need some help on my virgin IR shot

[jack_low]

hi guys,

went down to changi beach today, finally able to test out my newly bought IR filter after the raining season.

ok, this is my equipment,
1)Canon 350D
2)Sigma 18-200mm
3)Hoya 72 IR filter

i followed exactly from the tutorial for the custom white balance,
i set to Tv and set my shutter speed to 15 sec.

this is the result,



ok nows the question, is this the so-called hot spot? is it due to the low aperture caused by my long shutter speed? does the mean i should increase my shutter speed?

and also how do i compose my picture when i cant see a thing through the filter?


thanks really need help!

[Montmelo]

You were shooting with aperture at f/22. That is stopped down too much and is the cause of the hot spot. Try something around f/8 or less.

For composition, you should
1) Compose the picture WITHOUT the IR filter
2) Autofocus. Then set the focus to manual
3) Fasten the IR filter
4) Take your IR shot

Hope this helps

[gangeslim]

did u take in the direction of the sun? try to avoid that
shoot with the sun behind u. in that way you will get the most IR reflected from your object.

i usually let the camera decides the shutter speed for me. I will set my aperture to about f8 or less.

composition wise this is what i do, i will take a wide angle shot and then crop from there. or i will take a few shots and adjust according =)

[jack_low]

Quote: You were shooting with aperture at f/22. That is stopped down too much and is the cause of the hot spot. Try something around f/8 or less.

thanks! will definately try that.

Quote: did u take in the direction of the sun? try to avoid that shoot with the sun behind u. in that way you will get the most IR reflected from your object. i usually let the camera decides the shutter speed for me. I will set my aperture to about f8 or less. composition wise this is what i do, i will take a wide angle shot and then crop from there. or i will take a few shots and adjust according =)

no the sun was on shining on my left side and i my camera was wearing a hood. ok so can i say that next time i should set to aperture priorty instead of the other way around?

the detaching and attaching of the filter is indeed quite troublesome, i think i'll try around the methods and see which is more suitable. thanks a lot!

[jack_low]

i just tried Av mode, i set my aperture to f8 and below is the result i got.



i realised that it becomes really grainy and color is quite screwed up. couldn't figure out why, can anyone explain to me?

[jack_low]

although the hotspot is gone, but hey~~~

[allsmilez]

i'm still a newbie to ir but when i shoot with my 400d i have to use manual most of the time because my metering is usually quite off. dunno if its the same for you maybe you can experiment with manual.

cheers

[jack_low]

Originally Posted by allsmilez i'm still a newbie to ir but when i shoot with my 400d i have to use manual most of the time because my metering is usually quite off. dunno if its the same for you maybe you can experiment with manual. cheers

may i know your exact settings in manual mode? i'm going krabi soon in februrary, definately wouldn't wanna waste this opportunity for some nice shots. so really need to get this right.

thanks guys~

[allsmilez]

I usually use f5.6-7.1 exposing between 10-30s at iso100 on an overcast day for my 400d, on a 50mm 1.8. The metering usually is totally wrong so its on full manual. Maybe you can experiment especially at higher iso its faster.

hope this helps, cheers!

[jack_low]

i'm back! did some homework, this is my 2nd attempt. pls comment.


this is the settings

1)iso 800

2)aperture f5

3)shutter speed 4sec (i did a 15sec with iso 200 and the result is quite similar, so i choose a faster setting.)

4)lens hood attached and obeyed the 'behind the sun rule'. (actually the sun is on the side for this picture)

5)viewfinder covered. (with my big fat thumb!)

this is the unprocessed result



this is the post processed result



did the channel mixer step based on the sticky thread and everything turns bluish. then i did an auto levels. and also desatuate the master and blue channel to lighten the blue color.

i still think that there's plenty of room for improvement but couldn't figure where, desperately need comments and advices.

thanks

[jack_low]

any comments? ^_^;

[Montmelo]

Good progress.

I've edited your image


Post process using :
- Convert to LAB.
- Swap channel a & b
- As the centre seems a little blown, i did a Shadows/Highlights adjustment by increasing Highlights
- Hue/Saturation adjustment to get the colors a little deeper

You can use your channel mixer workflow and can try the shadow/highlights adjustment to get the centre a little darker.

[jack_low]

Quote: Post process using : - Convert to LAB. - Swap channel a & b - As the centre seems a little blown, i did a Shadows/Highlights adjustment by increasing Highlights - Hue/Saturation adjustment to get the colors a little deeper You can use your channel mixer workflow and can try the shadow/highlights adjustment to get the centre a little darker.

Thanks a lot.

its pretty nice, can you explain whats LAB? and is it possible to keep the blueish sky yet whiten the leaves furthermore?

[Montmelo]

I meant "Lab" color space.
By default, our pictures are in RGB.
Go to Image->Mode->Lab Color to change it.

Its possible to get whiter leaves but its quite challenging in this particular photo.
Hue/Saturation is where its normally done. Select the color that is closest to the color of the leaves (eg yellow)move the lightness slider to the left.

[Goondoo]

Originally Posted by jack_low Thanks a lot. its pretty nice, can you explain whats LAB? and is it possible to keep the blueish sky yet whiten the leaves furthermore?

Interesting, and I was trying hard to get the brown tint on the leaves with the blue skies.... haha



My try...

[jack_low]

nice try!

let me have some fun.



oops, the impossible happens.