Photoshop Actions for Infrared v2

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Download the free Color Infrared Photoshop Actions v2

About

This is version 2 of my Color Infrared Photoshop Actions, designed to speed the process of color swapping infrared photos in Adobe Photoshop. They work best on color infrared filters from 470 nm to 720 nm. These could be shot with a camera converted to a filter in this range or with a full spectrum camera used with an external filter in this range. They also work with unconverted cameras and an external 720 nm filter.

Changes to Version 2

• The image is no longer flattened after the adjustment layers are applied. By opening an image as a Smart Object in Camera Raw (by shift-clicking the Open button), you can later double-click the layer to return to Camera Raw and make changes.
• The Orton Effect is now saved is saved as two new layers. The Combined Layer is a merged copy of your existing layers. The Orton Effect layer is the blurred version, intended to be used at a lower opacity. These layers do no change your existing layers. If you wish to make changes to your image, you can simply delete these layers, make changes, and rerun the action to recreate the layers.

Actions

This collection contains the following actions.

• IR Channel Mixer¹ - This method uses the Channel Mixer adjustment layer to swap the colors in the Red and Blue channel, converting orange/yellow sky to teal/blue and converting teal/blue foliage to orange/yellow.

• IR Channel Mixer + H/S¹ - Same as above, with the addition of a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (with no values set) if you wish to tweak the color values.

• IR Invert - This method creates a duplicate of the image layer, inverts the duplicate layer, and applies a color blend mode. For some, this method may produce a more naturally colored sky than the channel mixer method. When opened as a Smart Object, the original and duplicate layers are linked, making changes to one updates both.

• IR Invert + H/S - Same as above, with the addition of a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (with no values set) if you wish to tweak the color values.

• Orton Effect - This action creates a glow layer, which can create an interesting effect for some woodland or infrared images. Be sure to select your main image layer before running this action. Be sure to adjust the opacity of the newly created layer for the desired effect. Less is more.

Installation

1. Unzip the file by double-clicking on it and save the included *.atn file to your desktop.

2. In Photoshop, open the Actions panel by selecting Actions under the Window Menu.

3. Click the menu icon in the upper right corner of the Action dialog and select Load Actions. Select the action from your desktop and click the Load button.

Usage

Download: The free Infrared Profile Pack contains color temperature shifting profiles for hundreds of cameras. These profiles allow you to set a good white balance in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop Camera Raw, and other raw editors. Alternatively, you can create your own DNG Camera Profile for your camera.

1. Open the infrared image you wish to edit in Lightroom, or in Adobe Camera Raw with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

2. Select a custom DNG camera profile for your infrared camera.

3. Once you have selected a color profile, you will need to set the white balance for your image. The following video contains tips for setting the white balance for color infrared images.

4. If you completed the above steps in Lightroom, right-click the image, and select Edit in Adobe Photoshop. If you completed the above steps in Adobe Camera Raw, select the Open Image button.

5. Run the desired action by selecting the action and clicking the Play selection button at the bottom of the action dialog window.

Enjoy!

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1. Photoshop Elements does not support the Channel Mixer adjustment layer. Therefore, you should use the IR Invert method when using these actions with Photoshop Elements. ↩ ↩²