Why we shoot infrared. New Zealand in Monochrome

A number of years ago, Mary got hooked on infrared photography.  I hesitated for over two years and finally jumped in head first.  We now carry color and infrared cameras everywhere we go.  Here’s why you should to.

While in New Zealand last year we had plenty of opportunities to use our infrareds.  Here are some of my favorites in this blog.

The best light for color photography is sunrise and sunset.  We all know that.  Well, what are we going to do the other six to eight hours of the day besides process photos and scout locations for sunrise and sunset?

Infrared raw files look like an old film negative.  You can process them as color infrared or turn them into high contrast black and white images.  I exclusively make them monochrome.  I especially love how blue skies turn black.  The conversion also makes green foliage white and often times, it glows.

When we are on vacation, committed to a place, and have limited time, we want to shoot all day long.  So, being able to use infrared cameras give us more options and more “good” light to shoot in.

Processing is pretty straight forward for me.  I use monochrome presets in Lightroom or use Nik SilverEffects Pro to create the final images.  Mary does more color infrared and tones.

A note on equipment.

Over the years, we have had nine cameras converted by Life Pixel.  They are super helpful so take a look at their website and give them a call.  We are both currently using a Fujifilm X-T1 conversions and I am using a Sony RX100 point and shoot while Mary is using a Canon G7X point and shoot.

Three notes of caution:  infrared images can be very noisy; the coatings on some lenses can create considerable lens flare; and there is usually a hot spot in the middle of the image (some sensors are worse than others).  Ask Dan at Life Pixel whether your camera is a good choice for conversion.

To see more of (and buy) our photographs, please go to www.pamphotography.com.