Chapter XI. The Wonders of Infrared Imaging

The Wonders of Infrared Imaging

Digital infrared photography opens up a whole new world of creativity—even for photographers who already have a creative bent. And today, it's easier than ever to jump into the world of IR imaging with a compact camera.

LifePixel (www.lifepixel.com) converts many Canon and Nikon cameras to IR-only cameras. The image on the left was taken with my LifePixel-converted Canon SD-800 compact camera. It's enhanced a bit in Photoshop Elements.

IR images look creative and artistic because some of the reality is removed from the scene. Removing color is the first step in removing the reality. Then comes the real fun: green foliage turned white, making it look as though the landscape is covered with a thin coat of snow or ice ... or perhaps even vanilla frosting!

Play around with adjustments and filters in Photoshop Elements, or experiment with Plug-ins, and you'll have even more creative options. Add a digital frame, as I did here using a Brush frame from OnOne Software's Photo Frame Pro 3 (www.ononesofware.com), and your pictures look even more artistic.

The creative possibilities attainable in the digital darkroom are endless. In this chapter I'll offer just a few examples of IR photography with an IR-only camera.

The Wonders of Infrared Imaging

From Drab to Fab

I took the top picture ...

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