Vertical ICM

If you’re new to ICM, check out my last blog post to get caught up! If you’re ready to try something new, I think vertical is your next frontier. It can be a little bit more difficult to achieve what you’re looking for than horizontal for a couple of reasons. First, you often just don’t have the room to move that you have in a horizontal frame. We often shoot horizontal ICM on beaches, sweeping landscapes, lakes, etc. You have lots of room to pan your camera, and you still don’t run out of beach! Vertical might be a little tighter. Those trees only go so high before you just run out of them! While the basics of the shot are the same, here are a few tricks to try that might help you find success a little easier:

• Because of the limited space, you might need to move faster to get the same movement effect. You’ll need a slightly faster shutter speed than you might have been using in horizontal ICM. That allows you to get the same amount of movement on a “shorter” subject.

• Subjects with lots of vertical lines work really well. It creates a “stretched” effect that ends up looking like an abstract painting. I love shooting trees this way.

• When I really don’t have enough space to create movement, I’ll often move my camera up and down repeatedly while holding the button on continuous shooting. That will result in you getting a shot that includes both your upward and downward motion. It can look chaotic and cool, or it might be too much. ICM is definitely a place to play around and find what you like!

• Look for high contrast, bright colors, or interesting light. Think of ICM as “painting” with light and color.