PHO289 Infrared SPI - Spring 2023
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 330-607-2774
Syllabus - https://www.pixelnrg.com/ir-syllabus
Infrared (IR)
Infrared with your iPhone (or Android)
We will explore how to make black and white Infrared (IR) photos using your mobile device, starting with the equipment needed beyond your phone; moving to how to make IR images using different camera apps. Advantages and disadvantages of each; and to the finish, the processing methods to get the most info out of your IR files.
All students must sign and submit, the College of Southern Nevada off campus waiver before meeting on location. We will sign the form during the first class. https://www.pixelnrg.com/field20trip20form202.pdf
Friday
Introduction to IR - 6-8pm - NLV CSN, room 1744
1) Slide show
2) Equipment - filter, holder, tripod, phone holder for tripod. If you have an iPad you may want to use this in place of your phone for editing.
3) Discuss where we will meet on Saturday morning 9am.
Saturday
- Meet at photography location off campus at 9am.
Photograph 9-11:30am
- 12:30pm meet at NLV CSN in room 1744
-Selecting images, processing using Lightroom Mobile on your phone iPad or using an Apple computer, creating Presets from our processed images to apply to like images. I will share presets so bring a flash drive or hard drive to take presets and files home.
-4pm Class ends
Sunday
- 9am - Morning shoot off campus. Location to be announced
- Afternoon NLV CSN in the lab - Selecting images, processing images, making prints for a mini exhibit on the walls of the Telecom Bldg. Bring inkjet printing paper for making prints. (I will have some to share if you do not have any or would like to try one of my papers)
-4pm Class ends
What is Infrared (IR) Photography?
The human eye can see wavelengths from about 400nm–700nm (from purple to red). Infrared light exists in the wavelengths beyond 700nm. IR photography can be done with either infrared film or a digital camera and typically involves near-infrared light in the 700nm-1200nm range.
Infrared light has a longer wavelength than visible light, and it is typically not visible to the human eye. Using digital cameras and IR filters, photographers can capture images that are sensitive to infrared light and produce surreal, otherworldly images. Images have a distinctive look, with bright whites and deep blacks. Skin tones appear white and smooth, while black tones turn gray or white, and bright colors, like a blue sky, appear saturated (dark). Plants and other living things reflect infrared light appearing bright sometimes white. This is the reflected chlorophyll.
Scientist and photographer, Robert W. Wood, is considered the father of infrared photography, developing the first IR glass and publishing the first IR landscape photograph in the “Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine”, February 1910. The “Wood Effect” is where leaves reflect infrared light, giving them a bright white hue. This effect is utilized in landscape photography to produce surreal color landscapes or high-contrast black and white photographs.
Professor Wood's slides https://www.infrared100.org/2017/04/professor-woods-slides.html
The 720 nm wavelength is considered near-infrared, which is just beyond the visible spectrum of light. After photographing with your camera and a 720NM filter, your images will appear dark red. Your post processing is where you will bring out the rich black and white tones. In this class we will be focusing on making black and white images.
What you need to shoot IR
There are many variations to what I am sharing here.
The 720nm IR Filter (IR72) is equivalent to 5/6-stops of light reduction.
• GREEN.L Infrared Filter 720NM - This is what I have been using.
(Any 720NM filter will work)
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Green-L-IR-Infrared-720nm-Filter/dp/B01N1GF0NZ?th=1
• Lee 87 polyester filter measures about 3×3 inches and can be had for under $20. The filter can simply be held or taped to the iPhone or its case in order to cover all of the lenses and the LIDAR. Light leaks will alter your image quality. I do not recommend this approach unless you spend some time taping and blocking any non-filtered light from hitting your camera sensor.
