(near) Infrared Photography
Intro: (near) Infrared Photography
you can be on your way to taking your own ir photographs with a digital camera, $10, and good ol' fashion sunlight!
STEP 1: The Essentials:
the most important items:
-camera (digital better, but not necessary*) with MANUAL controls
-filter; specifically, you will want to start with an IR720 filter, sometimes referred to as ''R72'', ''R720''. i found a brand new one on amazon for $10.50 (included shipping)
*film cameras can just use ir film
not necessary, but veerryy helpful:
-tripod
-white balance/grey card
STEP 2: The Physics of It All (skip If You're in a Hurry)
-there are many different types of electromagnetic radiation, light, microwaves, radio waves, x-rays, etc.
-together, all these different types of radiation make up what’s called the electromagnetic spectrum.
-we measure and classify each type of ‘light’ by wavelength; visible light, the light that you and i can see, ranges from about 400nm to about 700nm in wavelength.
-with ir photography we are interested in wavelengths of light in the infrared; ‘infra’ or ‘below’, so really light ‘below-red’. Hence the R720 filter; we’re blocking out light who’s wavelength is shorter than 720nm.
-your camera is very well adapted to recording ir light. so well, the people that made it have already put a filter in it to block out ir light.
-what you’re attempting to do is only pass ir light into the camera, so it doesn’t have a choice but to record it
STEP 3: Let's Get Going!
-start out with f.4 and shutter speed around 1/3''sec. exposure time will vary greatly with the amount of light.
-once you've found a proper exposure, your pictures will appear reddish/pink
STEP 4: Adjusting Color
with the SAME settings for proper exposure, set your white balance as you would normally. this will yeild a sur-realistic color pallet effect, and other times a washed out look. it all depends on the amount of ir light (usually effected mostly by cloud cover)