GETTING STARTED IN DIGITAL INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY.

What is a camera (body) converted to infrared?

Well, it is very easy to understand. Almost all digital SLR or mirrorless cameras are equipped with a low-pass filter in front of the sensor that blocks infrared and ultraviolet light so that the image sensor has the same visible light spectrum as the human eye to obtain photographs similar to the reality we usually perceive. This filter covers the entire camera sensor and is located just in front of it. When we convert the camera to infrared (lenses do not need to be converted), the technical service will remove this filter and replace it with another one of the infrared wavelength we have chosen, as each filter will give us different images, especially if they are in colour.

What do we achieve with infrared photography?

For this technique makes it possible to capture the frequency of invisible light to the human eye and shows a world that would otherwise be impossible for our species to appreciate. Thanks to this technique, familiar places can be explored from a new perspective, as if they were territories from another world.

The results are impressive, everything is transformed, both vegetation and buildings and, of course, we will be amazed by the appearance of people and animals. The textiles also acquire new tones and colours, and even the dye of some of them disappears, leaving the original texture visible. At sample photographs the big changes can be seen at different wavelengths when photographing in the infrared.

There is even a new trend that many studio portrait and wedding professionals are starting to use, which is to photograph people in infrared. No, it is not that the whole reportage is done in infrared but, it is a variable that is beginning to be liked because the appearance of the skin is represented very soft and the hair acquires very original shades. All of the above is achieved by converting the camera body to infrared because in this way we do not need a tripod or filters and we will take our photos in IR. shooting at the pulse with high shutter speeds and using all our arsenal of lenses. And, there is no need to be afraid of infrared photography as with basic knowledge of digital photography and a little Photoshop we can quickly achieve excellent results.

And, if we need help, in the book “INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY, The basics and secrets”In Ginés Guirao we will have a great ally step by step.