We show you how to give your images the classic look of black-and-white infrared film using simple tools and filters in Photoshop.
In traditional chemical processes, infrared film was sensitive to infrared light, rather than the visible spectrum, resulting in images with a glowing, dreamlike atmosphere.
In particular, scenes that include trees or foliage take on an otherworldly quality, as the leaves are strongly reflective of infrared light so they glow very bright. We can achieve a similarly ethereal effect with a few simple Photoshop tools. Used in the right image, it can transform a scene into a work of analogue art.
As with traditional infrared film, the effect works best on images that feature trees or plants, as the greens and yellows are made to glow.
Sunny blue skies also work well, as the blues take on an intensely dark appearance, and sunlight makes the colour of the trees and foliage look more saturated, which in turn makes them stand out more once the infrared effect is applied.
With traditional infrared film photography you’d typically see a grainy glowing quality to the highlights. We can achieve a similar look with the Diffuse Glow filter. And to add to the dreamy quality of the infrared effect, we’ll also use a blur filter to suggest the kind of movement in the clouds you’d get with a long exposure.
01 Open in Camera Raw
Open your start image. In Adobe Camera Raw’s Basic panel, set Shadows +77, Clarity +23 to improve tones and lift shadows. Pick the Targeted Adjustment tool, right-click and choose Luminance, drag down over the sky to darken blues, and up to lighten greens in the tree.
02 Change colour brightness
Click Open Image. Go to the Layers panel (Window>Layers). Click the Create Adjustment Layer icon and choose Channel Mixer. Check Monochrome in the Channel Mixer settings, lift the Greens to +200 then darken the reds and blues until the image looks right.
03 Darken the sky
Highlight the ‘Background’ layer, click the Create Adjustment Layer icon, choose Black and White. Click the Blending Mode dropdown and choose Luminosity. Drag Blues and Cyans down and Yellows and Greens up to darken the sky and make the leaves glow more.
04 Blur the image
Highlight the top layer then press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E to merge a new layer. Right-click it and ‘Convert to Smart Object’. Next go to Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. Set Blur Method Zoom, Quality Best. Set Amount 14 and move the centre position down using the box, then hit OK.
05 Mask the clouds
To tweak the blur, double-click the filter. Hold Alt and click the Add Layer Mask icon to add a full mask that hides the blur effect. Grab the Brush tool, set colour to white, then paint over the clouds surrounding the tree to reveal the blur effect, adding a sense of motion.
06 Finishing touches
Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E, then right-click and ‘Convert to Smart Object’. Go to Filter>Filter Gallery>Distort> Diffuse Glow. Experiment with the settings (we used 6, 2, 13) until the glow looks right then hit OK. Finish by removing any messy patches with the Clone tool.
The power of Smart Objects
Smart objects are something you can get by without, but once you start using them they make all kinds of tasks so much easier and less troublesome. Converting a layer to a smart object wraps it in a protective bubble so that anything you do to it remains non-destructive.
You can, for example, resize the layer down and up multiple times with no loss in quality, or apply editable filters. This is useful for the Radial Blur used here on the clouds, as it can be difficult to judge the effect first time round.
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