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Creating the Image

Attach the lens adaptor and filter to the camera. Ensure that the camera is set to Automatic White Balancing. See the manual for your particular model if you're not sure how to do this. Take a look around and find something interesting to photograph. Know that anything containing chlorophyll will be strangely white, and water is usually nearly black. Experiment with different surfaces to find out how they look in near-infrared. You may be surprised that some ordinarilly dull scene becomes interesting and full of life in infrared.

Your image prior to any post-processing should look something like this:

Post Processing

Now we begin post-processing the image into something more appealing. A workflow is provided for you to follow. Perform each step as indicated below. Clicking on the step number opens an image showing exactly what you need to do.If you don't feel like following the step-by-step instructions provided below, I have created an automated Photoshop action that will perform the transformation for you.

Step 1 - Open the image in Photoshop

Step 2 - Duplicate the background layer

Step 3 - Open the channel mixer

Step 4 - Under the Red output channel, move the Red slider to 0 and the Blue slider to 100

Step 5 - Under the Blue Output channel move the Blue slider to 0 and the Red slider to 100

Step 6 - Use the Auto Levels function on the Background Copy layer

Step 7 - Here we can see the false colors really starting to form and create a pleasing image. Next, create a new Hue/Saturation layer

Step 8 - Reduce the Reds saturation to about -85

Step 9 - Reduce the Magenta saturation to about -45. You can achieve some interesting effects by changing the Hues and Saturations on this adjustment layer, so feel free to play with the values I have provided. Don't worry if the changes appear splotchy, they will be smoothed out a bit in the next step. You can always return to this step to fine-tune your image

Step 10 - Finally, change the Hue/Saturation layer type from Normal to Color. Congratulations, you have processed a new IR image! Notice that the image has a grainy look to it. This is common for infrared images, but can be minimized if you wish by using noise cancellation software such as Noise Ninja or Neat Image

Photoshop Action - This is the Photoshop action that performs the above steps automatically. Most versions of Photoshop will allow you to simply drag the downloaded action into your main Photoshop window. From there you can access the action via the Action Pane, which can be made visible using the Window menu, then choose the Actions menu item.