• Moment Phone Filter Mount - Attach 67mm Filters to Most Phones. This is what I have been using
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Moment-Phone-Filter-Mount-Filters/dp/B0B5W2TL1W/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2DT52CG72EPBG&keywords=iphone+filter+holder&qid=1668751420&s=electronics&sprefix=iphone+filter+holde%2Celectronics%2C201&sr=1-5
• This is another option for a filter mount If you have an iPhone 13/14 pro or pro Max
-You would then order a 58mm 720NM filter
https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Camera-Filter-Mount-iPhone13/dp/B0BJ8QQBCJ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=K529ZEN6KXDH&keywords=iphone+filter+mount&qid=1675124263&sr=8-3
• One more option - This one takes a 67mm Filter NEEWER 67mm Lens Filter Kit with Phone Lens Clip, CPL, ND32, 6 Point Star Filter, Graduated Filters (4 Colors), Compatible with iPhone 14 Pro Max 13 12 11 & Canon Nikon Sony Cameras
https://www.amazon.com/NEEWER-Graduated-Filters-Compatible-Cameras/dp/B0B1D5W6YP/ref=psdc_499262_t1_B0BJ8QQBCJ
• And one more option - this uses a 52mm filter
https://www.amazon.com/Apexel-Graduated-Lens-Red-Smartphone-Olympus/dp/B07ZM9NBX2/ref=psdc_3109903011_t1_B0B5W2TL1W
• Metal Phone Tripod Mount There are many tripod mount options. I looked for the Arca Swiss mount for my tripod.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085C4S8XF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Apps/camera for making images
1) iPhone
• Turn off live photos
• Night Mode will kick on automatically when it detects a low-light scene. It will adjust the shutter duration based on how much the phone and subject move. Hand holding, the iPhone may limit the exposure to two or three-second shutter. When using a tripod, the shutter can stay open for as long as 30 seconds. (Your IR filter stops down the scene and IR will be available for shooting)
• Tap the icon, and the Night Mode scale appears at the bottom, allowing you to manually set the exposure.
*iPhone 14 Pro/ProMax
48MP “advanced quad-pixel sensor.” 8064 x 6048 pixels - Image sizes range from 75-100MB+ each
1) To enable Apple ProRAW
2) Open the Settings app on your iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max
3) Swipe down and tap Camera
4) Now choose Formats at the top
5) Tap the toggle next to Apple ProRAW – the default resolution for Apple ProRAW should be 48MP - You can also capture 12MP RAW photos
6) Now open the Camera app, make sure RAW shows in the top right or bottom right corner and is not crossed out.
• I recommend shooting RAW. The uncompressed RAW file captures more detailed information than the processed jpg files. This is important for holding detail in your highlights and shadows.
• High Efficiency (the HEIF/HEVC format) or Most Compatible (the JPG format). HEIF/HEVC is a smaller and more efficient format but may not be as compatible as JPG if you wish to transfer your photos to non-Apple operating systems and devices.
• I have found that using the telephoto lens options does not give the sharpest images. Blur and grain can overwhelm the image. The Main Camera lens will almost always give you superior image quality to the ultra wide or telephoto lens options.
Don’t forget you can take photos horizontally with your mobile device.
2) Lightroom Camera Pro - This is my go-to for IR.
• Shooting and editing app.
• You can shoot RAW as well with this app.
• Link to Lightroom Mobile Guide - Info on all the basic to advanced features found in LRM
https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/003WTjq6wUonlbCmP82PPodJw#LRguide2022
A) Adobe Lightroom Mobile $4.99 a month - in app purchase. First download the app to your phone and then purchase the monthly subscription from there. This is the basics of what we will need - This only works on your mobile devices not a laptop or desktop computer.
B) Adobe Photography Plan $9.99 a month - Computer & Mobile - Includes Lightroom Mobile, Photoshop, Portfolio and more. Purchase by going to Adobe Website. Look for the individuals tab and select the $9.99 Photography Plan.
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html?plan=individual&filter=all
• Adobe Link - Getting Started with Lightroom on a mobile device.
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/how-to/lightroom-mobile.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwsuP5BRCoARIsAPtX_wEe-QX6ecSc4uLaTMCAStVwn8WPqk-TCFDw1JVj9eQc1h5DkJJI9HoaAooJEALw_wcB&sdid=KKTGD&mv=search&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwsuP5BRCoARIsAPtX_wEe-QX6ecSc4uLaTMCAStVwn8WPqk-TCFDw1JVj9eQc1h5DkJJI9HoaAooJEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!392818671058!e!!g!!adobe%20lightroom%20mobile
3) Camera+
• Shooting and editing app
• You can shoot RAW as well with this app, UltraRes 48MP.
https://camera.plus/
I have not used this but it is recommended by many for IR.
Monthly - $3.99 Yearly - $1.50/month - One Time purchase $29.99
4) Snapseed - Mobile - Free
• Editing App - I use this all of the time - Fast - Fun - Easy - Lots to explore.
