BEST Editor for Infrared Photos in 2020

[@Night6436]

Great video. My go to channel for IR

[@MrBillkaz]

I was salivating for your ease of use !! Lol and time to get !! I have such a crazy itch to finally nail just one photo that mind has in mind !! Thank you

[@BrianSFischer]

Thanks for the great video! I'm making the jump to IR and am not an Adobe guy.

[@neilcousineau4956]

Lightroom on iPad has a number of updates since this video. Did you do a show on Affinity Photo for iPad. I just bought my first infrared filter and have been following and watching your channel. Thanks.

[@robshea]

Thanks for the feedback! Affinity for desktop is solid, so I'm planning to take a look at the iPad version. I will certainly do an updated workflow video for LR on iPad.

[@BackFocus11]

Rob, great analysis, being a Fuji guy I’m surprised you didn’t include Capture One to this lineup.

[@robshea]

Capture One is a great program for those who need perfect color rendition in visual light photography, particularly in food and fashion. It also has great default processing of visual light raw files for those looking to get good results without much editing. However, C1 does not make editing IR images any easier, in fact, it's a bit of a hack to get colors swapped. While C1 may be a good choice for many visible light Fuji shooters, it's just not great for IR.

[@victorcarmelo8606]

Hi Rob, I use my iPone 13 ProMax a lot for normal use, not IR and my main software are Darkroom+ & Snapseed. Would love your take on these two for IR. Thanks for a great video extremely helpful.

[@robshea]

I have a video on the iPhone with Lightroom here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoTUpaGihb1jiLc I have a video on darktable here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onPGfYNuj86LbZo I have not looked at Snapseed for Infrared yet. I'll add it to my list.

[@dansoucy6380]

Hi Rob, great videos. I have a full spectrum camera, I recently was using it for astro photography. Do you plan any how to videos for post processing full spectrum, more specifically astro or night photos? Thanks

[@robshea]

I've shot some astro on a 590nm that turned out OK. I'm considering converting a higher-end camera to full spectrum.

[@LeendertCordemans]

Nice video. How about Corel Paintshop pro?

[@robshea]

Haven't tried it yet. A quick glance at the user guide shows that it has a channel mixer. I'll take a deeper look at it.

[@robshea]

ON1 Photo Mobile released a new version today. The basic version is now free for iOS and Android. The paid version gets you 360 Sync with desktop plus masks and local adjustments. The channel mixer is not yet present in the mobile version. I'm not seeing a good way to swap or invert colors. Hopefully, the channel mixer from the desktop version will be added in a future release.

[@ep946]

Hi Rob, great content. I bought Luminar NEO and AI prior to starting my IR work, and I can't figure out why they removed the Channel Mixer. You mentioned you can swap channels using Curves, how do you do this on Luminar? Thanks!

[@robshea]

This is how it was done in Luminar 4: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKnGYamtdtWfgKc

[@timliscum2861]

Rob.. im using a 590 filter on a full spectrum K1.. when I do R-B color swap I can get yellow leaves but how do I get the white foliage look? Get vids.. very helpful.. but couldnt find this answer..

[@robshea]

White foliage is more commonly associated with a 720nm filter, which you could use instead of a 590nm. Or you can reduce the color saturation in your editor. Also, you can adjust your white balance before the swap to have an impact on colors. See this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4apmqeahZyopcU

[@timliscum2861]

@@robshea Ok that 720 info is helpful.. didn't know that.. im new obviously.. Thanks again!!

[@phaysaal]

Hi Rob, what do you think about Capture One Pro for Infrared Photography?

[@robshea]

Capture One is an excellent editor for visible light photography. What keeps it from being as excellent for IR is the lack of color swapping methods. You are limited to a hacky hue shift, repeated 6 times to get 180 degrees. There is no channel mixer. Here is my video on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6rVgpypedyjb6M

[@damianip]

Any thoughts on DxO Photolab? It’s been my RAW developer/editor of choice for some years now. I’m about to dive into IR by having a backup body converted and was hoping that I could stay in one ecosystem.

