Keep Your Eyes Open

It's only natural to keep one eye closed when looking through the viewfinder. It easier to see the subject if your only focused with what you see through your camera. Why then do most professionals keep both eyes open when they take pictures?

By keeping both your eyes open, you get a wider field of view. This is particularly important if you are covering an event and there are a lot of things happening at the same time. By being able to see not just through your lens, you are more aware of what is happening around you and not just fixated on one subject at a time.

This technique is also useful for portrait photography, to make your subject more at ease. Most people are intimidated if they can't see both your eyes and your only connection with them is through your lens. Some professionals actually prefer using a cable release when doing studio work for the sole purpose of keeping eye contact with their clients.

Keeping both eyes open also helps your telephoto work, specially if your subject is moving. It can be disorienting trying to frame a picture from a distance since the slightest movement can throw your subject out of your viewfinder. By keeping the other eye open, you can have a frame of reference on where your subject went and you'll be able to easily re-frame your shot.

Lastly, keeping both eyes open doesn't cause your eyes undue stress. A photographer's most precious equipment isn't his camera or his L lenses - they're his eyes. Protect these.