IR Photography

[jdjd1118]

Hey all, just a quick question. Anyone have any experience with digital IR Photography? I have a Sony DSC-H2 and would like to try IR Photography. I've read about it and people have said that if you can see the sensor on a remote than it would work, so I bought an Opteka R-72 filter, but was unable to get any pictures. Maybe this filter is too dark? Thanks for any help.

 

[ann]

What was your exposure times? With that filter they could be up to 8-10 seconds long. Hard to tell without being there to see the lighting conditions.


And are you sure there is nothing there?

The file may be very magenta almost black and you will need to convert it to black adnwhite.

I am sorry i can't help you with that specific camera, however, i do a bit of IR with a nikon d100 and a fuji that has been converted to IR specially.

With the D100 it is impossible to see what your view once you place the filter on the lens and you can't see much on the LCD either.

With a converted camera you can see both in the view finder and the LCD exactly what your doing altho you will still need a filter.

 

[jdjd1118]

I've tried taking pics in B & W, and with exposure times up to 30 seconds. I've only tried in doors so far, maybe with better outside lighting that may work? I've put the pics on the computer and tried editing with Photoshop but nothing shows up.

 

[doenoe]

IR is being sent out by the sun, so you need sunlight to take pics. And so the best thing you can do is go outside on a sunny day. You can just shoot in color. Hope you can shoot in RAW, cause that would make things way easier.
Dont know if you allready did, but Google "digital infrared" and read a few sites.

 

[ann]

there is a big difference (At least for me, between PS IR and incamera IR) meaning using a plug-in, or "faking it" with PS tools.

I would suggest you don't put your camera in b&W mode for IR or in fact B&W images.

Make some tests outside with the sun behind your back; also ,be sure you use a lens hood to avoid flaring.

you may need to boost your ISO as well.

as the above poster suggests there are several good sites dediated to IR work that wil be helpful to you.

 

[doenoe]

just for the record, i dont think there has ever been someone who can fake IR in PS. You always need a camera that has been fixed to make IR pics, or use a filter (most people use a Hoya R72) Then you use ps to get the white balance right (if you dont shoot RAW and use a custom WB) and to get some nice color into it. BTW, im talking digital photograpy here, film is a whole other story
And Ann is right about the B&W thing, just never use the in-camera thing. Just use a program for that. The in-camera thing just doesnt make a good B&W convertion.

 

[jdjd1118]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll try taking some pics if we ever get some sun again. Also, I wouldn't use B&W on the camera, mostly just because I like to have an option of having color pics and because I have Photoshop 7 and so just use that for the B&W conversion. Thanks again!