What is infrared photography?

Infrared (IR) photography records light with wavelengths longer than the human eye can see — roughly 700 to 900 nanometers (nm), just past the red end of the visible spectrum. Because the world reflects and emits infrared very differently from visible light, IR images look dreamlike: skies turn dark and dramatic, water goes inky, and healthy foliage glows a brilliant white.

That glow is called the Wood effect (after IR pioneer Robert W. Wood, not the foliage). Chlorophyll in leaves and grass reflects near-infrared light very strongly, so plants render almost luminous.

Why your normal camera can’t see it

Every digital camera sensor is naturally sensitive to infrared. To keep colors accurate for ordinary photos, manufacturers glue a hot mirror (an IR-cut filter) over the sensor that blocks almost all infrared. There are two ways past it:

1. Screw an IR filter onto your lens. A filter like the Hoya R72 blocks visible light and passes infrared. Cheap to try, but because the sensor’s hot mirror is also blocking most IR, exposures run very long — often several seconds to minutes, so you’ll need a tripod.
2. Convert the camera. A service removes the internal hot mirror and replaces it with an IR (or clear “full-spectrum”) filter. Now exposures are normal hand-held speeds, and the camera is dedicated to IR.

The honest tradeoff: lens filters are the no-commitment way to try IR on a camera you already own. Conversion is the path to fast, sharp, repeatable results — but it dedicates that body to the spectrum you chose.

The look depends on the wavelength

Not all infrared looks the same. The cutoff wavelength of your filter decides how much of a color signal survives:

• 720nm — the classic. Good tonal range, allows false-color work after a channel swap.
• 590–665nm — lets more visible color through, enabling vivid “false color” skies and golden foliage.
• 830–850nm — deep IR, essentially black-and-white, with the darkest skies and whitest foliage.

We break this down in detail — with an interactive comparison — in Infrared filter wavelengths explained.

What you need to start

• A camera (any you can put a filter on, or a converted body)
• An IR filter matched to the look you want, or a full-spectrum conversion
• A tripod (essential for lens-filter IR, optional for converted cameras)
• Software that lets you set a custom white balance off foliage — the single most important post-processing step

Where to go next

1. Infrared filter wavelengths explained — pick your look
2. Camera conversion vs. lens filters — coming soon
3. Focus calibration for infrared — coming soon
4. White balance & channel swapping — coming soon