Adding Infra-Red B&W Digital Portraiture into the Wedding Photography Mix

Carmel Mission Basilica photographed with an IR converted camera. ©2010 Ken Doo Photography

I have always admired infra-red photography, moreso the strong and stunning contrast offered by Infra-red B&W images rather than those of infra-red “false color.”  In the days of film, I would need to take great care in using special infra-red emulsions, loading film backs in complete darkness.  Even when using autofocus lenses on the Mamiya 645AFD, slight manual focus adjustments would need to be made to insure sharp infra-red images.  But the days of film are long since gone in my boutique portrait photography studio in Carmel, CA!  Although stunning B&W images are produced with medium format digital in my studio, infra-red B&W images provides a different look that is not easily produced in post-processing.  The only solution (in the advent of digital) that I have found to consistently produce high quality infra-red B&W images is to convert a camera to infra-red.  The camera sensor filter is removed and is converted to “see” a specified spectrum in the range of infra-red light.  The camera is dedicated only to capturing infra-red images, and consequently, many may find the cost of conversion to be expensive.   

The Long View. Carmel Mission infra-red. ©2010 Ken Doo Photography

None of the images on this blog post have been post-processed or altered by Adobe Photoshop CS5.  They are straight conversions from the RAW infra-red file and processed to JPEG by Capture One Pro 5.  Although I may photograph a few landscape images in infra-red, adding infra-red B&W wedding portraiture to my studio offerings is really what I have in mind!  The infra-red camera is small enough to pack along, allowing me to take a few infra-red photos during a wedding event or portrait session, and offer my clients something really special.   Adding a bit of a fantasy dreamy romantic glow to would make for a stunning infra-red wedding wall portrait or a great image for a client’s GraphiStudio Wedding Book!

The big picture. Carmel Mission IR. ©2010 Ken Doo Photography

To find out more about infra-red B&W portraiture or B&W infra-red wedding portraits, contact me at my boutique studio in Carmel, CA or at (831) 626-1844.  ken