When Should You Use Live View Instead of Your Viewfinder?

Using live view can sometimes be a way better choice than using the viewfinder or shooting blindly. This great video discusses when and why you should consider switching to live view to help you get the shots you want.

Coming to you from Pye Jirsa with Adorama TV, this great video discusses when it is beneficial to use live view. Using live view sometimes gets looked down on, as it is sometimes seen as the mark of a beginner, but personally, if something gives me a better chance of getting the shot, I am going to use it. While some genres, such as landscapes and architecture, use it, I have found it highly useful in a wider range of situations. For example, I particularly remember a band photoshoot in the hills outside LA in 2016. I really wanted an overhead perspective with the mountainside in the background. I held my 1D X Mark II above my head, switched to live view, and it immediately picked up on their faces and made it easy for me to get the shot in focus with my desired composition instead of spraying and praying with the camera in the air. Check out the video above for Jirsa's full thoughts.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

Log in or register to post comments
1 Comment

Also when working with lenses with known issues. The Canon EF 50mm ƒ1.2 is a tricky lens. Some of them are notoriously hard to micro adjust. So when shooting not wide open but before reaching ƒ2.8 I use live view and manual focus.
It comes down to what Pye said in the video "Know your gear" .