What Is Infrared Digital Photography?

Infrared of IR is a form of light wave that is not visible to the human eye. In the electromagnetic spectrum, IR waves are grouped between visible light and radio waves, having a length of one to two hundred microns or millionths of a meter. Being invisible, how is infrared used in photography?

It is indeed utilized not only by photographers but scientists and technicians as well, for a particular purpose, because it produces images that are not achieved by the commonly used films. Today, infrared digital photography enthusiasts like to refer to their hobby as taking pictures with invisible light.

IR photography is unusual in the sense that it relies on the ability of the camera to record what is not visible to the eye by capturing infrared radiation instead of images. IR waves can penetrate certain kinds of haze or cloud cover so that pictures of objects, which are distant or are not visible to the normal camera, can be taken. Further IR can also make visible the long-wavelength heat emitted by objects. This is why infrared digital photography is very important to astronomers and physicists.

Infrared photography is not a new technique. It has been around for several years but only very few used it with film because it was very expensive and difficult to do. When digital cameras came along, doing IR photography became significantly cheaper and easier.

The CCD and CMOS sensors of your digicam have the ability to capture infrared light. However, the manufacturer puts a filter in front of it to block out ultraviolet and infrared rays because these can interfere and mess up the images. If you want to take IR photos, you can remove the blocking filter and let a wider range of light waves hit the sensors. Taking unfiltered shots will require certain adjustments to your camera but this can be easily done with digicams since you can view images instantly and can take as many shots as you desire.

Another way of doing infrared digital photography is to place an IR filter in front of the lens, without removing the sensor filter. This has a disadvantage because capturing images will take longer since light is filtered twice. Further, an external filter hinders the photographer’s view, making it difficult to compose and focus.

Infrared photographs appear very different from pictures taken with visible light. Clouds appear more interesting because they reflect more IR rays than the skies. Leaves and plants appear very bright so care must be taken not to overexpose them. Colors do not look the same as in the real world and even similarly colored objects will look different. Some photographers like using IR in portraits because the skin looks very smooth.

With the advancement in technology today, you are now able to tweak your camera’s features and extend its capability. Why don’t you try to experiment and create amazing shots using infrared digital photography?

The more you use your camera, the more tips and tricks for digital photography you will learn! Find the essential tips you need by clicking on the blue links today!

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