Intentional Camera Movement

Have you ever pressed the shutter on a longish exposure and been unable to stand perfectly still, or even worse, been jostled? And then, looked at the image and thought: wow, I couldn’t'a done that if I tried. I know, because I usually tried. And failed.

I’ve always been fascinated by the images you can create by deliberately moving the camera. I’m not talking about panning, where the camera follows a subject. I’m talking about shooting a stationary object or scene, and while the shutter is open, moving the camera. Up until recently, I’d always forgotten about this technique: too wrapped up in the ‘standard’ shoot-em as a static or moving subject mode.

To push myself, I challenged a group of photographers to step outside their comfort zone and give it a whirl with photos shared by 21 August. Since then, I’ve been practicing. And it’s not easy: you need a suitable subject or scene, and then the motion depends on the subject, how long you’ll have the shutter open and any lighting that’s around.

A lot of my first attempts were blurred nightmares. Well, okay I exaggerate: I didn’t have nightmares. They had a tendency to be either completely boring with no discernible subject or scene. Others left me less than thrilled; not devastated, but eager to figure it out.

I think the trickiest part is to find a suitable subject. Practicing the technique helps you figure out what works and what doesn’t, so when you’ve got your scene or subject, start shaking that camera. Well, steady motions: circular, diagonal, vertical or jiggled.

In the past few days, though, I seem to have crossed a rubicon (is that even the right word?). I’ve had several turn out very well, producing other-wordly images that evoke very different emotions. Have a look at a few.

I’d been keen on seeing any images you have to share, so add a comment with a link to your image; facebook, flickr, your site, or any image hosting program.

For some more info and examples, check out this article intentional_camera_movement_photography.