Pink Grapefruit Infrared Photography

In order to take Pink Grapefruit IR, you just need two things: a full-spectrum camera and a blue 80A filter (7$US). That’s all. Automatic white balance. No channel swapping. No Photoshop wizardry.

I know, you don’t believe me. You probably think: ‘If it was as simple as that, someone would have found it before.’

Well, let me show how Pink Grapefruit IR is done.

Usually, a photo taken with a full-spectrum camera has an heavy Pink-Bubble-Gum look like this:

It lacks contrast, need post-processing, maybe colour-swapping, and so on.

But, once a blue 80A is screwed on the lens, you will get this at once, also without post-processing. I repeat: without _any_ post-processing. It’s like magic.

However, on a bright sunny day, the balance between visible light and infrared rays is different. Consequently, a Pink Grapefruit IR shot will be oversaturated. That was the case with the 4 photos published at the beginning of this threat.

To correct that, I’ve taken a Pink Grapefruit IR shot of a ‘neutral density card’. I don’t know how this is called in English. It’s a series of three cards: one black, one grey and one white.

I’ve taken a shot of the grey one and have created a correction curve under Photoshop.

When a Pink Grapefruit IR shot is oversaturated, I’ll blend 70% or 60% the 'over-the-top' image with its colour-corrected copy (at 30% or 40% - the latter is more yellowish like the photo above). That’s how the 4 images at the beginning of this thread were created.

It’s that simple.

Just pass a blue 80A filter in front of your lens and you’ll see it on the back LCD of your digital camera. You won’t believe your eyes.

I use photoshop and love to play around with files, sometime my normal ones end up similar!

not quite the gorgeous pinks of your shots XD

thanks for linking this thread in your mft thread!!

Try an FLD filter!

JeanPierre Martel wrote:

In order to take Pink Grapefruit IR, you just need two things: a full-spectrum camera and a blue 80A filter (7$US). That’s all. Automatic white balance. No channel swapping. No Photoshop wizardry.

I know, you don’t believe me. You probably think: ‘If it was as simple as that, someone would have found it before.’

Well, let me show how Pink Grapefruit IR is done.

Usually, a photo taken with a full-spectrum camera has an heavy Pink-Bubble-Gum look like this:

It lacks contrast, need post-processing, maybe colour-swapping, and so on.

But, once a blue 80A is screwed on the lens, you will get this at once, also without post-processing. I repeat: without _any_ post-processing. It’s like magic.

However, on a bright sunny day, the balance between visible light and infrared rays is different. Consequently, a Pink Grapefruit IR shot will be oversaturated. That was the case with the 4 photos published at the beginning of this threat.

To correct that, I’ve taken a Pink Grapefruit IR shot of a ‘neutral density card’. I don’t know how this is called in English. It’s a series of three cards: one black, one grey and one white.

I’ve taken a shot of the grey one and have created a correction curve under Photoshop.

When a Pink Grapefruit IR shot is oversaturated, I’ll blend 70% or 60% the 'over-the-top' image with its colour-corrected copy (at 30% or 40% - the latter is more yellowish like the photo above). That’s how the 4 images at the beginning of this thread were created.

It’s that simple.

Just pass a blue 80A filter in front of your lens and you’ll see it on the back LCD of your digital camera. You won’t believe your eyes.

My full spectrum cameras manage results much close to normal without any filter needed. I think you just need to select a different white balance.

Here's a panorama with my GF2 used full spectrum

https://flic.kr/p/oUwRbU

There are times when I get significant colour changes particularly with fabrics here the uniforms were black & orange to match the car (this one also via the GF2)

https://flic.kr/p/rFuQaP

And here's a recent one from my A7ii (but without an foliage)

https://flic.kr/p/2m3ezUG

Andy1712 wrote:

Does the effect carry thru well with video?

Yes,

Gesture wrote:

Are the Full Spectrum conversion images as sharp when using correction filters on the lens, as opposed to a more conventional single wavelength IR conversion?

No, they are not as sharp.

When a camera is sent for IR conversion, the work is done by professionals. Usually, they ask the camera to be sent with its lens in order to adjust things perfectly. So the IR conversion is custom made.

When a full-spectrum camera is bought on eBay (like mine), that's just a regular colour camera whose UV-IR filter was taken off. That's why these cameras are always cheaper.

The result is a few surprises. My Lumix 20mm lens is unable to focus; so I'm using it manually.

My preferred IR zoom (on previous IR cameras), the Lumix 14-42mm always post-focus on my new one; so it gives slightly burred photos.

On the other hand, my Lumix 14-45mm seems to give perfect results.

It seems like Full Conversion has gotten popular.

Full spectrum IR cameras are more popular because we are discovering that we are not limited to B&W conversion or channel swapping during post-processing. Using filters, we can create photos impossible to do with a cell phone.

