Infrared Photography

Fiat Lux (left) shot with 17mm, f/6.3 @ 25 seconds on a bright day.

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an “infrared filter” is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).

When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting “in-camera effects” can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike appearance. The effect is mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. In Portraits, it gives a milky look to the subject with the eyes black. (Source: Wikipedia)

Absence In Motion (left) is shot with 18mm, f/4.5 @ 30 seconds exposure.

If you think this is your kind of Photography, you can go IR all the way by having your digital camera or digital SLR converted. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can buy a camera specific sensor for around $200 and change it yourself, or you can have them done professionally for $350-$450 depending on your camera. (I would not trust my hands on this and sure I’d regret it not being done by a pro)

There’s also the half-hearted approach which is getting this Infrared Filter. I use the Hoya R72 myself. This option allows you not to pay top dollar to achieve this effect. You need not sacrifice your regular handy dandy camera or pay hundreds of dollars for conversion only to know it’s not for you. The only disadvantage is you have to do long exposures to get a desirable effect.

Inner Peace (left) shot with 18mm, f/6.3 @ 30 seconds exposure.

You might come back to me and say “I got the filter but all I’m getting is a red dominated picture?” With Infrared Photography, be it using a converted camera or just a filter, you have to go through a bit of Photoshop and adjust the levels to achieve something similar to the photos I posted here.

5 September 2008 | Photography | Comments