If you are an experienced photographer you will probably already know about taking infrared pictures using your digital camera and this article will not be of that much value to you, but if you are new to both infrared photography and maybe even to digital photography then read on to learn more.

Not too many years ago there were no such thing as digital photography and you would run around with a camera will film that might take fantastic pictures but if had all the disadvantages of a camera using films. To take IR (Infrared) pictures you would need to purchase special films that would cost you an arm and a leg. Secondly you would have the trouble of the black and white processing of the films once you had taken the pictures.

And to finish off you would not be able to evaluate the pictures that you took before the whole roll of film was used and the pictures had been processed and printed. All in all this would take you a lot more time and cost you a substantial amount compared to the digital solutions that are available today.

Today you will need to have a digital camera but as we are soon entering the second decade in the second millennium there are not many people left that doesn’t own at least one digital camera. Now it is not enough to just have a simple cheap digital camera bought in the grocery shop around the corner but you will not need to re-finance your house either.

By investing in a fairly prices $500-$1000 digital camera you can easily get high quality and be able to take the infrared pictures that you want. Not only will you save the time and hassle of processing the pictures as they will be instantly available but you are also able to evaluate them as soon as your finger has left the trigger by looking at the little LCD screen on the camera. If you are not pleased with the result you can just deleted it, adjust the settings and shoot another one.

The quality of your infrared photographs will depend on how your camera’s sensor array reacts to the infrared and secondly it will depend on the filter you are using and how it reacts to the far end of the visible spectrum. I suggest that you start by consulting with the guy in the photo shop about what camera he will recommend for the use you are planning and then you should search the internet for reviews and comments from people that have already tried and tested the digital cameras that he has recommended.

Infrared photos versus black/white photos.

At the first glance a monochrome picture taken with an infrared camera filter will mostly look identical to every other black and white picture. However if you have a closer look you will see the differences. The objects which are bright in the visible light will appear dark while some of the objects that are normally dark will have a fair glowing light.

The biggest difference between the infrared spectrum and the visible spectrum is in the case of foliage. Foliage becomes very bright in infrared as you will be able to see if you have ever taken infrared pictures before.

Next time you are out shooting infrared pictures try to do a few black and white ones as well and you will quickly be able to see the differences that I have just mentioned.

I am glad that the digital cameras have come to ease our infrared photography and I hope that you are too. It is a time saver as well as a money saver.

Mikael’s infrared photography digital cameras site holds substantial information about digital photography and every aspect related to photography and digital cameras.