Funny you should ask…………
At least once a week I get ask what type of Infrared conversion do I suggest.
My answer is usually ” I suggest the Super Color conversion, it’s the most popular”
The response is almost always “Why Super Color?”
I then explain why I like the Super Color conversion the best and try to give specific examples.
So, I thought I would write a Blog today to illustrate my opinion.
Now, ….
Please keep in mind this is just my opinion. I like the Super Color conversion.
If you like another type of conversion or nm rating for your IR, guess what? Neither of us is wrong.
This is strictly a subjective thing.
I’ve shot with pretty much every type of Infrared conversion. Everything from the Super Blue to the Deep Black & White. I like them all.
Then why Super Color?
Flexibility, plain and simple.
My camera is just a computer with a lens. It saves information; the image in a computer file.
A Super Color conversion gives me the most information.
I have More to work with.
If you’ve read my Blog before you know I do tend to spend some time on post production.
I have more options with a Super Color Raw file than any other conversion.
Let’s take a look.
Here is a RAW file of an IR image made in the Great Smoky Mountains at Cades Cove.
This was made with a Canon 7DMKII, with a Super Color conversion.
What I get with most with My Super Color images is 4 color tones. Red, Yellow, Blue and Cyan.
Depending on the location and exposure sometimes the Yellow and Cyan tones are more subtle.
I have found that when I shoot Infrared at a nanometer rating higher than that of a Super Color conversion, I lose Yellow and Red right away.
If you have a Super Color camera, the easiest way to check this is to open and image in Photoshop, Select Image, Adjustments, Hue/Saturation.
Once the Hue/Saturation box is open, select the color list and pick one of the colors.
Then move the Lightness settings all the way to the right. If you have that color tone in your image you will see a change.
Like I said earlier, depending on the conditions, and the exposure, the Yellow and Red tones maybe be subtle.
Once I’ve conducted a second White Balance and made the adjustments to my RAW file, I can convert the image and work it in Photoshop.
Here is the image with the Red/Blue color channel swapped.
We now have foliage with a Red and Yellow tone, and the clear parts of the sky have a Blue and Cyan tone.
Make a few adjustments, and this is the image.
If the foliage this color is not to your liking, you can adjust each of the 4 color tones to make whatever you like.
Like this.
Umm,… You can’t do that with a Deep Black &White IR image.
But…..
If you are in the mood for a classic Black & White Infrared image, you can create it from a Super color capture.
Like this
Technically, because you are recording the data for 4 color tones, you will have different levels of grey and black when you convert a Super Color image.
And, how about Sepia? Kinda a mixture of color and B&W.
They both work well. These images were converted to Black & White and Sepia using NIK Silver Efex Pro2.
So, with one Infrared converted camera, a Super Color conversion, I can go in whatever direction I want with my Infrared digital art.
Now I think you’ll see why this is my choice.
So, . . . what do you think?
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Dan Wampler
Dan Wampler is a digital artist from St Louis, MO. Having been interested in art and photography since childhood, he spent most of adult life working for Kodak and in the portrait photography industry. A student of the works of Ansel Adams, Any Warhol, and David Hamilton, Dan attempted to keep a wide range of artistic style.
As an early adopter of digital imaging, he found it gave him a way to completely incorporate art and photography. Began shooting Digital Infrared in 2004, and had first camera converted in 2006. His work has been seen in numerous gallery shows, is featured in an iTunes app. He produces Infrared and natural color digital art for sale and teaches his post-production techniques online.
Dan is LifePixel's Creative Director, social media manager, lead blog author, main workshops and training sessions instructor. His images appear in this gallery and throughout the website.
If you have a topic suggestion or request feel free to shoot him an email at danwampler@lifepixel.com
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Dan, If I get a full spectrum conversion and then put a super color IR filter, do I basically get the same benefits you outlined above? (My camera is actually on its way to Life Pixel for this conversion). I like the reasons you outlined above but I also like the idea of being able to screw in a visible bandpass filter and take pictures as usual. Am I correct in my assumptions?
Hello Vincente, Withe your full spectrum camera you will be able to do that and more. I would suggest acquiring Hyper Color filter. Here’s my reasons why. https://www.lifepixel.com/photo-tutorials/my-perfect-conversion
Since writing that article, I have gone to full spectrum also and it is very handy.
