Let’s Get Emotional…
Wavelength
© 2025 Tina Horne Photo, LLC
There is a hurricane off the coast. I check the surf report and the waves are high. I grab my camera and head to the beach. It is a perfect time for me to capture the stormy scene using the artistic technique, Intentional Camera Movement or ICM for short. There are many ways to impart more emotion into a photo, such as color, lines, blur, and texture, but many who follow me know ICM is one of my favorites. This creative technique gives a sense of motion and energy to a photo and creates an abstract and impressionist photograph. I love the emotive results.
Incoming
© 2025 Tina Horne Photo, LLC
On the beach, the waves do not disappoint, each one unique and powerful. I set a long exposure, press my shutter button, and gently but purposefully move my camera, an action I liken to painting with my camera. The word intentional in ICM means just that. I move the camera in a deliberate way depending on the scene in front of me. In this case, I mostly move the camera from left to right based on the way the waves roll in.
I continue photographing, moving my camera. I stay until sunset and when the last of the light fades, I reluctantly walk off the beach and toward my car.
Sunset Storm
© 2025 Tina Horne Photo, LLC
Photo Tips
There are many ways to move the camera when using ICM, such as side to side, up and down, a twist, zoom in and out if using a zoom lens, a diagonal movement, and more.
A low ISO is likely needed and a high f/ stop (small aperture opening) in order to get the slow shutter speed needed for ICM.
Don’t get discouraged. There are a lot of misses for the hits, but the hits are so rewarding.
Thank you for reading…
Tina
Summer Storm
© 2025 Tina Horne Photo, LLC