After Pink Grapefruit IR Photography, created with a blue 80A filter…
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65186023

…and Retro-Pink IR Photography, created with a yellow-green filter…
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65220050

…I've introduced the Candy Pink IR Photography. This time two filters are needed:
• a yellow-green filter (Лomo ж3-2*)
• a cobalt blue filter (B+W KB20).
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65225897

I'm still experimenting. Candy Pink Photography can still be improved when we add a third filter, a blue 80A:
https://jpmartel.quebec/2021/06/23/linfrarouge-rose-bonbon-ameliore/

Pink Grapefruit IR is the most difficult to achieve. It doesn't work under a cloudy sky and for unknown reasons, it may work or not.

On the contrary, Candy Pink IR photography works under any temperature and at any time of the day. It's very predictive.

When saturation is boosted during post-processing, Pink Grapefruit IR becomes orange and Candy Pink IR photography becomes Scarlet IR photography.

So this is room for a lot of experimentation.

JeanPierre Martel wrote:

Gesture wrote:

Are the Full Spectrum conversion images as sharp when using correction filters on the lens, as opposed to a more conventional single wavelength IR conversion?

No, they are not as sharp.

When used full spectrum it's not as sharp due to chromatic aberration across the much wider spectrum (and outside of a lenses design parameters). I've used filters giving UV, blue & IR on my FS converted cameras, shots with those are typically softer than a simple 720+ conversion, as the light being recorded focuses at different distance from the lens.

DSLRs are not commonly used for full spectrum conversion since their viewfinders don't show the scene with an IR filter on the lens. It's the benefits of an EVF that have given rise to the popularity of Full spectrum conversions

It is necessary to re-calibrate the focus system on a DSLR when it's converted, but not on mirrorless cameras as focus is done using the main sensor. Focus works exactly as it should, so when used with a filter on the lens giving the same wavelengths as a dedicated conversion there is no difference in sharpness with mirrorless cameras as long as the conversion has been done to the same standard.

Just how sharp the image is of course depends on the lens & the optical quality of the glass/silica used to replace the internal cut filter during the conversion

You might be surprised by what an FLD can do for full spectrum!

MacM545 wrote:

You might be surprised by what an FLD can do for full spectrum!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31391486@N04/

Your Flickr account shows photos stolen from different photographers. Do you have some photos of your own taken with a FLD filter?

If I stole anything then the sensible thing to do might be to complain to Flickr. I don't see evidence of stealing

MacM545 wrote:

If I stole anything then the sensible thing to do might be to complain to Flickr. I don't see evidence of stealing

Any photo is protected by copyright by default.

So unless you are sure that a photo is in the public domain (like many photos on Wikipedia), or unless you have a written consent by the photographer or the company that has the copyright, any photo that you put on your Flickr account is stolen if you didn’t push the trigger button yourself when the photo was taken.

The photographer doesn’t have to put a copyright sign on his work. But if he did, the steal is just more obvious.

So in your ‘Favorite’ album, you can publish the photos that you prefer among those taken by yourself. Nothing else.

That’s the law.

Andy1712 wrote:

I am still in - sincere - awe of the OP photo examples. It is something that Kubrick would have been all over.

You’re right; this style can be also be used while creating videos.

Pink Grapefruit IR photography is the most difficult to achieve. On a cloudy day, the result is not as nice as the result on a bright sunny day. But when you get it, it's quite extraordinary.

Since then, I've proposed Retro-Pink IR photography. It's done with a Yellow-Green filter:
https://jpmartel.quebec/2021/06/09/linfrarouge-rose-retro/ (skip the French text).

Then there is the Candy Pink IR photography. In order to get it, you need two filters: a Yellow-Green one and a Cobalt Blue one:
https://jpmartel.quebec/2021/06/11/linfrarouge-rose-bonbon/ (skip the French text).

Candy Pink IR photography is the most predictable. You get it on sunny days, on cloudy days, early in the morning and late in the evening. In a nutshell, anytime.

But my new favorite style is the 'improved' Candy Pink IR photography. Three filters are needed: a Yellow-Green filter and a Cobalt Blue one (like in the 'classic' Candy Pink IR photography), to which a third filter is added; a Blue 80A filter.

Look at the gorgeous result:
https://jpmartel.quebec/2021/06/23/linfrarouge-rose-bonbon-ameliore/ (skip the French text).

If you have two minutes, I'd like to know which style that you prefer.

Andy1712, since you like my IR shots, I'll tell you a secret: if you take an 'improved' Candy Pink IR shot and boost saturation during post-processing (and maybe lower slightly the brightness), what do you get? Scarlet IR photography!

In the past, people who take IR shots were limited to B&W conversion or channel swapping. Now we can use filters and create our style.

So Andy1712, be wild and be creative!

Favoriting is much like ”liking” something on social media.