Getting started with infrared photography

The best tutorial​ for a journey beyond the visible

Passionate about this technique, I have concocted a complete  infrared photography tutorial for you, from theory to post-processing. You will learn in this tutorial the physical properties of light, the sensor modification needed to allow your camera to capture infrared signal, the camera settings to shoot correctly and the post-processing steps to edit your RAW files.

My portfolio of infrared pictures show you all the potential of this technique. You can discover it clicking HERE.

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Introduction to digital infrared photography

The visible spectrum goes from 400nm (blue) to 800nm ​​(red). Near infrared is the part of the light spectrum between 800nm ​​and approximately 1µm. Beyond that is deep infrared radiation, used in thermal imaging.

Infrared radiation, although invisible to the naked eye, can be captured by the sensors of digital cameras. Digital infrared photography therefore aims to capture the infrared radiation of a scene while cutting off the lower wavelengths in varying proportions.

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Electromagnetic spectrum.
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Spectral range of a CMOS sensor

The present graph shows the spectral sensitivity range of a CMOS sensor. As you can see, this extends well beyond visible light: into UV-A on the left and into near infrared on the right.

Infrared radiation, although invisible to the naked eye, can therefore be captured by the sensors of photographic cameras. Infrared photography thus aims to capture the infrared radiation of a scene while cutting off the lower wavelengths in varying proportions.

However, to achieve a correct result, some hardware and software modifications are necessary. For this tutorial I used a Canon EOS 50D with full spectrum conversion and a Canon 16-35 F/4 IS lens in front of which I screwed a Hoya R72 filter, the photos having been processed in Lightroom and Photoshop. If some of the previous terms still seem obscure to you, they will be explained later in this tutorial.

Essential hardware modifications in infrared photography

As presented in the introduction, sensors integrated into digital cameras can capture near infrared radiation up to approximately 1000nm. In practice, however, a filter cutting light above 720nm, called a hot mirror, is placed in front of the sensor. Difficult if not impossible, in these conditions, to practice infrared photography without resorting to certain hardware modifications to your camera.

Three methods are therefore possible for taking infrared photos:

Use of an unmodified camera + an IR filter screwed on the lens

This method is the least expensive and will only require you to purchase an infrared filter. The problem: the filter cutting the infrared in front of the sensor (hot-mirror) lets very little or no IR signal through, and only in the fringe around 710-730nm for the oldest cameras

This method therefore has many disadvantages: use of a tripod for long exposures, significant chromatic aberrations, important digital noise distorted by the hot-mirror filter. Above all, this method requires you to only be able to use a 720nm infrared filter.

Opposite, the blue drools on the stones on the ground and the building in the background.

Use of a modified digital camera with internal built-in infrared filter

This method replaces the hot-mirror filter in front of the sensor with an IR filter of your choice. The IR filter is therefore not screwed onto the lens here, not allowing the filter and therefore the wavelength to be changed. The choice of the IR filter to be positioned in front of the sensor is therefore essential, since it cannot be removed and therefore changed for another reference.

This method allows you to take photos handheld and be able to frame using the optical viewfinder of your DSLR camera. On a hybrid case, the false-color rendering is directly visible in your EVF.

Use of a modified digital camera with full spectrum conversion

This is the solution I use: the infrared cutting filter in front of the sensor is replaced by a clear filter allowing the entire light spectrum to pass.

Just like the first method, an IR filter has to be screwed in front of the lens in order to select only the infrared light. The IR effect can then be changed by simply choosing the type of IR filter used.

However, framing through the optical viewfinder is no longer possible, the human eyes not being sensible to infrared rays. But the add of Live View function on most cameras removes this restriction.

How to choose the right infrared filter?

In infrared photography, the choice of IR filter directly impacts the rendering your photos will have. The most commonly used filter is the 720nm one, like the Hoya R72 filter. The equivalent model from Kolari Vision is also a good choice and also has an anti-hotspot coating. Finally, the Heliopan 695nm filter offers a little more nuance in the whites tones. With these filters, the leaves of the trees appear completely white and the sky is adorned with a deep blue.

