Today’s Post by Joe Farace
While the classic infrared shot is in black and white, you can add some color—depending on the on-camera filter or infrared conversion used, add the so-called blue sky effect to an infrared photographs. While I think the overall effect is cool, I was surprised to learn that some of you think it’s that great of an effect. And so, in our never-ending quest to provide as many options as possible for all forms of infrared (and car) photography, I would like to present a few alternatives:
Many cameras that offer a built-in black and white mode also have a sepia mode, so you can tone digital images as you shoot them. You can also add color in Photoshop using the toning filters that are found in software like Pixel Genius’ PhotoKit; I especially like the plug-in’s Platinum effect to subtly tone images. You can also add hand-coloring effects using layers as I show on a tutorial with a photograph of a Porsche Speedster.
How I made this photo: I photographed this classic Allard automobile using a Canon EOS D50 that had been converted for infrared capture by Life Pixel. The lens used was a manual focus 16mm Zenitar f/2.8 with an exposure of 1/160 sec at f/16 and ISO 200. David Burren created a Photoshop Action that was used with the above image and it’s a good choice for easily adding a dash of color to IR files. The action applies all its changes via adjustment layers, allowing you to undo or tweak each of the changes to suite your taste.
I’ve found that Life Pixel does a great job with IR conversions and they’ve done most of the conversions for some of my Canon DSLRs and all of my Panasonic Lumix G-series cameras. This is not a paid or sponsored endorsement, just my experience.
My book, The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography is available from Amazon with new copies available for $10 and used copies selling for around three bucks as I write this. Creative Digital Monochrome Effects has a chapter on IR photography and is available from Amazon new for $5.95 with used copies starting at $4.00.