Je

Clay
Clayhaus Photography
(www.clayhaus.net)

Beautiful, rich black & white images

Ethereal, surrealistic false-color scenes
Enhanced & revealed details
Exceptional atmospheric transparency with IR
(i.e., cuts through haze)
Extend your shooting day(s)
Artistic eects
Something unique, something dierent,
something compelling

Architecture
Landscape
Still-life
Artistic
Portrait
Got others?

Infrared another kind of light

In the beginning, there was lm
The Tao of Digital IR

Pseudo-IR
Point-and-shoot + lters
IR sensitive cameras
DSLRs: Straight & Converted

Post-processing

B&W / Tones
False-color

Visible light = Roy G. Biv

IR has longer wavelengths & lower frequencies
than visible spectrum
Infra means below in Latin: literally Below Red
UV has shorter wavelengths than visible spectrum
IR is comprised of near-, shortwave-, midwave-,
longwave-, & very longwave- or far- infrared
IR photography is concerned with near-infrared,
the ~740-1000 nm range (not thermal!)

there was Robert W. Wood (1910), the father of

IR and UV photography (Woods glass and
Woods eect)
Commercially available IR lms in the 30s
Used by architectural and landscape
photographers, and artists
trying to achieve a special l l
look

Handling

Capture

In the dark!
Develop muy pronto!
Some cameras may fog the lm
Low ISO = tripod + lots of bracketing
Need lters

Availability

Ege
Rollei
Ilford

For lm

For digital

Camera + IR Film + lter + wet processing x (patience2 +

ddling3) = IR Image
IR sensitive camera + lter = IR image
Result: exponential growth in digital IR photography

IR sensitive camera?

Its all about the IR blocking lter!

I can create IR images without that equipment!

Pseudo-IR via PP lters

Not capturing infrared light

Tweaking levels of images
Creates IR-like images

CCD / CMOS sensors are by nature sensitive to UV

& IR waves
IR waves will change the color of your images
The IR Blocking (or cut, as in cut-o) Filter blocks
IR good for visible light photography, not so
good for infrared photography
Dierent cameras cut-lters are eective
dierently
Some cameras ARE sensitive (to varying degrees)
to the infrared spectrum

Spectrum without UV/IR Cut Filter

Spectrum with UV/IR Cut Filter in place

UV/IR Blocking Filter in place

No Blocking Filter

Point-and-Shoot cameras
Inherently IR sensitive (no blocking) cameras
DSLRs: straight and converted

Hoya R72 [720nm cut-o]

Tien 87 [780nm cut-o]
B+W 092 [830nm cut-o]

Hoya R72

Tien 87

Easiest to work with

Permits some red
Most inexpensive
Best for false-color renderings
No visible light
Stop or two dierence with R72

B+W 092

Most expensive
True deep IR
Longest exposure dierences

Canon PowerShot G1

Highly IR sensitive (works very well with 720 nm lter)

Readily available
3.3 MP
Extension tube for lter needed
Tripod required
CF card
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED

Olympus C-2020-Z

Highly IR sensitive (works nicely with 830 nm lter)

Harder to nd
2.1 MP
Extension tube for lter needed
Tripod recommended
SM card
RECOMMENDED

Nikon Cool Pix 950

IR sensitive
Problematic in my experience
2.1 MP
Extension tube for lter not needed
Tripod required
CF card
NOT RECOMMENDED

Fuji S3, IS-1 & IS Pro

The S3 and IS Pro DSLRs are UV/IR sensitive

(380nm-1000nm)
The IS-1 is a neo-DSLR sensitive to IR only
Can shoot both visible & IR (added bonus: S3/IS Pro can
also shoot UV)
Needs IR/UV/Visible lters
Can hand hold
Much higher quality images
IS-1 prone to noise
Near impossible to nd

Many DSLRs are partially IR sensitive in red

channel, but

Long exposures
Excessive grain
Focus problems
Multiple lter sizes

Interested? Try the remote controller test.

Two methodologies:

Strip out IR blocking lter

Still need to use lters on lenses & still have focus issues
But, can shoot visible and IR & can hand-hold

Replace cut lter with a dedicated IR lter

Can no longer shoot visible, but
No lens lters, can hand-hold, no focus issues!

Use on your older DSLRs

Cost around $300
Is reversible
Technicians adjust for IR focusing dierence and
white balance
Can do yourself if you are brave (or insane)
Local shop or send out

Pentax *istDS
~2005
6MP
720 nm lter

Pentax K100D
~2006
6MP
830 nm lter

Excessive Noise

Keep ISO low as possible

Mount on tripod versus hand-hold at high ISO
Use noise reduction software

Hot Spots

Certain lens/body combinations create bright spots in center of

image
Be selective with your lenses (use good lenses and primes are
better than zooms)
Smaller aperture can be more problematic than wide open

Soft Focus

Wide angle zooms are notorious for creating mushy images

Use primes for wide angles
Try not to shoot wide open
Bracket your focus when in doubt

Exposure Problems

Pay attention to your histograms!

Err on the side of underexposure
Be careful of highlight blowouts on super contrasty scenes
Bracket your exposures

B&W
Toning
False-Color

Grayscale Conversion
Channel Mixer
Black & White (PS or LR)
Specialized Software

From SOOC

to nal output

Tinting via Black & White (PS)

Split-toning (LR)
Duo-, Tri-, Quad-tones (PS)

From SOOC

to nal output

From SOOC

to nal output

Channel Swapping
Visible + IR = Hybrid

Note: Best results with 720nm lter

From SOOC

to nal output

From SOOC

to nal output


Plus SOOC
SOOC VIisible
nfrared

to nal output

Tips, tricks & techiques.

http://www.dpfwiw.com/ir.htm
http://www.nature-photography-central.com/DigitalInfraredPhotography.html
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/infrared/
http://echeng.com/photo/infrared/
http://www.shutterbug.com/techniques/lighting/1106infrared/
http://dpanswers.com/content/irphoto.php
http://www.infraredphoto.eu/Site/Welcome.html
http://blog.fotolia.com/us/technique/infrared-photos.html
http://www.outbackphoto.com/reviews/equipment/digital_ir/digital_ir.html
Conversions
http://www.spencerscamera.com/
http://www.lifepixel.com/