Digital Infrared Photography Photo Workshop

Digital Infrared Photography Photo Workshop

by Deborah Sandidge
Released May 2009
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470405215

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Book description

Let your motto become "What would happen if. . . ?"

Infrared light offers photographers another artistic avenue to explore. You don't need years of experience or expensive equipment. Just grab an IR filter or a converted digital camera, and you're ready to enter the fascinating world of infrared photography. The unique effects you can create with IR photography are limited only by your imagination.

In these pages, you'll discover the practical information about file formats and composition as well as plenty of creative inspiration.

  • Discover whether your camera can detect infrared light and compare different IR filters

  • Learn how to see in IR and master IR composition

  • Play with effects — extended exposures, shooting through glass, zooming, and painting with light

  • Explore HDR and Photomerge options

  • Open more creative possibilities with Photoshop

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. About the Author
  3. Credits
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Introduction
  6. 1. INTRODUCING INFRARED LIGHT
    1. 1.1. WHAT EXACTLY IS IR LIGHT?
    2. 1.2. SEEING IN IR
    3. 1.3. CHECKING YOUR CAMERA FOR IR SENSITIVITY
    4. 1.4. METHODS OF RECORDING IR LIGHT
      1. 1.4.1. IR FILTERS
      2. 1.4.2. IR-CONVERTED CAMERAS
  7. 2. VISUALIZING AND CAPTURING IR IMAGES
    1. 2.1. COMPARING RAW AND JPEG FILE FORMATS
    2. 2.2. SHOOTING IN DIFFERENT COLOR MODES
    3. 2.3. SETTING WHITE BALANCE
      1. 2.3.1. CHOOSING WB OR AWB
      2. 2.3.2. KEEPING RGB CHANNELS IN BALANCE
    4. 2.4. UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE IN IR
      1. 2.4.1. SHOOTING MODES
      2. 2.4.2. THE HISTOGRAM
      3. 2.4.3. ISO
      4. 2.4.4. PRIME TIME IR PHOTOGRAPHY
    5. 2.5. USING EXTRA EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES
      1. 2.5.1. FLASH, REFLECTORS, AND DIFFUSERS
      2. 2.5.2. TRIPODS
      3. 2.5.3. TRIPOD HEADS
      4. 2.5.4. CABLE RELEASE
      5. 2.5.5. MEMORY CARDS
      6. 2.5.6. FILTERS
  8. 3. ESSENTIALS OF IR COMPOSITION
    1. 3.1. HOW IR COMPOSITION DIFFERS FROM COLOR
      1. 3.1.1. SUBJECT PLACEMENT AND RULE OF THIRDS
      2. 3.1.2. LINES AND CURVES
      3. 3.1.3. SHAPES, PATTERNS, AND ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE
      4. 3.1.4. BALANCE AND SYMMETRY
      5. 3.1.5. COLOR
      6. 3.1.6. PEOPLE IN COMPOSITIONS
      7. 3.1.7. SILHOUETTES
      8. 3.1.8. AVOID BACKGROUND DISTRACTIONS
    2. 3.2. CHOOSING YOUR LENS
      1. 3.2.1. WIDE-ANGLE
      2. 3.2.2. LENSBABY
    3. 3.3. CREATING YOUR OWN IR STYLE
  9. 4. CAPTURING SPECIFIC SUBJECTS
    1. 4.1. ARCHITECTURE
    2. 4.2. LANDSCAPES
      1. 4.2.1. FOLIAGE
      2. 4.2.2. WATER
      3. 4.2.3. SKIES AND CLOUDS
    3. 4.3. PEOPLE
    4. 4.4. BIRDS
    5. 4.5. ANIMALS
    6. 4.6. DEVELOPING THEMES IN IR
  10. 5. SPECIAL EFFECTS FOR CREATIVE IN-CAMERA IMAGES
    1. 5.1. LONG EXPOSURES