[@robshea]

DxO PhotoLab provides good white balance controls and can use the same DNG camera profiles (dcp) as Adobe products. Color swapping can only be completed with a hue shift in the HSL controls; unfortunately no channel mixer or invert options are available. It is a serviceable raw editor for infrared photography, if you don't mind the color swap limitations. Editing Infrared Images with DxO PhotoLab: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWXNaHSjiql9mpo

[@kbqvist]

Nice overview! Found the music a bit distracting though...

[@robshea]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!

[@timliscum2861]

Ugh.. I can't get adobe DNG Profile editor to install on my Mac and windows needs an app to run it.. do you know of any work arounds here or are these programs you listed the work arounds? Thanks

[@robshea]

Here is the workaround for getting DNG Profile Editor to run on a Mac: support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-a-mac-app-from-an-unidentified-developer-mh40616/mac

[@timliscum2861]

@@robshea I went with Dark Table and so far im liking it... thanks Rob

[@uhorne]

How useful are histograms in IR photography? A couple of the images i take have a tendency to show clippings on some colours quite easily. I'm using an older version of Photoshop (don't have lightroom), with a custom profile

[@kbqvist]

My experiences with two cameras, a fuji x-e1 converted to 640 nm, and a fuji x-t2 are different. With the x-e1 I got clipping if I exposed according to the histogram, in particular in bright sunlight, and I used exposure compensation set to -2/3 to -1. With the x-t2 the histogram is a pretty reliable guide for exposure.

[@uhorne]

@@kbqvist is the x-t2 set to a specific nm? I'm wondering if the nm could have an affect I use a Sony nex-5 full spectrum with a 590nm or 720nm filter on. Haven't checked if they differ when it comes to histogram

[@kbqvist]

@@uhorne , sorry I forgot to mention that, the x-t2 is converted with a 720 nm filter. I'm not sure what is the background behind the difference I experienced with the two cameras, but it is definetely there, with the copies I have..

[@robshea]

Histograms are still useful and I will adjust expose compensation to avoid clipping. I've noticed that the distribution width on the histogram tends to be narrower in IR, less contrast for many scenes. This makes is easy to do -1 to +1 of exposure compensation without clipping. I've tried HDR for a few high contrast scenes, but it's rarely needed compare to visible light photography. I've noticed a tendency for the camera to under expose with some vintage lenses, compared to modern native lenses, which I will correct with exposure compensation.

[@kbqvist]

@@robshea Agree that histograms are still useful. While you can usually take them literally in visible light photography, they sometimes need a bit of interpretation in infrared photography, depending on the equipment you use, and the circumstances. With my fuji x-e1/665 nm I experienced real clipping, in the sense that details was lost in the highlight WAY before the histogram reached the right side, when photographing in bright sunlight, but not in overcast conditions. With my fuji x-t2/720nm the histogram behaves almost normally in both bright and overcast conditions. So for me the bottom line is to be aware that there may be some disconnect between when real clipping occurs, and what the histogram shows, with certain equipment, under certain conditions. And if there is, learn to make compensations...

[@alexandrorodrigez]

#darktable !

[@JoanRocaJuncosa]

I'm so sorry but, why don't you include Capture One on the review? For me the best one.

[@robshea]

For those who are newer to IR, I recommend editors that have key features needed by IR, such as RAW support, broad WB temp range, and good tools for swapping colors. When it comes to IR, there are better tools than C1. If you prefer C1 for visible light photography and are willing to work around the limitations for IR instead of switching editors, that's perfectly reasonable. The editor that works for you is the best one.

[@JoanRocaJuncosa]

@@robshea I am so sorry Rob, I teach scientific Photography, including infrared, at the University. If your entry title was for example "BEST Editor for Infrared Photos in 2020 for beginners" I could agree with the content of the video. But I ask you: how do you manage the CYMK layers with your best software here explained?, for example. I agree with you all the video, except the title, so sorry. Some examples here: portfolio.adobe.com/59e0abc0-5d52-4c5e-ad61-b84c6728955c/editor/infrared On the other hand, thank you very much for your work here.

[@robshea]

@@JoanRocaJuncosa Photoshop supports CMYK. Aside from printing, what other use cases would benefit from CMYK? Your portfolio link does not work.