Left-eye photographers?

Uhhhh, I'm left eye dominant (as I recently found out while studying visual perception), but it never even occurred to me that maybe that's why I have so much trouble with things like microscopes...It also probably explains why I can't actually tell if my camera is in focus...
I use a nikon D90 and what I generally do is have my camera set so that it cannot take a photo unless something is in focus. I look through the viewfinder (with my right eye), make sure that everything is roughly where I want it (and all my settings are how I want them) and then let the camera do all the focusing work.
My father, whose camera I have 'borrowed' is essentially blind in his right eye. His entire photography career he's looked through the view finder of regular nice cameras with his left eye. I asked him if he had any advice and his main advice was just stick with it. You might find that your finger has to be positioned a little strangely, but you'll get used to it with practice. No matter which eye you use though, you're always going to have to clean nose marks off the camera body.
I don't know how your camera is set up so that the controls are where your face are, but I can say with reasonable confidence that the nikon D90 dslr controls are still perfectly accessible when looking through the view finder with your left eye.
I hope that helps at least a little bit? Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

 

That's really interesting! I think I might actually hold my camera significantly different to you then. I always have my (right) hand curled almost entirely around the rounded front, with my thumb resting against the little nub where the strap connects to the camera and use my left to support the lens or the body of the camera as necessary. That may also be why my dad doesn't have much trouble, because I hold the camera the same way he does. (and ya know, the 40+ years of experience probably helps too )
It would definitely be nice if there were more left sided options out there, the right hand bias is kinda ridiculous.
I'm sure you'll manage to find something that can work out for you! And maybe someone else will have some other suggestions as well!

 

I'm not as much left eyed dominated as you but i found out for myself that the new Camera Typ from Canon (Canon M3 oder M5) is really helpful cause you use the Display to see what you take a photo of. So your face wouldn't come near to the Display. You can use the Viefinder as well for both left and right eyed dominated people. But i only use the Display to watch was going on infront of the scene i would like to take a photo of. Its easier cause in this way you used both, left and right eye to focus.
It takes a little time to get used to this but it works pretty well for me :3

 

OK, I'm left-eye dominant, and it never occurred to me that you're not supposed to use your left eye for the camera. Hm. I use a Canon Rebel. I can't say I've ever had problems using my left eye, but then again, I've never tried using my right, LOL!

 

I take most of my photos in live view, which may solve some of your camera positioning problems. I tend to hit magnify around the eyes of whatever doll I'm photographing so I can make absolutely certain in magnification that the eyes and eyelashes are in focus, then take a burst of three shots. Inevitably shot #2 is the one that's actually in focus when I process the photos.

 

It's never even occurred to me that eye dominance is a factor in photography...

I'm left eye dominant; I never even knew eye dominance was a thing until a few years back when I started doing archery (it means that I use a different bow and hold it in the opposite hand to most people) It also explains why I completely failed at air-rifle shooting and archery during an activity week when I was a kid - I was so upset that I couldn't hit anything, I just though I was rubbish! The instructors never said anything about having a dominant eye.

I've always used my left eye with the viewfinder without even thinking about it - I actually just had to dig out my camera and check! - using my right eye feels completely unnatural and takes a good deal of effort and head twisting to focus on anything properly.
I have a Nikon D90 and my nose only gets in the way of a couple of buttons so it's not too bad, although I have grumbled about it in the past but never actually thought about why it was happening. I just put it down to the manufacturers putting things in stupid places! Pretty sure I automatically use my left eye for microscopes too, although it's been a long while since I've used one.

Hm, out of curiousity I might try taking a few photos using my right eye, and see if it makes any difference.

...Seriously, my mind right now = blown

 

You should be able to use either eye to look through the viewfinder and still reach the controls. I wonder if you are holding the camera in an unusual way. Hold the side of the camera with your right hand, thumb upwards along the back edge, and support the lens from underneath with your left. Brace the camera against your left brow and hold it square on to the face. You won't get as much room to manoeuvre on the back of the camera as if you used your right eye, but there is enough. I wonder if you are putting your face to one side, lying it against the back of the camera, rather than holding the camera squarely? Can you get someone to take a picture of you holding the camera so we can see what might be going wrong? And you will always have nose prints on your preview screen. It's what happens and nothing to worry about.

Talking of which, I am going to recommend you persevere with the viewfinder rather than use the preview screen if you handhold your camera (so, no tripod). The main advantage is stability, as you can brace the camera against your face whilst taking the shot and keep your arms into your body, in a strong stance. Anyone who is long sighted (like me...) also has a bloody hard time focusing on the screen unless it is held way out from the body, compromising stability.

And don't forget you probably have a dioptric adjustment dial on the side of the viewfinder (probably a little thumb wheel) that you can turn to adjust the view to suit your visual acuity, in case the view is blurry and you can't figure out why.

I only ever use my right eye as I am partially sighted in my left, so no choice for me.

 

I am right handed and left eyed. I was told during a aptitude test that I was supposed to be left handed but was raised right handed. It causes nervous ticks because the body is not in harmony. I am stuck as a right hander though. Never had the conviction to change from right hand to left hand. My nose prints are on my camera too. I often use auto focus and point the camera (keeping the camera away from my face) by guessing the aim towards my subject. It's a guess and by gosh operation and I find fun to do because the unexpected happens. If I want a perfect portrait, I put the camera on a tripod and and use my left eye to frame the shot. I can NOT use my right eye! I just can NOT! It is almost painful to try.

