Infrared Photography

Photograph a real landscape in light the eye cannot see, and let only the colour be strange.

Believable first, strange second. Real optics, natural depth, weather and leaf detail all stay exactly as a good landscape photograph would have them; only the colour has moved, and it has moved the way Aerochrome moved it: foliage to blush, coral and vermilion, sky and water to cyan, teal and mint, trunks and shadow to charcoal, stone and snow left cool and nearly neutral. Finish with restrained grain, a soft highlight roll-off and a slight fade. No neon, no rainbow heat map, no glossy surfaces, no illustration or CGI, no oversharpening, and no text anywhere in the picture. Keep the interface around the pictures white with black type; the photographs carry every colour.

Director's note

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

1. 01Wide editorial landscape of a still alpine lake ringed by pink and coral trees, distant snow-covered mountains in cool near-neutral tones, a pale teal sky, the lake holding a dark teal reflection, strong foreground-to-background depth with one clear focal point and room to crop
2. 02A stone arch bridge framed by pink willow foliage over dark teal water, the stonework cool and nearly neutral, architectural detail sharp, willow fronds fine and countable
3. 03Coral alpine trees crossing a hillside beneath a snow-covered mountain and a mint sky, a spacious composition with a softer film finish and pale cyan atmosphere between the ridges
4. 04A quiet path through a dense grove of blush-pink trees photographed at eye level, trunks in deep charcoal, light falling through the canopy, the path leading into haze
5. 05A close study of pink fern fronds and leaves beside dark reflective water, fine detail in the fronds, the water almost black-teal, a single soft highlight on the surface

Natural daylight only, ideally with high thin cloud or late sun so the highlights roll off softly. Infrared rewards open sky and healthy vegetation; overcast flattens it and dead foliage stays grey. Never add a coloured light source. The colour is a property of the light, not of a lamp.

Light

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

1. 01An alpine lake with a treeline and a mountain behind it
2. 02A stone bridge or aqueduct with willows at the water
3. 03A hillside of mixed conifers below a snow line
4. 04A dense deciduous grove with a path through it
5. 05A fern bank beside still dark water

Landscapes are the subject. If a figure appears, keep them small and in plain dark or white cloth, so they read as the one neutral in a coloured world. Synthetic fabrics can flare white under infrared; test them first.

Wardrobe