cross dominant. We learned about all this when she was trying to learn to shoot skeet and had a really difficult time of it.
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Interesting stats. Thanks.

The human brain/body connection is pretty amazing.
 
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Yep, "cross dominant" here as well (right handed, left eye to shoot). Looking through the viewfinder with my right eye feels just as awkward as trying to throw a football/baseball with my left hand; shaky like a newborn baby deer taking its first steps :ROFLMAO:
 
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I find this to be interesting. I thought Michelle was one of the few who used their left eye. Boy was I wrong.

BTW, I noticed that Steve P. uses his right eye.
 
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I was right eye dominant. I always used my right eye until I had a retinal detachment. Now I have no choice. It is left eye. I've gotten used to it, but now my nose gets in the way. I also miss being able to watch the scene while composing through the view finder.
 
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jeffnles1 said:
I am right eye dominate and left handed (I'm weird, I know). However, I look through the viewfinder with my left eye. I have no idea why, just how I did it when I first started. It may have been to give more room for my thumb when using the advance lever to move to the next frame of film.
Click to expand...
me too , lefty and right eye dominant. i use my left eye in the view finder
 
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Left eye dominant for me. I wish I could do the right eye thing as I think that's how people can do the both eyes open thing when tracking subjects. It also means you can use the lcd touchscreen to move the focus point without your nose getting in the way. But right eye just feels so weird to me.
 
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DripDryMcFleye said:
Everybody has a dominant eye. It can be the right or the left. People will generally automatically put their dominant eye to the camera. If you are right handed but left eye dominant (or vice versa) you are said to be cross dominant . There is a greater occurrence of cross dominance in women than in men. My wife is cross dominant. We learned about all this when she was trying to learn to shoot skeet and had a really difficult time of it.
Click to expand...
That's great to know! I'm cross dominant the same way, and I shoot guns and cameras both "left handed" even though I'm right handed. Could never figure out why. Started shooting left handed at arcade games in the ice rink when I was a kid.
 
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