In this digital infrared photography tutorial we’ll show you how to choose suitable subjects, set up your camera and compose dynamic infrared images.
Bright over-head sunlight isn’t usually very flattering for shooting landscapes but its actually ideal for infrared photography.
Now this may not be something you have considered before but shooting infrared images is hugely rewarding and gives outdoor scenes an otherworldly haunting appearance.
The effect works especially well on green foliage and blue skies, which makes summer the perfect time to try shooting some ghostly infrared images in the midday sun!
Best conditions for infrared photography
Infrared photography is best suited to bright overhead sunshine. In this light, blue skies are rendered as rich dark tones and leaves and grass appear ghostly white after processing, giving images an eerie appearance.
For this reason landscapes are a popular choice but infrared can also be very effective for other subjects including people.
Bright sun isn’t essential though so don’t worry if the clouds roll in as you can still capture great images in overcast light.
If you go down the route of having your camera converted for infrared
photography then you can pretty much shoot as normal although be aware
that some lenses give better results than others, even expensive
professional lenses.
Check online to see how your lens performs and also try using different lenses to see which gives the best results.
If you’re using an IR filter then things like exposure, focusing and composition are more difficult but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome with a bit of practice.
Because the IR filter is so dense exposure times will become much longer so a stable tripod is essential.
It’s also not possible to take a meter reading with the filter fitted, so you’ll need to adopt a trial and error approach initially.
But once you’ve worked out how much the exposure is affected by the filter you can take a meter reading as you would normally and then re-calculate the exposure time to account for the filter.
You’ll also need to compose and focus on the scene before the filter is fitted. Infrared light is focused differently to visible light so what may be sharp when viewed in visible light may be slightly out of focus when captured in infrared.
Put your camera in live view mode and point a TV remote control at the lens and press a few buttons. If you can see a flashing red tinted light, your camera is able to capture infrared light.
2. Calculate the density of your IR filter
If your visible light exposure is 1/1000th @ f/8 at ISO400 and the exposure with the filter fitted is 30 secs @ f/8 at ISO400, then the filter is equivalent to a 15-stop reduction in light. You can then use this to work out future exposures.
3. Turn off long exposure noise reduction
This means there’ll be no in-camera noise processing, so you won’t have a lengthy wait for this to be applied between shots. Instead you can adjust noise reduction during processing.
4. Black out the viewfinder
Make sure that no stray light can enter the camera, as this will ruin your infrared picture. Use the built-in shield for the viewfinder eyepiece if your camera has one or use dense tape to black it out.
Bright over-head sunlight isn’t usually very flattering for shooting landscapes but its actually ideal for infrared photography.
Now this may not be something you have considered before but shooting infrared images is hugely rewarding and gives outdoor scenes an otherworldly haunting appearance.
The effect works especially well on green foliage and blue skies, which makes summer the perfect time to try shooting some ghostly infrared images in the midday sun!
Best conditions for infrared photography
Infrared photography is best suited to bright overhead sunshine. In this light, blue skies are rendered as rich dark tones and leaves and grass appear ghostly white after processing, giving images an eerie appearance.
For this reason landscapes are a popular choice but infrared can also be very effective for other subjects including people.
Bright sun isn’t essential though so don’t worry if the clouds roll in as you can still capture great images in overcast light.
Check online to see how your lens performs and also try using different lenses to see which gives the best results.
If you’re using an IR filter then things like exposure, focusing and composition are more difficult but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome with a bit of practice.
Because the IR filter is so dense exposure times will become much longer so a stable tripod is essential.
It’s also not possible to take a meter reading with the filter fitted, so you’ll need to adopt a trial and error approach initially.
But once you’ve worked out how much the exposure is affected by the filter you can take a meter reading as you would normally and then re-calculate the exposure time to account for the filter.
You’ll also need to compose and focus on the scene before the filter is fitted. Infrared light is focused differently to visible light so what may be sharp when viewed in visible light may be slightly out of focus when captured in infrared.
Final tips for getting started with infrared photography
1. Check your camera can capture IR
Put your camera in live view mode and point a TV remote control at the lens and press a few buttons. If you can see a flashing red tinted light, your camera is able to capture infrared light.
2. Calculate the density of your IR filter
If your visible light exposure is 1/1000th @ f/8 at ISO400 and the exposure with the filter fitted is 30 secs @ f/8 at ISO400, then the filter is equivalent to a 15-stop reduction in light. You can then use this to work out future exposures.
3. Turn off long exposure noise reduction
This means there’ll be no in-camera noise processing, so you won’t have a lengthy wait for this to be applied between shots. Instead you can adjust noise reduction during processing.
4. Black out the viewfinder
Make sure that no stray light can enter the camera, as this will ruin your infrared picture. Use the built-in shield for the viewfinder eyepiece if your camera has one or use dense tape to black it out.
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