johnloumiles Posted July 8, 2011 Share #1 Posted July 8, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was looking through Leica gear the other day and came across a Leicavit. I was curious as to what a metal spike protruding from the bottom of the camera would do and of course after a few minutes of reading I found out. One of the benefits was for left eyed photographers; so they could advance film without pulling the camera away from the eye. That got me thinking. People actually use their right eye to shoot? I'm so use to having the camera covering my face I almost felt naked when I pulled a M6 to my right eye; that and the fact I couldn't see through the viewfinder very well. Flipping through the M6 manual I came to that part of how to hold your camera and sure enough there was a strapping photographer type fellow holding the camera in front of his right eye. Thats when I realized I was part of the 1/3 minority of left eyed people. After reading about ocular dominance I found that the "camera test" is one of the informal ways someone would find their ocular dominance. I'll include a link below if you want to read further. My main question is...does this have any effect on us as photographers? Our eyes are coincided with the opposite sides of our brains. The right side of the brain is the creative side, left side is the literal side. In effect does the eye we shoot with push us strongly towards one medium of photography or the other? Are most reportage photographers right eyed? Are most abstract and fine art photographers left eyed? I know there is no one answer and there is most certainly crossover between the two but I'm curious to hear what you have to say. What eye are you and what is your preferred photographic medium? Do you think our dominant eye has any influence on WHAT we shoot? I look forward to hearing your answers in this most informal survey. Ocular Dominance Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 Hi johnloumiles, Take a look here Left or Right Eyed - What are you?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lykaman Posted July 8, 2011 Share #2 Posted July 8, 2011 How about the One eyed Leica photographers..Either Left or Right? How do we make the best of RF Cameras, apparently focusing with 1 eye & viewing the scene with the other!! (as per the instruction manual) ............ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnloumiles Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted July 8, 2011 Their brain would adapt the same as if you lost a limb I assume... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 8, 2011 Share #4 Posted July 8, 2011 I use my left eye. I wouldn't take any different photographs if I used my right. When I use my Hasselblad, I use both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldhrads Posted July 8, 2011 Share #5 Posted July 8, 2011 I am left eye dominant, but shoot right because the Leica gods have so decreed. That and it smears the screen on my M9 and the ISO dial on the M7 hurts my nose.... Occaisionally I find myself fatigued and using the left eye. But I've gotten used to shooting with the right. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 8, 2011 Share #6 Posted July 8, 2011 No one has decreed that you must use your right eye. Use whichever is most comfortable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted July 8, 2011 Share #7 Posted July 8, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) one eyed AKA cyclops Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lykaman Posted July 8, 2011 Share #8 Posted July 8, 2011 one eyed AKA cyclops I’m sorry, but I find your comments disrespectful to those of us that do have ONE eye...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnloumiles Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted July 8, 2011 I use my left eye. I wouldn't take any different photographs if I used my right. When I use my Hasselblad, I use both. A) You still have a dominant eye whether you think you can shoot with both. We can all write with our left hand if we are right handed, albeit sloppy, but it is proven people who write with their left hand naturally tend to be more creative. I'm asking if the eye/brain relationship influences you subconsciously the same way. You think you are using both with the Hasselblad when in fact one eye is doing most of the work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubice Posted July 8, 2011 Share #10 Posted July 8, 2011 With the M8, I would say that probably 70% of my shots are taken using my left eye; as mentioned above, it feels comfortable to have the right eye covered by the camera and not having to squint. Not having to 'advance' to the next 'sensor frame' also helps a great deal. Old habits die hard though, and the M8 feels much more 'Leica-like' with Tim Isaac's Thumbs-up..... I do however, also use the right eye when the need arises - in situations where I like to keep a better view of the subject being photographed. This I find particularly useful when photographing people or groups - I also feel that I am more in contact with the subject when that one eye on the side of the camera is communicating with the person(s) in front of the camera. During film days, I used both eyes about 50/50 - right eye for rapid sequence shots so that did not poke the right eye out when advancing film. When using the Lecavit (in my case Tom Abrahamsson's Rapidwinder), I again used the left eye - this helped to steady the camera against my forehead. So - to answer the question - it depends........ Best, Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 8, 2011 Share #11 Posted July 8, 2011 A) You still have a dominant eye whether you think you can shoot with both. We can all write with our left hand if we are right handed, albeit sloppy, but it is proven people who write with their left hand naturally tend to be more creative. I'm asking if the eye/brain relationship influences you subconsciously the same way. You think you are using both with the Hasselblad when in fact one eye is doing most of the work. Thanks for telling me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted July 8, 2011 Share #12 Posted July 8, 2011 Do you think our dominant eye has any influence on WHAT we shoot? I don't know but I remember as a young boy learning to use a shotgun that eye dominance is an important factor in HOW you shoot. Left eye dominance and right handedness are not a great combination when aiming a shotgun (though I'm sure there are plenty who have got by without a 'crossover' stock). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted July 8, 2011 Share #13 Posted July 8, 2011 I’m sorry, but I find your comments disrespectful to those of us that do have ONE eye...... My apologies if you are offended, there is absolutely no disrespect intended, except for the inanity (is that a good word) of the current discusion. Do we really not have anything better to do? (Including this post except that I do not want to leave it open ended with the impression that I do not take your concerns seriously.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 8, 2011 Share #14 Posted July 8, 2011 Helllo Everybody, In mammals normal variation often is: More or less 90% one way, another more or less 10% the symetry & a small percentage both. An example of this would be handedness: Approximately 90% of people, squirrels, giraffes, etc are right handed, approximately 10% left handed & a small percentage ambidexterous. Please keep in mind this is a proportional relationship not the value judgement it might have been considered to be in the past. That eyeness may be a somewhat different percentage one way or the other would simply be that specific category's normal variation. Best Regards, Michael BTW: There is no correlation between handedness, eyeness, etc & left favoring, right favoring or ambidexterousness. Anyone can be any combination of any number of attributes in any combination. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnloumiles Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #15 Posted July 8, 2011 My apologies if you are offended, there is absolutely no disrespect intended, except for the inanity (is that a good word) of the current discusion. Do we really not have anything better to do? (Including this post except that I do not want to leave it open ended with the impression that I do not take your concerns seriously.) I'm sorry for trying to initiate a conversation on our creative vision and what part our subconscious plays in our photography. I know its very superficial. Next time I'll start a post on why the x100 is better then the M9 so we can talk about whats really important. I don't know but I remember as a young boy learning to use a shotgun that eye dominance is an important factor in HOW you shoot. Left eye dominance and right handedness are not a great combination when aiming a shotgun (though I'm sure there are plenty who have got by without a 'crossover' stock). I think thats interesting, I definitely remember it took me a while to shoot accurately because of what you just described. Doubice, but would you agree you are partial to your left eye because it is what is most natural? I'm sorry if you dislike the post Andy. I'd love to hear from any neurologist or opthalmologists we might have on the forum. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 8, 2011 Share #16 Posted July 8, 2011 I'm sorry if you dislike the post Andy. Did I say that? I cannot shoot with both eyes, when shooting with my Leicas or my Nikon I shoot with my left. But, it's much easier to see what's going on with the large screen of the Hasselblad, for which, two eyes are a definite advantage. IMHO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lykaman Posted July 8, 2011 Share #17 Posted July 8, 2011 My apologies if you are offended, there is absolutely no disrespect intended, except for the inanity (is that a good word) of the current discusion. Do we really not have anything better to do? (Including this post except that I do not want to leave it open ended with the impression that I do not take your concerns seriously.) Apology Accepted...it’s all cool Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted July 8, 2011 Share #18 Posted July 8, 2011 I'm right-eye dominant. I shoot firearms with my right eye, and most everything else. For decades, though, I shot SLR/DSLR cameras with my left eye. Don't know why. It just felt more natural. When I got my first Leica - an M6 - I continued shooting with my left eye. That continued with my M7. What finally prompted me to change was when I got my M8. Shooting left-eyed quickly left nose grease all over the rear screen. It took only a couple days of that aggravation to conclude it would be worth my while to switch over to shooting with my right eye. Took a few weeks before it became automatic and I didn't have to think about it. Now even my M6 and M7 get used from my right eye. Beyond the perhaps marginal benefit of cleaner rear screens, I'm mostly glad I switched over because now I can shoot with both eyes open - a definite aid to composition. For some reason, on the odd occasion I use them I still shoot DSLRs with my left eye. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 8, 2011 Share #19 Posted July 8, 2011 Hello John, I'm not an Optomologist or a Neurologist but if you look just above your last Post what I wrote might interest you. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted July 8, 2011 Share #20 Posted July 8, 2011 I have really tried to use my right eye with my Ms, because that's what you're "supposed" to do. But I gave up years ago The 0.58 viewfinder helps, but I cannot see how using your right eye with left eye open could possibly help with composition. That happens inside the frame lines, and they are much easier to see if the other eye is closed or obscured by the camera body. YMMV. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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