      1. 5.1.1. CAPTURING A SUNSET
      2. 5.1.2. CAPTURING THE BEAUTY OF WATERFALLS
    2. 5.2. REFLECTIONS
    3. 5.3. ADDING TEXTURE
      1. 5.3.1. VASELINE DIFFUSION
      2. 5.3.2. FABRICS
      3. 5.3.3. SHOOTING THROUGH GLASS
    4. 5.4. ZOOMING
    5. 5.5. CREATING IMAGE OVERLAYS
      1. 5.5.1. DOUBLE EXPOSURES
      2. 5.5.2. DIGITAL SANDWICH
      3. 5.5.3. BLENDING A TRADITIONAL COLOR IMAGE WITH IR
    6. 5.6. SPECIAL EFFECT FILTERS
    7. 5.7. PAINTING WITH LIGHT
  11. 6. PLANNING AHEAD FOR HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE AND PHOTOMERGE
    1. 6.1. HDR COMPARED TO USING A GRADUATED NEUTRAL-DENSITY FILTER
    2. 6.2. HDR SOFTWARE
    3. 6.3. SHOOTING FOR HDR
    4. 6.4. PROCESSING HDR IMAGES
      1. 6.4.1. USING PHOTOSHOP FOR HDR
      2. 6.4.2. USING PHOTOMATIX PRO FOR HDR
      3. 6.4.3. PHOTOMATIX'S TONE MAPPING FILTER
    5. 6.5. CREATING PANORAMAS WITH PHOTOMERGE
  12. 7. PROCESSING IR IMAGES IN PHOTOSHOP
    1. 7.1. BASIC PROCESSING IN ADOBE CAMERA RAW
    2. 7.2. CONVERTING TO BLACK AND WHITE IN ACR
    3. 7.3. USING LEVELS AND CURVES IN PHOTOSHOP
      1. 7.3.1. LEVELS
      2. 7.3.2. CURVES
    4. 7.4. CONVERTING TO BLACK AND WHITE IN PHOTOSHOP
    5. 7.5. CONVERTING TO BLACK AND WHITE USING PHOTOSHOP PLUG-INS
      1. 7.5.1. NIK SILVER EFEX PRO
      2. 7.5.2. NIK COLOR EFEX PRO
      3. 7.5.3. ONONE SOFTWARE'S PHOTOTOOLS
    6. 7.6. NOISE REDUCTION
      1. 7.6.1. REDUCING NOISE IN ACR
      2. 7.6.2. REDUCING NOISE IN PHOTOSHOP
      3. 7.6.3. NIK DFINE 2.0
      4. 7.6.4. NEAT IMAGE
      5. 7.6.5. DODGING AND BURNING
      6. 7.6.6. TROUBLESHOOTING
  13. 8. WORKING CREATIVELY IN PHOTOSHOP
    1. 8.1. CREATING A BLUE SKY
    2. 8.2. USING SELECTIVE COLOR FOR IMPACT
    3. 8.3. TINTING AND TONING
      1. 8.3.1. TINTING AND TONING SOFTWARE
      2. 8.3.2. DUOTONES, QUADTONES, AND TRITONES
    4. 8.4. REPLICATING A TRADITIONAL IR FILM LOOK
    5. 8.5. CREATING A DIGITAL SANDWICH
    6. 8.6. CREATING MIRRORED IMAGES
    7. 8.7. CREATING WATERY REFLECTIONS
    8. 8.8. WORKING WITH MULTIPLE EXPOSURES
    9. 8.9. CREATING A MONTAGE
    10. 8.10. CREATIVE ENHANCEMENTS USING FILTERS AND PLUG-INS
    11. 8.11. FINISHING TOUCHES
  14. 9. TRANSFORM COLOR TO IR EFFECT IN PHOTOSHOP
    1. 9.1. USING TECHNIQUES IN PHOTOSHOP FOR AN IR LOOK
    2. 9.2. USING PHOTOSHOP PLUG-INS FOR AN IR LOOK
  15. 10. BE INSPIRED
    1. 10.1. KATHLEEN T. CARR
    2. 10.2. ANNA CARY
    3. 10.3. JOE FARACE
    4. 10.4. LEWIS KEMPER
    5. 10.5. JEAN MIELE
    6. 10.6. JOSEPH PADUANO
    7. 10.7. KEN SKLUTE
    8. 10.8. DAVID TWEDE
    9. 10.9. ANDY WILLIAMS
  16. A. RESOURCES
    1. A.1. IR FILTERS
    2. A.2. CAMERA CONVERSION COMPANIES
    3. A.3. IMAGE-EDITING SOFTWARE
    4. A.4. NOISE-REDUCTION SOFTWARE
    5. A.5. HDR SOFTWARE AND PLUG-INS
    6. A.6. PHOTOSHOP PLUG-INS
    7. A.7. OTHER ACCESSORIES
    8. A.8. PHOTOGRAPHERS
    9. A.9. MAGAZINES
    10. A.10. ONLINE COMMUNITIES
    11. A.11. EVENTS
  17. Glossary

Product information

  • Title: Digital Infrared Photography Photo Workshop
  • Author(s): Deborah Sandidge
  • Release date: May 2009
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470405215