Live shooting on nikon d3100?

I have a nikon d3100 digital camera. Can i change the mode or something to make it live shoot so i can see it on the screen while i'm shooting? If so how do i do this?

You can change to Live View - page 37 of your manual.

However, you should avoid Live View for action/sports photography, low light, using telephoto lenses, .bright sunny days, etc.

The D3100 has a decent shutter lag - at least for a beginner DSLR. Shutter lag is defined as the time delay between depressing the shutter button and the photo actually taking.

The shutter lag when using AF-C (continuous focus - most commonly used for sports) is around 0.16seconds. But when using Live View, it increases to 1.4 seconds. This is a terrible penalty to pay for sports and action.

If you consider a 90mph fastball travels 13ft in just 0.1sec, you can imaging if it takes the camera over one second to respond when in live view, you have no hope of taking the photo.

When you use telephoto lenses, and even the 18-55mm lens in low light, you need to learn how to hold the camera properly to get blur free photos - even with vibration reduction on.

The proper holding technique is looking through the viewfinder with your elbows tucked into your chest to make your arms as stable as possible. It takes practice, but when done correctly, you can often shoot blur free photos at 1/15sec with your 18-55mm lens handheld.

And when you use a telephoto lens, proper holding techniques are even more critical.

If you were to use live view in those conditions, and had to hold the camera out at arm's length, you will surely obtain blurry photos.

The only real use of Live View is for video or when the camera is on a tripod.

Also, in bright daylight, the LCD will be washed out - and you won't be able to see much.

Finally, Live View eats a lot of battery, and heats up the sensor. For the sensor and shutter at least, it conceivably could lead to early failure of these expensive-to-replace items.

Beginner photographers need to get beyond the crutch of using a LCD and use the viewfinder.