PCPhoto

Digital Infrared Photography

How to use software to creatively enhance

By Rick Sammon, Photography By Rick Sammon

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This Article Features Photo Zoom

MORE CREATIVE ENHANCEMENTS
Following are a few more ideas on how you can take control—and have fun—with your IR images.

Step 7: Neutral Black-And-White

Step 6: Remove All The Color. If you prefer a black-and-white IR image, all you have to do is create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and leave the Mode set at Normal. Then, move the Saturation slider all the way to the left.

Step 7: Beautiful Black-And-White IR. Here’s the result of removing all the saturation from the image. If you follow this technique and your image looks flat, make a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer and boost the contrast just a bit.

Step 8: Have Fun With Digital Filters. Adding a digital filter to an IR image can make it look even more artistic. Here, I used the Note Paper filter (Filter > Sketch > Note Paper) with the color blue set as the Foreground Color in the Color Picture. Keep in mind that the Foreground Color determines the color tone of this and other filters—even when working on an RGB file.

Step 8: Note Paper Filter

Step 9: Midnight Sepia Filter

Straight Color

Step 9: Play With Plug-Ins. Experiment with plug-ins. Here, I used the Midnight Sepia filter from Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 3.0 filter set (www.niksoftware.com).

Straight Color Image. Although this picture wasn’t taken from the same angle as my IR photograph, it shows the same scene in full color. As my IR image illustrates, with an IR-only camera and a little bit of Photoshop help, a rather ordinary scene can be transformed into a more creative image.

So if you feel as though your photography needs a creative jump-start, give IR photography a try. After shooting IR for a while, you’ll begin to “see” your world in IR—that is, you’ll see the end result in your mind. How cool!

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