What is ICM and How to do it?

Update: I’ve made a video going through the process described here with example images from my favourite habitats, check it out here.

Intentional Camera Movement or ICM is as simple as it sounds.

You simply move the camera as the shutter opens to intentionally create an abstract image.

I use this technique a lot because I like the resulting abstract images, you can take a look at a gallery I have put together which mainly consists on ICM abstract images.

The resulting images from Intentional Camera Movement are not for everybody. It’s down to a matter of taste but if you like my images, I am going to explain how you can take your own abstract ICM images, which environments you may want to use ICM as a technique and why I particularly like ICM images.

Let me know below in the comment section whether you like ICM images and if you don’t I would love to know why. 

Why I Like ICM Images?

I like ICM photography because it allows us to loosen up in photography. Photography can be such a rigid hobby.

As you are constantly pursuing the sharpest image possible, the most clear of images, you are tied to your tripod and you are trying to create an exact representation of the scene that is before you.

By contrast Intentional Camera Movement completely forgets all of that.

You don’t have to be completely sharp, you can forget all the technical details as you are only creating a well exposed image you don’t have to worry about depth of field, focus points, ISO, etc.

And the other benefit is you can leave the tripod behind! It is necessary to use the camera handheld to create a photograph because you simply cannot move it easily if the camera is on a tripod! 

I’ve explained elsewhere that my introduction to photography was through a class I took in Secondary School (High School for the rest of the world) and it was a course focusing on film photography.

It was in black and white and we developed the film and pictures ourselves. I loved it and I look forward to the day in the future when I can set up my own darkroom and get back to film photography.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, from this course I took a strong interest in the textures and tones created by black and white images, especially of close up/abstract images.

And this is why I love ICM photography, because by abstracting the landscape scene you are creating a picture of tones, textures and colours.

You can forget about the composition to a degree and just focus on the colours or textures of a particular scene. I hope you can see what I mean in the various images included here…

Where and When to Use ICM?

So now that we’ve discussed why I like ICM photography, and I hope that you can see the potential in the technique, where and when might you use it?

From the 2 example images above I hope you can tell that one is from the forest and one is from the seaside.

Those are the 2 environments where I use this technique in particular, but it can be applied to any landscape image and because you are not attached to the tripod you can move the camera in any direction that you want!

That is one of the benefits of ICM. 

I like to use it in the forest to capture the tones and textures of the trees and I want it to create a sense of the forest.

ICM is a great technique to examine ideas and concepts surrounding a particular location.

For example, you could use it create a dark and foreboding forest scene, accentuating the shadows and unknown and tapping into the fear of the forest that inspired fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood. Or you could create a light and breezy forest image to imply a fantasy of fairies and laughter.

Equally at the seaside you could use ICM to create a sense of drama and danger by creating a deliberately dark and tempestuous scene. Or you could go at sunrise/sunset and streak the colours of the sky to create an image of adventure and possibility. 

One of the best things about ICM photography is that you can use it at any point of the day. It’s not dependent on good lighting or a particular weather system. You can create good images regardless of the climatic conditions.

In the harshest of light, when a regular landscape image would be difficult to capture you can change techniques and still come away with an image. 

How to do ICM photography? 

Now that I have piqued your interest and hopefully inspired you to give the technique a go, let me explain how I do it. 

What I normally do is set the ISO low, at 100 or 200, as we want the shutter speed to be a bit slower, the ISO can be nice and low.

Next I set the shutter speed to be something like 1/5 of a second or 0.3 of a second, this is slow enough to capture the movement in a painterly way, yet not so slow that you cannot see what the original subject was, although you could go slower if you want.

Then I set the aperture to the get a balanced exposure, unlike in normal landscape photography you don’t need to worry about depth of field or diffraction, so if you need to you can set the aperture to f/22 or higher to get a good exposure and the movement you are after.

In essence we are using the exposure triangle but in a different way. 

• ISO 100 or 200

• Shutter 1/5 or o.3 of a second, can be slower for even more abstractness 

• Aperture set to get a correct level of exposure and limit burnout 

With this technique I don’t use a 2 second timer, and instead opt for a single image at the press of the button. That way I can coordinate my movement with the shutter.

I tend to begin the movement before I press the shutter and keep the flow of the movement as the camera sensor is exposed.

In forests I tend to move in a vertical fashion to accentuate the tree trunks and at the seaside I move horizontally to encompass the expanse of the horizon. But experiment with the movement! I’ve been experimenting with circular movements to see how that looks.

With ICM trial and error is very important, keep trying if you are not happy with the first result. Change the settings or movement and you will eventually see whether you like the result. 

Conclusion

I hope that this little how to guide as piqued your interest and inspired you to go out and give Intentional Camera Movement a go.

It is a great technique to keep up your sleeve and if you are ever struggling with a composition, I suggest you take a break from it and play with ICM before coming back to it and deciding whether it’s going to work or not.

ICM can turn an unsuccessful photography day into a fun experiment and hopefully decent images. Let me know how you get on in the comments below.

This is a technique that I think everyone should have a go at, and it’s something that I will always have fun with! As always get out and have fun with your camera! 

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Written by Daniel Long

Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.