Infrared Photography Guide: How to Create Infrared Images

Infrared photography (or IR photography) is a type of photography that uses special film or cameras that can recognize and reproduce infrared light (IR light). IR light is a division within the full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation (EMR), which travels in a wavelength longer than the visible light spectrum, or the division that the human eye can see. While the human eye also can’t perceive IR light, specially made infrared cameras and external IR filters can capture it. Single-lens reflex (SLR) and digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras use a mirror and prism that allow the photographer to see an IR image.

In infrared photography, skin tones appear white and smooth, while black tones turn gray or white, and bright colors—like a blue sky—seem saturated. These striking and otherworldly images and colors, which photo-editing tools can’t easily make or reproduce, are why infrared photography is often used for fine art photography.

IR photography also has many uses outside of creative endeavors, including medical and dental imaging, military surveying, astronomy, and technical art examination. Law enforcement also utilizes digital infrared photography to document evidence that the naked eye can’t see.

Here is a brief overview of the history of infrared photography:

• Robert Wood publishes the first IR photography images. The history of infrared photography begins with US physicist and inventor Robert Wood, credited as the first to intentionally publish IR images of landscape photography. To capture these infrared photographs, Wood used a prototype of an infrared filter that allowed IR and ultraviolet rays to enter the camera while also reducing EMR from the visible light spectrum.
• The armed forces use IR photography in World War I. During World War I, IR photography came into practical use as a way to gain information on areas with heavy vegetation or ground cover or to take pictures of images obscured by cloud cover or haze. Within two decades, both professional and amateur photographers widely used IR film. The motion picture film photography industry used it to create “day-for-night” effects (simulating nighttime while shooting during the day).
• IR photography enters the mainstream. Infrared images cropped up in various mediums throughout the twentieth century. Photographers like the legendary Ansel Adams used infrared-sensitive black-and-white film to capture stark and stately images of nature or portraits. Alternatively, popular recording artists in the 1960s featured infrared photos on album covers to invoke the sense of otherworldliness associated with psychedelia. The advent of the digital camera had a transformative effect on infrared photography: The relative ease of taking IR photos with a digital camera, and the availability of IR cameras, expanded the use of IR images for fine art and other industries.

There are many different uses of infrared photography, including:

1. 1. Observing altered documents: Alterations to a document, such as exposure to fire, fading, age, surface dirt, and even erasures or overwriting, can be observed in documents using infrared photography. IR photos can also provide details in printed material and photographs that have undergone similar wear or damage.
2. 2. Capturing artistic images: Infrared photography is used for fine art photography because of its ability to capture striking and even surreal images. Black-and-white infrared photography can present fine-grain details that may not show up in color imagery, as well as prevent issues with false color that can occur with black-and-white images. Color IR photos result in deeply saturated or otherworldly variations of primary colors (green, red, and blue). Color infrared digital photography has gained popularity among enthusiasts of full-spectrum photography.
3. 3. Medical imaging and observation: The electromagnetic radiation used in infrared photography is a non-invasive, contract-free means of observing images through the skin. Medical professionals often use it to study nerves and veins, breast tumors, and damage caused by burns. Its uses include the ability to study conditions involving the eye, lungs, and teeth and can assist in determining the health of a fetus while in utero.
4. 4. Studying plants and radiation: In addition to its medical applications, scientists use infrared photography to study plant biology and diseases, plant fossils, astronomy, and spectroscopy, which is the study of how other objects absorb light and radiation. Forensic investigators frequently use IR photography in scientific investigations of crime-related incidents for its ability to detect the presence of blood or gunshot residue and even pigments from tattoo ink as a means of determining identity.
5. 5. Surveying landscapes: You can use infrared photography to observe objects from a distance that vegetation or weather conditions may obscure. IR film presents less of a sharp image than one with greater contrast, revealing details that the naked cannot easily observe.

Infrared photography requires specific photographic equipment, including:

• Converted infrared camera: SLRs or DSLRs can take infrared images, but in most cases, the long exposure times required to capture an IR photo will result in motion blur. You can convert cameras to take infrared images by removing the IR blocking filter over the camera sensor and replacing it with an “IR pass” filter, removing visible light. Camera conversion will allow both IR photography and normal camera use. However, the change is permanent and can be difficult (if you’re doing it yourself or with tutorials) or expensive (if you send it to an infrared conversion company).
• Infrared filter: An infrared filter is the most cost-effective way to shoot IR photography. There are many different infrared filters on the market that can capture elements of the infrared spectrum. However, many of the issues with shooting IR photography on non-converted cameras are also present when using filters, like motion blur from long exposure times and slower shutter speeds. Some may also produce a hot spot—an area in an image that is brighter than others—which requires extensive post-processing work.
• Infrared film: You can use color or black-and-white IR film to capture an IR image. However, infrared film can be pricey and difficult to find.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to capture infrared images:

1. 1. Test your camera. It’s crucial to determine whether your existing camera is sensitive to IR light before attempting any IR photography because you won’t be able to capture the images properly if it is not. A simple way to determine its capability is to use a remote control device for your television. Focus your camera on the end of the remote that you point at the television to activate it, then press one of the buttons. Look through the LCD viewfinder (or use your live view feature), or take a photograph; if you see the bulb light, the camera can shoot IR photos.
2. 2. Adjust your camera settings. Before capturing an image, you’ll need to set your camera, especially if you are using a filter for IR photography, so that you can capture the best images possible. Since IR photos require long exposures, turn off your noise reduction and set your ISO—the camera’s sensitivity to light—as low as possible. Adjust your white balance, either with presets (if you’re using a filter) or with the custom white balance mode (if you’re not). Keep your aperture small, especially if you’re shooting landscape photography, to avoid blurring.
3. 3. Shoot on a sunny day. Though lots of bright sunlight may not be ideal for many photographs, that’s exactly the condition you want for IR photography. Noontime on a sunny summer day will provide excellent results, and if you can shoot somewhere with lots of foliage, even better, since plants and other living things reflect infrared light.
4. 4. Use a RAW file. Choose a RAW file, or digital negative, over a JPEG when shooting IR photos. RAW files are larger, retain more data directly from the sensor, and lose less image quality in post-processing adjustments for white balance, exposure, or hot spots, among other issues.

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