Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) is one of those techniques that looks effortless when other people do it… and wildly unpredictable when you try it yourself.
In this video I headed to the coast to properly commit to ICM — not as a quick add-on at the end of a “normal” landscape shoot, but as the entire purpose of the session. That decision alone made a huge difference, because with ICM you’re not trying to document reality. You’re trying to interpret it.
And if you want a chance of coming home with one image that works, you really do need to give the technique some proper time.
Why ICM feels so awkward at first (and why that’s normal)
I’ll be honest: I’m not particularly comfortable with ICM. I’ve only tried it a handful of times, and it’s exactly the kind of technique that can make you feel like you’ve wasted a morning — right up until you see one frame that suddenly clicks.
Part of the challenge is that it forces you to stop thinking like a traditional landscape photographer.
Most of the time, I’m obsessing over:
- sharpness
- depth of field
- clean compositions
- technical perfection
With ICM, that mindset doesn’t help. You’re deliberately introducing blur, abstraction and movement — which means the “rules” shift. The goal becomes control through intention, not control through sharpness.
The biggest mindset shift: control shutter speed, not aperture
One of the main takeaways from this shoot was learning to prioritise shutter speed.
As landscape photographers we tend to live in aperture priority, because depth of field is usually the big technical concern. But with ICM the shutter speed is the creative tool — it determines how much movement is recorded and how readable (or abstract) the final result becomes.
For the look I wanted, I was aiming roughly for 1–5 seconds, which meant there was only one realistic solution on a bright coastal morning…
Neutral density filters.
The camera choice: small, light, and perfect for experimentation
For this session I used the Olympus OM-D E‑M10 Mark IV — a camera I’ve mostly used for family photos, but it’s ideal for this kind of creative practice.
The first thing I did was turn image stabilisation off. It feels counterintuitive at first, but you don’t want the camera trying to “correct” motion you’re intentionally creating.
From there, it was all about building a workable exposure:
- even at f/22, shutter speeds were far too fast
- an ND8 wasn’t enough
- switching to an ND64 finally got me into the 1-second range
Once I had that, the experimenting could begin.
Attempt 1: keep it simple with a clean horizon
I started with the simplest possible scene: a strong horizon line and a left-to-right pan.
This felt like the beginner-friendly way in — something repeatable, something easy to control, and something that would show me quickly whether the settings were working.
And honestly? The results were more pleasing than I expected.
Not groundbreaking, not “gallery level”… but enough to prove something important:
Simple shapes translate better into blur.
Attempt 2: following the waves into the shore
Next, I tried something more dynamic.
The idea was to identify a wave coming in and pan with it — following the movement of the water as it rolled towards the beach. This approach felt unpredictable in the moment, but the frames that worked had a real sense of flow.
It didn’t freeze motion — it interpreted it.
And that’s when I started to understand why people fall in love with ICM. When it works, it’s expressive in a way a “perfect” landscape photo often isn’t.
Attempt 3: the “letter shapes” idea (and accepting the chaos)
At one point I found myself scrolling Instagram (as you do), and I came across a tip from an ICM photographer: move the camera in the shape of a letter.
An M. A J. A Z.
The other tip that went with it was even more useful: start the movement before you press the shutter. That helps prevent the frame starting with a sudden jerk, and instead gives you a smoother, more controlled motion.
Did it work?
Kind of.
It definitely produced something — but it also reinforced the truth of ICM:
You can do everything “right” and still end up with a lot of near misses.
But it’s fun. And that matters.
The honest ending: not loving the location (but trusting the edit)
By the end of the shoot, I wasn’t convinced I’d chosen the right location. ICM needs clarity — strong tonal contrast, bold shapes, simple structure — and the coast can be surprisingly chaotic once you move beyond a clean horizon line.
But I also know this: with ICM, you often don’t know what you’ve captured until you’re home.
It’s entirely possible to walk away feeling deflated and later discover one frame that’s actually brilliant. The ratio can be brutal — hundreds of attempts for one image — but that’s part of learning any new genre.
What I learned from this ICM shoot
If you’re tempted to try intentional camera movement, here are the biggest takeaways from this session:
- Commit a full shoot to it (ICM doesn’t work as an afterthought)
- Control shutter speed first — aim for around 1–5 seconds as a starting point
- Use ND filters to get those shutter speeds in daylight
- Turn stabilisation off
- Keep scenes simple: strong horizons, bold shapes, clear contrast
- Be intentional with movement: pan, follow, or repeat a deliberate pattern
- Expect a low hit-rate… and don’t let that discourage you
Final thoughts
This wasn’t a perfect shoot, and I’m still very much learning. But that’s also the point. ICM forces you to experiment, to loosen your grip on perfection, and to accept that photography can be playful and unpredictable.
If watching this video makes you think, “I might go and try that,” then honestly — job done.
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