I've been experimenting with Infrared photography lately. I love the Results it produces from the really contrasty black and whites to the false colour images. 

The camera I have been using is a converted Nikon D7000 with a few different lenses. I've read up a bit about process and techniques how to take IR images. The camera sensor is taken out and the low pass filter is taken away to be replaced with a filter that blocks visible light and only lets in Infrared light. 

First you will need a IR converted camera, IR film (with suitable camera) or a IR filter that goes on the end of your lens. I have only used a IR converted camera so I have no experience with film or the filter. 

I'll talk through the way produce my images. 

First I set the quality to JPEG/Fine and then I like to get a custom white balance set for the subject, either using a grey card or the grass/concrete. This enables me to get an image that I can edit with the colour reversal method as it produces an image with some crazy hues and colours! I find that this also increases the contrast of the over all exposure. For good measure I chuck on a Polarising filter to increase the contrast a bit more. The key to it is a really sunny day. You wont get the colours and contrast on a overcast day. 

Here is the step by step method I use. 

Here is the image straight onto the computer uploaded into Adobe Lightroom.

I then whack it into Adobe Photoshop and reverse the colours using a colour mixer adjustment layer.

You have to move the Red slider to 0 and move the Blue slider to 100. Then select the blue tab from the Output Channel drop down menu and do the opposite. Red to 100 and Blue to 0.

The image should now look like this-

Now I save it and edit it in Lightroom. You can either keep it like this and adjust it to your suiting or convert it to black and white for a nice High Contrast B&W image like this-

Here are a few examples of what I have done with the Black and White conversion. 

Hopefully this is helpful. Any questions just ask in the comments box at the bottom. 

Cheers,

Tim

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