 

I never even thought about this. I'm left eye/hand dominate and it a good thing too; after repeated episodes of Bells Palsy, trying to close only my left eye, sends my facial muscle into spasms.
I've switched out the regular eye cover on my DSL for a Hoodeye Eyecup
http://www.dpmag.com/images/stories/2011/dec/ed-choice/4-lg.jpg

 

I'm also left eye dominant/right hand dominant. Luckily I have a tiny little munchkin nose so it doesn't interfere when I take photos with my Canon 700D. I just have an easier time closing my right eye and leaving my left eye open than the other way around. If I do it the other way, my closed left eye starts twitching. It's funny that I'm this way since my left eye has a lot worse vision than my right.

 

Left-eye dominant, right-handed here too. I don't have any issues with using my left eye for the viewfinder. If anything, I find using my right eye weird because my face is too far from my right hand gripping the camera. Then again, I think my Nikon D7000 is probably wider than the D3300 you are using, so may be a factor. As for nose prints, I always thought they are pretty normal?

Also, what kind of buttons are where your face is, and how often do you use them when taking photos? I don't recall having much trouble with the buttons and controls, though of course different cameras have their buttons in different places.

 

Huh. Right-handed/left-eyed here too. I had to actually pull out my camera (a canon t4i) and physically try it, because it has never in my life occurred to me to even try to use my right eye to look through the viewfinder!

My nose doesn't seem to interfere with anything, but I have a flat face and kinda a button nose (mixed race white/japanese) so perhaps someone with a longer/pointer nose, or facial structure where the eyes are set further back than mine in comparison the plane of the face might be different. Most of the important controls on the Canon cameras are on top and accessed by the right index finger anyway. With my thumb in the neutral position on the thumb grip, I can feel the side of my nose just brushing the side of the tip of my thumb. It doesn't interfere with any of the thumb buttons.

 

I'm also left eye dominant! I have strabismus and my right eye has very poor vision compared to my left.
I've never had /that/ much trouble using my camera but I have found that my nose tends to change the mode from single shot to timer a lot which leads to a bit of confusion when the shutter doesn't go off right away lol. I've gotten used to that though and now know what to check right away when it happens.

 

While I was in the Army I discovered that while I am right hand dominant I am also left eye dominant which makes things tricky. My daughter, 17, has discovered since becoming an amateur photographer over the last couple of years that she is dealing with the same thing. It hadn't occurred to me about that being a factor in photography as well until she mentioned it to me. I guess it should have been a no brainer bUT I'm not the brightest crayon in the box . I'll have to ask her how she's dealing with it since I'm wanting to photograph my dolls...

 

Lol I'm left-eye/right-hand too, and it never occurred to me that other people don't get nose smudges on their cameras. I don't think my eye dominance is particularly strong, as I can consciously switch which eye I'm focusing through at any time if I think about it, so I may have to try looking through the viewfinder the other way and see if it makes a noticeable difference.

 

I'm left eye dominant as well and I use multiple cameras, none of which are set up for us lefties! (I didn't know about the percentages. That's an interesting little nugget of info.) However, I've never really found it a problem, beyond looking a bit ridiculous when taking photos (I've seen photos of myself taking photos and it always looks like I'm doing it wrong!) I do get nose marks over my screen, but I just wipe them off with my sleeve and it's no problem. Maybe you could put a little glasses cleaning cloth in with you camera gear if you are finding this a big issue? And maybe a screen protector if you are worried about the screen, although I'm sure a bit of nose grease wont hurt it.

I'm curious as to what camera you are using that means you are finding your face blocks the buttons, as I've never experienced this. What make and model is it?

My DSLR is a Canon 1100D and I've never had my (quite large) nose interfere with any of the buttons.
I also have an old film SLR which is a Chinon CM-4s (If you are interested in film, then this is great because no screen to get nose marks and the buttons are all on the top of the camera! Tbh, looking at it now I think it's pretty set up for both eyes. It doesn't seem to lean much one way or the other. Ever thought about film photography? These camera's aren't made anymore, but I'm sure you could pick one up second hand.)

On my DSLR there is also an option to use the screen as the viewfinder, which means no left eye troubles at all. Have you tried that?

 

I'm also left-eye/right-hand. My dad and I used to go to the shooting range together, and it took us months to figure out why my aim was so much better with iron sights than with a scope-- I can't sight with my left eye with the scope, lol. I don't know how trustworthy the information was, but I once read that opposite dominance is more common with women than with men. I never really thought about cameras being set up for people who favor their right eye, but I guess that makes sense! My nose is also big enough that I bump the camera no matter what, so I don't know how much a lefty camera would help if a person is nasally well-endowed. Maybe you can tip your face to the side and glance through the viewfinder that way?

 

I only ever use my phone's camera for anything, so I am not sure how much this will help, but could you wear some kind of mask? like a bandana over your nose to prevent the smudges? It might be kinda annoying, but it could help.

 

I had never thought about this when I first picked up a camera. I'm right handed so it is kind of funny. I never realized it was a thing until I picked up compound bow shooting and noticed I'm left eye dominate. I don't think it effects much, other than I've had people tell me i'm doing it wrong when I go to take a vertical picture and my elbow is in the air. I could hold it differently if I was right eye dominate, people say the elbow in the air can cause camera shake. But its most comfortable for me. I've been a professional photographer for 8 years now.

 

I don't know what eye I'm dominant, but I think its better not to find out? I mean, unless using one is bothering me I don't have to find a way to use the other specifically, right?
I'm a biomedicine student and we use microscope a lot, and we learn over and over again how important it is to use both eyes to not get one tired since we have to use microscopes for our whole job life.
That said I always search for dslr with live preview because I'm pretty used to it and the view finder is harder for me. I know there is a lot of benefits of using the view finder, but I don't miss it (maybe because I'm not near or long sighted? and also not a professional of course)
I do wonder now if my discomfort using view finder may have something to do with my eye dominance... I'm afraid of finding out thought, its so confortable the way its now...