Sometimes as photographers, we often don’t take enough care of our eyes. I want you to think about this: what if you suddenly lost your sight? What would you do?
We’re going to dive right into these tips on how to protect your eyes, and therefore your ability to continue in photography.
Don’t Stare at an LED Screen All Day
What one sees on a screen and one sees in real life are two totally different things. Staring at a monitor all day can really damage your eyes. In fact, I often go to work all day where I look at two monitors and then come back home to run the site or to edit. And even though my Macbook’s screen is super sharp and much better than anything I’ve got at work, many things appear blurry.
Take Frequent Breaks While Editing
Editing photos and video can be taxing on your eyes: and there are reasons why professional colorists take lots of breaks and go home at the end of the day wearing sunglasses. When you edit a photo, your eyes are working super hard to send information to your brain all about colors, composition, etc. It can be a bit too much work for them at times.
Calibrate Your Screen
Want to make the job on your eyes easier. A calibrated screen will often help you to get better colors from your images with ease.
Wear Sunglasses and Protective Eyewear
As stated earlier, protective eyewear is key.
During my teenage years, I did a lot of construction around my house and even though I wore glasses, little things like sawdust would get into my eyes. That dust can damage them after a while.
Don’t Look Directly Into Flashes
Though this seems a bit crazy and very much a given, studio photographers will sometimes look very closely at their lights to check for problems. Flashes can be super powerful; and as an Editor of a website, I’ve had lots of them go off in my face (by accident and purposely.) It wrecks yours eyes after some time.
In Low-Light Situations: Take Your Eye Out of the Viewfinder Often
I have one good eye left: my right. I used to shoot a lot through my left, until my astigmatism took over.
When shooting concerts, my right eye is often in a viewfinder trying intently to compose and focus on a subject. There is a lot also going on in your mind when shooting, calculating exposures, and tracking a moving subject in such a small area.
And after a while, it hurts. Give your eyes a break.
Keep Your Eyes Moisturized
During allergy seasons, it is a splendid idea to bring along a bottle of Visine Tears or Allergy relief to keep you from rubbing your eyes.
If you can’t do that, head over to a sink and give your eyes frequent baths in cold water. Wash your hands first and ensure that all soap is gone from them.
Simple Eye Exercises
Try this:
– Lay back on a pillow
– Close your eyes and ensure that your glasses are off.
– Roll you eyes up and hold that for three seconds.
– Now relax them and let them go back to the normal position for three seconds.
– Roll your eyes down for three seconds. Then to the right for three seconds and to the left for three seconds.
– Relax them again for 5 seconds.
– Roll your eyes up and then roll them to the right. Return them to the normal position.
– Roll your eyes up and then to the left. Return them to the normal position.
Repeat the process.
Don’t overexert your eyes and also heed my warning when I say that you’ll end up feeling it in your eye muscles.
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