For wavelengths below 700nm, and therefore allowing part of the visible spectrum to pass, the leaves of trees can take on a yellow-golden tint depending on the white balance setting. This rendering is typical of 665nm and 595nm filters.

Above 720nm, 850nm, 900nm or 1000nm IR filters pass a pure infrared signal. The rendering is necessarily monochrome, and works particularly well in architectural or street photography.

Finally, certain infrared filters allow you to obtain an Aerochrome rendering similar to Kodak film from the analogic era, such as the IR Chrome filter and the Candy Chrome filter from Kolari Vision. The vegetation turns red/pink, the skin light with yellow and green tints.

For this tutorial I use a Hoya R72 filter. However, the digital processing is similar for lower wavelengths for classic infrared filters (excluding IR Chrome and Candy Chrome). You will find a complete comparison of infrared filters by clicking on the link below:

Lens choice

Another specificity of infrared photography: not all photo lenses are compatible with this technique. Due to the surface treatment of the lenses making up the objectives, some of them suffer from a so-called “hotspot” phenomenon. This phenomenon is characterized by the appearance of a light spot in the center of the image, the intensity of which varies with the opening of the diaphragm:

Fortunately, databases of lenses compatible with infrared technology exist. Two lists stand out to me for their rigor: that of Kolari Vision, and that of Edward Noble.

Post-processing steps required in digital infrared photography

White balance adjustment

Digital processing is required in order to obtain a suitable result in IR photography. The first step is essential because it directly influences the infrared rendering: adjusting the white balance. For this reason I advise you to shoot in RAW format, which allows you to manually adjust this parameter, and to use a neutral gray chart.

White balance must first be set manually in your camera using a neutral gray chart, regardless of the infrared filter used. This chart ensures that you calibrate the white balance precisely: photograph the chart illuminated by the main light source in your shooting environment with the desired IR filter screwed in front of your lens.

Once this calibration is done, RAW files should retain color temperature and tint adjustments when opened in your post-processing software.

Note: Adobe Camera RAW color temperature is limited to a minimum of 2000K, while infrared images require lower values ​​to achieve proper white balance. In this case, you must use a personalized DNG profile to extend this adjustment range. The effect is illustrated below on a color chart opened in Camera RAW: on the left the SOOC white balance limited by the software, on the right the white balance extended using the DNG profile.

RGB channels mixer

At this step, we will invert the red and blue channels of the RGB colour space in order to obtain a blue sky. So make sure your photo editing software has this feature.

This step will also have the effect of increasing the whiteness of tree leaves at 720nm. The procedure to follow is as follows:

  1. Open the « Channel Mixer » tool.
  2. Select the « Red » channel, change the « Red » gauge from 100 to 0 and the « Blue » gauge from 0 to 100.
  3. Select the « Green » channel, change the « Red » gauge from 0 to 50, the « Green » gauge from 100 to 0 and the « Blue » gauge from 0 to 50.
  4. Select the « Blue » channel, change the « Red » gauge from 0 to 100 and the « Blue » gauge from 100 to 0.

Final adjustements

The photo obtained is very close to the final result, but lacks contrast. I use luminosity masks  to significantly increase this parameter:

The final result obtained after cropping is the following:

The sky is blue, the trunks and branches are brown and the leaves are white: the white balance has been correctly adjusted.

Conclusion of this infrared photography tutorial

Now you are ready to practice digital IR photography in the best conditions. If you need any additional information, feel free to comment this article.

To go further

Check out my latest blog posts about infrared photography:

I have built a pack of 7 LUTs dedicated with infrared processing.

These LUTs are optimised to work with Ligthroom Classic and deal with white balance, RGB channel mixer and precise adjustments with this software.

They also work well with other photo and video software.

Through my expertise in infrared photography, I offer a wide range of IR photo and video recording services for your scientific projects and artistic shootings.

Discover the relating offers by clicking on the following link :

If you want to use some of the pictures in this article for illustration or commercial purposes, contact me directly by presenting your needs and the desired types of use. I will get back to you as soon as possible with a suitable commercial offer.

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