Infrared photography is an area unexplored by most photographers because the barrier to entry is so steep, and getting special camera modifications requires risking your own equipment, or paying through the nose for a conversion. Though infrared images tend to look nice from the beginning, the ability to make them great must still be developed like any other. Today I found someone who has overcome these challenges quite brilliantly and created a body of work that brings you to extremely beautiful worlds you’ve yet to see. In this article, we’ll show you examples and give you tips on creating beautiful infrared photography.
This article was originally written in 2014 and updated in 2022.
Who is David Keochkerian? About the Photographer
David Keochkerian is a photographer based in Amiens, France, who started shooting infrared back in 2010 after seeing some examples on Flickr, the popular photo sharing network. He initially started off using a Nikon D70 with an external IR filter, but has only been seriously active for the last two years when he switched over to a modified version specialized for infrared photography. One of the advantages of which is the ability to use normal shutter speeds he says.
According to the photographer, the best time to shoot infrared is during the spring and summer when the foliage is green and the sun is out. His favorite pieces to shoot are those which allow reflections in the water, but most importantly places where the landscape is predominantly green.
This an oversimplification of his editing process, but it will give you an idea of what he gets in camera and how he achieves his results:
About The Infrared Photography Process
The text here is in French, so I’ll explain the post processing method he uses. How he starts is a process called HDR, or high dynamic range. If you’ve heard the term before, you know it’s a controversial editing method that’s easy to abuse, but in this situation, is used to great effect. These images can be a compilation of four or more shots blended in Photoshop using layer masks. After the initial blending and white balance adjustment, the real magic begins and things get technical.
At this point the photographer swaps his color channels; here’s the train of steps you’d need to take in Photoshop to get to the bottom left image: Adjustments –> Channel Mixer –> Output Channel –> Choose the Red Channel (set red/green to 0% and blue to 100%) –> switch over to The Blue Channel (set red to 100% and green/blue to 0%). From there the post processing is straight forward and to the artist’s taste.
More Examples of Infrared Photography
In order to take the infrared images, David Keochkerian had his conversion done at lifepixel.com where you can get infrared conversions starting at $325, though I was surprised to find they also do full spectrum conversions, ultraviolet conversions, anti-aliasing filter removal, scratched sensor repair, and special focus calibration for infrared light.
Here’s the gear David uses for his Infrared Photography while out and about:
- Nikon D700
- Nikon 16-35mm f/4
- Nikon 105mm macro f/2.8
- Nikon 50mm f/1.4
- Nikon 16mm fisheye f/2.8
- Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6
- Nikon 24mm f/2.8
To find more of David Keochkerian’s work you can go to his website, facebook page, or 500px.
I hope you enjoyed the images, keep shooting!
CREDITS: All photographs by David Keochkerian are copyrighted and have been used with permission for SLR Lounge. Do not copy, modify or re-post this article or images without express permission from SLR Lounge and the artist.
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Love the yellow or white trees!
awesome
Some I love, some are not quite my taste…but the ones that I love are…WOW….stunning.
This is a great article on how to develop crazy beautiful infrared images and then know how to work them on photoshop.
Inspiring images. I just might have to give it a go
Those images are amazing. I have always wanted to try infrared, maybe I will have to.
I really like IR photography, but isn’t it a bit of a niche market? Is there much demand for it outside of landscape (or outdoor) photography?
That’s certainly true. I haven’t seen a portrait photographer try to take portraits with it, since I think the result would end up making some variation of the smurfs. It could have other applications, but the main purpose for it would be art pieces alone I feel. Its applications for advertising seem limited.
Awesome – I have been playing about with stuff over the years too – http://www.ideasandimages.co.uk/infra-red-photography/
INCREDIBLE !!!!!
Must be just me but I’m not struck on the images. They look like some iphone filter or another. Yea sharp and detailed and all that stuff but I just don’t like the colours to look at. Just my personal opinion.
It’s definitely a taste thing, you either like it, or you don’t. Infrared is still very much a niche. Cool to look at, but people may or may not want it in their house. In this case you’ve got to really like blue.
Amazing Images!
Freakin…..incredible! And people say no one uses the D700 anymore….
Here’s part of the description on their website:
“We replace the internal hot mirror filter with a high quality glass custom manufactured infrared filter. After the conversion you will not need any filters in front of the lens and the camera will be just as sensitive to infrared as it was to visible light. This means you can hand hold and compose as normal.”
Doing it yourself would also require replacing that piece of glass, but at a higher risk of damage. Personally, I think the $325 is pretty cheap if you want to take high quality images.
I would love to know why he is not using a Canon though ? From the research I have done, Canon do far better with the conversions due to the way the sensor is set in the camera ?
That’s a good question. The simple answer is that he’s a huge Nikon fan as he expresses on his website. He started on the system and never switched over, or saw a need to.
captivating shots. simple yet very effective workflow…many thanks for sharing.
do you know what they do to the camera to make the conversion?
Something I will like to try, nice looking photos.
Wow. Amazing images.