Digital Photography School

Taking digital photography to the next level - experience a completely new world!

Infrared - a definition

First of all let's clarify what infrared is. Most people will immediately think about heat radiation if they hear the word "infrared", but there is something else hidden from our earth-bound eyes. Infrared light has a certain wavelength with a very wide range. If we only look at the first part of this range, we won't be able to see heat radiation, but we will be able to see things our eye normally can't: "Near-Infrared". A blue sky will turn dark, leaves that reflect a lot of infrared light will appear white resulting in a very mystical photography. You can create great effects if you combine the result with colour. To do that you would shoot a photo twice, once with an infrared filter and the second time without (more about that later). IR (short for Infrared) wavelength is longer than that of visible light, therefore we need special filters to block all visible light and to let only pass through a certain range of wavelengths to the camera.

Digital Infrared Photography

Now let's take a look what is possible. Here are some of the best (subjective of course) digital infrared photos I found at DeviantArt, FlickR, PBase and Blogs.

You have to distinguish between real infrared photos and colour-infrared photos. "Colour-infrared" combines infrared photos with average photos. The first photo for example is a colour-infrared picture, since there is still "real" colour visible.

IrBuzz Blogspot.com

Infernal Fear DeviantArt

Zylen from PBase

AllonKira from PBase

JeffreyK from PBase

OrangeBread from FlickR

Jonspage at FlickR

Infrared1 by Capitansuat from DeviantArt

The gilded river by Anrold from DeviantArt

Cold Heritage by Darkness and Light from DeviantArt

Jakarta2070 by brumie from DeviantArt

Infrared Paradise by Miracidium DeviantArt

Infrared Photography by Principemm DeviantArt

Japanse Tea House by justinblackphotos DeviantArt

957 by stockII from DeviantArt

Very compelling lines!

Infrared 3 by gema66 from DeviantArt

Infrared Dream by DSent from DeviantArt

Yep, this is not a CG shot, it's real.

Sidewalk in the Park by GeneAut from DeviantArt

Great Editing and a mystic setting.

The Fisherman by RoieG from DeviantArt

RoieG .

Bleak in the sunlight by kimonokraken from DeviantArt

Bleu by P0RG from DeviantArt

Converging Lines by Edwin Martinez from DeviantArt IR tree by Mealyn Moritzburg seaview by Torsten Hufsky from DeviantArt Utah Landscape by coulombic from DeviantArt

Copyright Statement: All images and materials displayed and showcased here, are copyrighted and are the exclusive property of the artist.

I want to take some digital infrared photos myself!

If you feel inspired by those photos and if you want to create your own digital infrared photos now, I will list a few things you have to consider.

Not all digital cameras and lenses are made for infrared. You can easily test it yourself by making a photo of a  remote control while you turn on the Tv with it. Obviously you will have to shoot the front LED and press some buttons. If you can see a red light on the photo, then your camera might be good enough to take a infrared picture. Keep in mind that you will want a professional SLR camera to make really good photos.

Personally I think it's worth it to buy a SLR instead of one of those low-quality compact cameras in general. To take infrared photos you will absolutely need a SLR, because the filters I mentioned in the introduction require it.

Before you buy any SLR + lense you should make sure that the combination is good enough to take infrared pictures. Some combinations create hotspots on a photo, which means that you will be able to see a large circle of white light in the middle.

A german forum "http://infrarot-forum.de/" has collected several user experiences. You better check this list before you buy anything.

Digital Infrared compatible lenses:

