Stiffness of tissue has long been used as an indicator for the presence of various diseases. Recent research indicates that understanding micrometer-scale heterogeneities in tissue stiffness could be crucial for unlocking the mechanism behind metastasis, yet no technique currently exists that can measure the mechanical properties of tissue on the micrometer-scale, in 3D, and in vivo. We propose photonic force – optical coherence elastography (PF-OCE) as a technique which can potentially satisfy all these requirements. This study chronicles an investigation into the feasibility of this technique. Using various approaches, the scattering force from an optical beam is simulated. It was determined that using a sinusoidally modulated 976 nm laser focused through an objective with numerical aperture of 0.1, 20 mW should be sufficient to generate displacements of a 3 μm polystyrene bead that can be detected using optical coherence tomography. Several techniques were attempted to demonstrate PF-OCE experimentally. Harmonic oscillations were observed in the sample at the modulation frequency with an amplitude of 10’s of nanometers. However, it proved difficult to decouple the response to the scattering force from the thermal response of water and gelatin in the sample. In addition, chromatic aberrations placing the focus of the photonic force beam below the OCT focus rendered the results of many studies inconclusive. Further study is recommended using a laser with a wavelength between 600 and 700 nm.