So Dan, I’ve read your article several times and what am I missing ” Super Color”///. I really like these photos but am unclear as to this “Super Color” is a result of a filter, a specialized camera, or processing in PS ? I’m using a Nikon D70 w/ 18 – 105mm lens that has been converted to IR. Daylight white balance, ISO 200 and shooting at reasonable shutter speeds from 1/15 to 1/125 sec depending on my f-stop. Images come out red and I convert them to B/W in Photo Shop, but as yet have not figured out how to get them in to some color aspect ??? And then I read about this “Super Color”. Like what I see, but have no clue how to get there. Can you help me out or at least clarify this term “Super Color” and how I can get there. Mk
Hello Michael,
The term Super Color refers to Infrared at 590nm. Most near Infrared photography is shot from the range of 400-900 nm. At 590nm (Super Color) you will get an image that has four color tones, Red, Yellow, Blue & Cyan. Once you have captured the image in Super Color, you have many options in post-production to create different looks. If you would like to see all of the available types of IR we offer you may want to click this link. https://www.lifepixel.com/infrared-filters-choices
My super color images come out very red, not blue like your raw image above. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Alan,
It could be because of the in camera white balance you’ve set, or the way you are converting your RAW files. If you are not using the RAW editor made for your camera, you will not get the results you see in this article.
i have a 720nm black and white converted ir camera. can i have this changed to super color ir? will this give me better black and white ir?
Your camera can modified to Super Color. I shoot Super Color and feel it gives me better Monochrome images, because I have more to work with.
thanks for your response. would the whites still have the “glow” that they have in the black and white 720nm?
That would depend on how you processed the image.
thanks again for responding.
right now i don’t do anything special. i convert it to b&w either in photoshop or nik and the whites have a beautiful glow. what would i need to do to fet this effect with supercolor?
Try going into NIK Color Efex Pro4 and selecting Duplex. That should give you the look you want.
Is this freedom also true for video files of Super Color?
Yes, You can also get good results with video.
Hi Dan
First thanks for all your tutorials.
To get it into B&W, besides using the Saturation slider, and then some work in NIK, is there a trick beforehand that will make the foliage white white white
thanks…Neil
With Super Color there are two color tones in the foliage, yellow and red. Try a adjusting each color separately to achieve the look you want.
hi Dan
thanks for the answer to my question; your solution was magic….adjusting the saturation for the red and yellow provided a much whiter white.
I have been reading this over a couple of times and I have one question for now. You show the first image, the RAW file that comes out of your Canon 7DMkII with the Super Color Conversion as an image with mostly blue foliage, dark skies and white clouds. I am wondering how you got this one, as my initial RAW images are all shades of red. I have a Canon 5DMkIII with the Super Color conversion. I do not get anything that resembles your image until I apply a camera profile for my camera. I am wondering why there is an apparent difference between your initial RAW image and mine.
Hi Ron, A White Balance can make all difference. With that image I did a custom WB just prior to shooting, using the grass directly in front of me.
Thanks Dan. This is interesting as I have a CWB based on some green grass that I use, but the results are still “red”, not as “red” as an AWB setting, but still “red”. I do get results similar to yours when I use my Camera Calibration setting for the 5DIII. I will have to experiment with my WBs.
I chose the Super Color for the same reasons – more degrees of freedom in the processing for the end result. What I am looking for is a “web page” that provides the detail for post-processing that includes the use of both Lightroom and Photoshop. This description goes a long way, but a lot of the detail I am looking for is not here, so I will have to experiment a bit. I have my own blog that is published on a limited basis and I am hoping to pull together as much information on 590nm processing as I can find so that it is all in one place for those that are interested in 590nm processing, but don’t know where to start. This page has given a source that I will reference often. Thanks Dan.
From reading life pixel web site I am under the impression that with the super color conversion you need to use filters in front of the lens. Is this correct?
Hi Robert, With a Super Color Conversion you do not need to use filters. Most all of my work shown in these Blog posts have been made with Super Color converted cameras, and they do not require additional filters.
It seems though, if you for some reason really need to narrow the spectrum to say an 830nm+ infrared, you can place any IR filter in front of the lens that’s narrower than 590nm and end up with that style of IR. (just not the other way around).
But as you showed in the blog, you have a lot more freedom of post-processing choices with the Super Color IR.
The only situation I can think of where I may wish to use a 720nm+ wavelength such as throwing on an R72 filter in front of the lens, is when I only want to capture infrared light and not visible light. The visible/near-IR spectrum might overexpose the sensor if you’re going for a “pure IR” look, hence the need to cut it off so that you gather only the light you want.
But it seems like you would have to have some very specific need to do that, such as avoiding most of the post processing. (I live and breath raw files though…)
Como voce faz o WB? Faz todas as vezes que muda de ambiente?
Eu faço um novo WB quando eu chnage locais , ou se as mudanças de luz .
Having only experimented with IR one time, I’ve got a lot to learn yet. I have discovered, however, how much I enjoy seeing what people like you have done to alter the color reality of a photo. This is the aspect of IR that appeals to me (if I want B&W images, I can use filters on my camera and process those images without the investment in a high-NM sensor change-out). My personal preference of image result seems to lie in that 590nm sweet spot. As always, nice work, Dan – thanks for the insight into your process!