Infrared Photography with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2...

Infrared photography is a wonderful and creative way to tell a photographic story.The timeless look of black and white photography along with infrared creates a surreal look to an image. Light, shadow, texture, tonality, patterns, become more important in a composition without the connotation of color. There is something very enduring about black and white (and infrared) photography, it remains a constant favorite for both the photographer and the viewer.

The photos above are a few of my favorites from Cuba. They were photographed with a camera that is converted with an R72 type standard infrared filter. With infrared, there is a small amount of visible light that reaches the camera sensor. To create a completely black and white image, I use Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. This gives me the most creativity over how I want to interpret the image in black and white. This software is very intuitive. I can start with a preset that best suits my image, and fine tune it from there. The wonderful part about the workflow is being to make selective adjustments using control points within my image. If I want the sky darker, or clouds brighter, I can add control points for each. If I need more structure and definition in architecture or other areas of an image, I can create it by using a control point. Control points = creativity points! Nik Silver Efex Pro allows me to portray an image in an expressive and artistic way.

Summer is perfect for infrared! I'm teaching infrared to a fantastic group of photographers at BetterPhoto.com. They are doing beautiful work, I'm inspired, and impressed, and this is only the first week of class! Make great pictures! ~ Deb