Canon EF 14mm 1:2.8L USM

Canon EF 15mm 1:2.8 Fisheye

Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8 L

Canon EF-S 17-85 f4-5,6 IS USM

Canon EF 20-35mm 1:3.5-4.5 USM

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L

Canon EF 24-85mm 1:3.5-4.5 USM

Canon EF 28mm f/2.8

Canon EF 28-70 II f\3,5-4,5

Canon EF 28-105/3,5-4,5

Canon EF 28-135mm/3.5-5.6 IS

Canon EF 28-135/3.5-5.6 I

Canon EF 28-300mm 1:3.5-5.6L IS USM

Canon TS-E 45mm 1:2.8

Canon EF 1,8/50 MKI

Canon EF 1,8/50 MKII

Canon EF 55-200/4.5-5.6 II USM

Canon TS-E 90mm 1:2.8

Canon EF 70-200mm 1:4L USM

Canon EF 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM

Canon EF 75-300mm/4.0-5.6 IS

Canon EF 100 F/2,0

Canon EF 100mm 2,8 Makro

Canon EF 100-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 USM

Canon EF 100-400mm4.0-5.6 IS L

Canon EF 135mm f/2L

Sigma 8mm f4 EX Fisheye

Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX

Sigma 14mm f2.8 EX

Sigma 18-50mm F3.5-5.6 DC

Sigma 20mm f1.8

Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX ASP DG Macro

Sigma 28 mm f/2,8 EX

Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX Macro

Sigma 55-200mm DC

Tamron 17-35 f\2.8

Tamron 28-80/3,5-5,6

Tamron AF 28-300 XR Di 3.8-5.6

Tokina ATX Pro II 28-70

The following lenses are not capable (or at least have limited capatibilities) to take infrared photos:

Canon EF 16-35mm 1:2.8L USM (Kamera abhängig)

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L

Canon EFS 18-55 (Hotspot bei WW)

Canon EF 20mm f/2.8

Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5

Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8L

Canon EF 35mm f/2

Canon EF 35-80/4.0-5.6

Canon EF 50mm/f1.4

Canon EF 50mm/f2.5 Macro

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8

Canon EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM (Kamera abhängig)

Sigma 12-24mm  f\4-5,6

Sigma DC 18-50mm F 1:2,8 EX

Sigma 70-200 2.8 ex

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro EX (mit und ohne DG)

Tamron 19-35mm f3.5-4.5

Tamron SP AF 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 AD aspherical macro

Tamron 28-75 2.8 xr di

Tamron 28-105 2.8

Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD macro

Tamron 70-300mm f3.x-xxx Macro

Tokina 12-24mm (12-20mm Hotspot - ab 20mm OK)

Should you not have a compatible lense, then try to find a cheap one at ebay:

Getting an IR filter

Obviosuly there are many different IR filters. Some let pass more light through than others. This is important for the effect you want to achieve. Infrared radiation has wavelengths between about 750 nm (nanometre) and 1 mm. The more light will be blocked the greater the IR effect. A 750nm filter for example (model name "xxx750") will not block as much as a 870nm filter (model name "xxx850"). Some filters are named "R72" or "R87", yes there is a zero missing! Those will block light below "720nm" or "870nm". For beginners the choice will be easy. Read the table above to mak sure you have a compatible lense and then buy a Hoya R72. This will give you good effects immediately. The more advanced users might want to buy a filter that blocks more visible light. The IR effect will be better, you will see a lot less colours on your photo, but remember this will dramatically increase the exposure time! Did I say that you will need a tripod? Also focusing through an IR filter will not be possible in most cases. Again try to find a cheap Hoya R72 at ebay if you are starting out:

Taking your first digital IR photo

Well what comes first ? Right, a white balance. You will have to put that infrared filter you bought on your lense and then take a photo of a bright sunlit area of grass. Now do a white balance, but use the photo you have just made instead of taking another. Great! From now on I recommend to use a tripod, because you will have to increase the exposure time. Do a few tests and always increase the exposure time step by step. Hopefully you will at least see something on your photos. If it's a dark day without much sunlight you will have a hard time to take good photos, because sunlight is very essential for infrared.

Sunny day? Great, take a picture of some trees and you will receive a red photo with white trees. This is it, your first infrared photo!

Here is a "first-time" infrared photo by Mutrus from DeviantArt

Of course this is a great location for an infrared shot, but this also shows that you can get great results straight from the beginning.

Digital Photo Editing:

Photo Editing is an important part of infrared photography. Usually you will have to put a lot of work into editing your RAW photos. RAW is the format that is recommended, because other formats compress the photo (e.g. JPEG, TIFF) and you will not be able to do a white balance afterwards for example.

IR Photo Editing with Lightzone

IR Photo Editing Workflow

Related Tutorials:

There are plenty of comprehensive IR tutorials out there, but I especially want to recommend you a tutorial from Roie Galitz:

Infrared - the invisible light

Don't have enough money to buy the equipment? Well, then do some more editing and try to achieve the same effect. Not as good as a real IR photo, but still worth trying before spending $500 or more.

Infrared - Photo effect in Photoshop:

Quotes:

Roie Galitz about his IR photography tutorial:

To be honest, I feel a little like a magician revealing a trick.

sOliver about IR photography:

Everything that is hidden from our eyes is worth revealing.

Submit your photos!

Please submit all your infrared photos via our submit system - it doesn't matter if you are just starting out or if you have been taking IR photos since decades.  The best photos will be featured on the front page.

Also any cool quotes are more than welcome!