In conventional photography infrared black and white prints are very popular, but do we say goodbye to this stunning technique with the coming of digital cameras? No way, we turn to the tools of Photoshop to produce a similar effect. Want to know how? then follow our tutorial and we will show you the way.

This image taken with the Coolpix 990 required only some minor adjustments in Photoshop 6 to the Levels (link to levels) and cropping (link to crop tool) before starting this digital IR process.

Duplicate your image background layer by dragging it over the Create a New Layer icon (link to layers). You can rename your new layer by right mouse clicking on the layer and selecting Layer Properties. Enter a name of your choice in the dialogue box, in this case IR 1, as shown above.

Working on your the new layer call up the Channel Mixer, Image >Adjust > Channel Mixer. Tick the Monochrome box and increase the Green channel to +200%; now reduce the Red and Blue channels until you are happy with the effect, in this case Red was set at -20% and the Blue at -80%. The settings for the Red and Blue channels will vary depending on your image so it's well worth experimenting with these settings.

Duplicate your IR 1 layer by dragging it over the Create New Layer tab as before and rename this new layer IR 2. You will need to blur this layer with Gaussian blur, Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and select a radius of around 5.0 pixels.

You can now blend the two IR layers together. From the Blend Mode in your Layers Palette select the Screen setting and reduce the Opacity slider to around 60% as shown above. You may need to experiment with the opacity setting but once you are satisfied the two IR layers can be merged together using the Merge Down from the drop down options in the layers palette.

The Dodge and Burn Tool can also be used to make more localised tonal adjustments. The effect has to be built up gradually so keep your setting low, around 8-10% .

 

Click on the add Layer Mask icon

 

The two figures under the tree can be made to look more prominent by bringing back their colour. This can be done using Layer Mask as shown above. Once you have finished, the layer mask can be removed by clicking on the chain link and dragging the mask into the bin. Photoshop will then give you the option to apply it. Your new image can now be flattened and saved.