Evolution of an infrared image

[Major Nikon]

Straight out of the camera, no white balance:


Converted to B&W via Photoshop. This is what a normal infrared monochrome image looks like. It would be similar to an infrared film image:


Image is a bit flat. Contrast is adjusted:


Now for a false color image. Go back to original raw image and adjust for white balance with software called DXO (Photoshop is no bueno here):


Swap red and blue channels in Photoshop to create a false color IR image:


Image is a bit flat like the B&W conversion was. Contrast is enhanced by individual color channels:

[Celebration]

1. that is interesting

Not sure exactly what you did, but I love the result.

[Major Nikon]

2. I had one of my cameras converted to take infrared pictures

Back in the days when cameras used film, you could just buy infrared film if you wanted infrared pictures. With digital photography it's a bit more complicated. Normally digital cameras have a filter in front of the sensor that filters out infrared. I had this filter replaced with one that passes infrared and inhibits most of the visible light spectrum. You can see examples here:
http://www.lifepixel.com/

[rdking647]

3. 1 question

rather than setting a custom white balance all the time,why not use a photo of green grass as a white balance reference? thats what I do

[Major Nikon]

5. The camera itself will not white balance

At least I haven't been able to get it to do it using the custom white balance settings in the camera. This is not a big deal for me because I shoot raw images all the time anyway. The problem with using any type of foliage is that you're never going to get perfectly consistent results. What I'm going to experiment with is using a white card or perhaps even a different color than white that I can use to produce a consistent result. Basically what I'm looking for is to produce a blue sky that matches the actual sky once the color channels are swapped. It will be very easy to do once I get the proper reference. All I have to do is take a picture of the reference and use that to set up a white balance in DXO. Then regardless of what the lighting conditions are, I should get a color channel swapped sky that matches the actual sky.

[rdking647]

8. heres the procedure i used

i believe you have a converted d5000 right?. i have a d70 and used the same basic procedure. I shot a piece of grass at noon on a bright sunny day which i had read did a god job of setting the WB. I made sure the grass filled the entire frame. (I held the camera vertical and just zoomed in). It told a few tries to get a shot the camera would accept


Preset (PRE)

Use this as a last resort in difficult lighting where none of the other easy settings give you what you want.

This setting presets the D5000 to render whatever you want as a neutral color. By pointing the D5000 at something white or gray as you set this, you set the D5000 to render the subject without any color casts.

To set the PREset setting to match any lighting:

1.) Ensure your white object is in the same sort of light as your subject. Changing the angle of the object often will favor one kind of a light or another in mixed light, which will greatly affect your result. Avoid gray items, since items other than formal gray cards usually aren't really neutral.

2.) Select PREset in whichever way you prefer (INFO panel or Shooting Menu).

3.) Press and hold the button again until PRE starts to blink. Release the button and PRE continues to flash.

4.) Point your D5000 at the white object and press the shutter.

5.) If the display flashes "gd" (good) you're all set.

6.) If the display flashes "ng" then repeat from step 3.)

Trick: when setting a PREset WB, since the D5000 forces whatever it sees to become neutral, point it at something colored and the D5000 will tint everything to an opposite color! Set a PREset WB on a bluish sky to make everything more orange, or set it on something orange to tint everything more blue.

I never use an actual card. I always grab a napkin, t-shirt, back of a menu or other piece of white. Black text makes no difference, so long as the background is white. If you choose a bluish piece of paper (like a glossy printed piece), your results will be warmer (more orange), and if you use a more orange piece of paper (like a cheap paper napkin), your results will be more blue.

[Major Nikon]

9. It doesn't work

Each time I try I get the message, "Unable to measure preset white balance. Please try again." From what I read on Lifepixel's web site, they seem to suggest that some cameras won't be able to set white balance. It may have something to do with the version of firmware I have (which is the latest).

[laconicsax]

4. Maybe I'm missing something...

Did you go through that whole thing just to simulate a visible-color image? I thought the adjusted B&W IR image was fantastic.

[Major Nikon]

6. The main thing I want to do is B&W IR

If I used a 720nm filter and blocked all the visibile light spectrum basically what I would get is a monochromatic image. The IR filter I selected also lets some of the higher frequency visible light through so it's possible to also produce false color images. The normal technique that most people do with false color images is to swap the red and blue color channels. This produces a blue sky, but the rest of the colors are dramatically different to varying degrees. The tree that was photographed is a live oak that stays green all year long, but after white balancing and channel swapping, the leaves appear yellow. This web site demonstrates the differences between the various filters.
http://www.lifepixel.com/infrared-filters-choices

[laconicsax]

7. Well that makes sense.

Very cool

[rdking647]

10. a photoshop action

heres a photoshop action that you might mind useful for false color processing. I dont know if your interested in it at all or if you already have it

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm?event=extensionDetail&extid=2603022

[Major Nikon]

11. I gave it a shot

It looks like all it's doing is swapping the channels and then making the auto adjustments.