Apple App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/snapseed/id439438619
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed&hl=en_AU
Shoot on a sunny day - Look for big bright clouds for drama in the sky.
Processing your Infrared Images.
Lightroom - Processing
1) Select the image you want to work. The image will have the red cast from the filter at this point.
2) Convert your images to B&W (yep, the red goes away with this step)
-Start by exploring the B&W profiles. When exploring the profiles look at the blacks and whites - Go for CONTRAST, strong blacks and whites.
3) From here, hop over to the Light Tab.
Start with the blacks at the bottom of the Tab/Panel and move upward. Set that black point, then the white point. Do you want more shadow detail? More highlight detail? With this approach to processing you will need to do less contrast and exposure adjustments. Remember this is a dance. When you adjust one slider you may need to backtrack and tweak one you just set. That is OK. We are looking for the finished WoW!
4) On to the Effects Tab.
Do you need to add clarity or texture? Or both? When we go strong on the clarity, our blacks can go even blacker so you may need to step back to the Light Tab and make a slight adjustment.
-You will find the vignette here. A slight darkening vignette can be a nice add.
5) Detail Tab. Do you want to add some Noise Reduction? This is used to reduce black and white specks. You can refine further by adjusting detail and contrast. With detail work like this it is best to view the image at 100%.
Copy Edit Settings
If you made a series of images in the same type of lighting you can apply the adjustment from one like image to multiple images by copying your edit settings
“Command C” on the computer, or look for the 3 little dots top right on your phone, There you will see, “copy edit” settings. Select the photo to apply the settings - “Command V” or back to those 3 little dots to paste settings.
Create your own Presets in Lightroom.
-A preset is a saved collection of edit settings you can apply with a single click allowing you to streamline your workflow. If you need to tweak the settings - no problem, just adjust the sliders.
1) Open an image where you have made adjustments that you want to apply to other photographs.
2) Go the Preset Panel
3) When in the Preset Panel look at the top right for the 3 little dots. This is where you will find “Create Preset”.
4) After clicking “Create Preset” a dialog box will open and you can choose the settings from the “Open Photos” settings that you want to use to create your preset. Be sure to name your presets - you will find your presets under the “Yours” tab.
Export Lightroom Presets
1) Select the preset you want to export from the Presets tab.
2) Right click on the preset. (Mac - Control Click)
3) In the menu that opens up, create a file name for your preset, and select where on your computer you would like to export the file.
4) Your preset is now exported.
Import Lightroom Presets
When in the Preset Panel look at the top right for the 3 little dots. This is where you will find “Import Preset”.
Specific IR results will vary based on a combination of:
• Individual camera make/model
• Camera sensor
• Infrared filter wavelength
• Infrared filter manufacturer (there may be variations between vendors)
• Whether you shoot RAW or JPEG
• Your camera’s processing engine
• Lens used (different lenses may react differently to IR light)
• Type of vegetation and its ability to reflect IR light
• White balance settings
• Quality, combination, and wavelengths of infrared and visible light
• The steps and sequencing of your IR processing workflow
Facebook:
Infrared on the iPhone - FB Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/iphoneinfrared
Stephen Paternite - Photographer
https://www.facebook.com/stephen.paternite
Websites:
Want to learn more, more ,more about Infrared - this site has a ton of info.
https://kolarivision.com/choosing-an-infrared-filter/
For the Fuji Camera users
Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: Black & White Infrared
https://fujixweekly.com/2020/08/11/fujifilm-x100v-film-simulation-recipe-black-white-infrared/
Slices of Silence: Quiet Black and White Infrared Landscapes
“I also don’t work on photography unless the weather is shitty.”
—NathanWirth
https://www.thephoblographer.com/2015/09/03/slices-of-silence-quiet-black-and-white-infrared-landscapes/
Nevada Wier
https://www.nevadawier.com/
VIDEO - SEEING THE INVISIBLE by Nevada Wier - EARTH IS OUR WITNESS Live!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VaLHfDA4Rw
Jill Enfield
https://www.jillenfield.com/black-and-white-infrared
Neil van Niekerk
BW infrared photography - Urban landscape
https://neilvn.com/tangents/bw-infrared-photography-urban-landscapes/
Flickr Group Infrared BW
https://www.flickr.com/groups/irbw/
Printing:
https://mixtiles.com