Digital Infrared Photography Photo Workshop

Chapter 7. PROCESSING IR IMAGES IN PHOTOSHOP

There are several creative approaches to optimizing an IR image, just as there are to optimizing a digital color photograph. You can choose from a variety of software applications, such as Adobe's Elements, Photoshop, or Lightroom, Apple's Aperture, Nikon's Capture NX2, and several others. I recommend choosing the application that is most familiar to you and easiest to use. IR photographs, as with color photographs, may benefit from a variety of basic adjustments. Optimizing your IR image ranges from removing dust spots, to making a Curves adjustment for better contrast, color, and appearance of sharpness, to dodging and burning in order to even out areas of exposure.

Some photographers begin with Photoshop Elements and upgrade later to Adobe Photoshop as their creative and technical needs evolve. If you want the most flexibility, the digital darkroom of Photoshop offers endless creative opportunities. Working in Photoshop gives you tools that range from basic editing functions, such as cropping and resizing, all the way to creative enhancements, including tonal adjustments and working with compatible plug-ins with your digital IR images (7-1).

Some camera manufacturers publish proprietary digital-editing software. For example, Nikon has Capture NX2. When editing photographs, I often optimize the image with Capture NX2 and then use Photoshop for additional creative enhancements, or finishing touches.

Good software is rarely inexpensive. ...