Infrared Photography Brief: Shot List, Lighting and Locations

Q: What shots should I get for a Infrared Photography photo shoot?

For a Infrared Photography shoot, capture: Wide editorial landscape of a still alpine lake ringed by pink and coral trees, distant snow-covered mountains in cool near-neutral tones, a pale teal sky, the lake holding a dark teal reflection, strong foreground-to-background depth with one clear focal point and room to crop; A stone arch bridge framed by pink willow foliage over dark teal water, the stonework cool and nearly neutral, architectural detail sharp, willow fronds fine and countable; Coral alpine trees crossing a hillside beneath a snow-covered mountain and a mint sky, a spacious composition with a softer film finish and pale cyan atmosphere between the ridges; A quiet path through a dense grove of blush-pink trees photographed at eye level, trunks in deep charcoal, light falling through the canopy, the path leading into haze; A close study of pink fern fronds and leaves beside dark reflective water, fine detail in the fronds, the water almost black-teal, a single soft highlight on the surface.

Q: Where should I shoot Infrared photography?

Good locations for Infrared photography include: An alpine lake with a treeline and a mountain behind it, A stone bridge or aqueduct with willows at the water, A hillside of mixed conifers below a snow line, A dense deciduous grove with a path through it, A fern bank beside still dark water.

SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[infrared photo]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(infrared-pho.BRF)
✎Infrared Photography
01 LightNatural daylight only, ideally with high thin cloud or late sun so the highlights roll off softly. Infrared rewards open sky and healthy vegetation; overcast flattens it and dead foliage stays grey. Never add a coloured light source. The colour is a property of the light, not of a lamp.
02 WardrobeLandscapes are the subject. If a figure appears, keep them small and in plain dark or white cloth, so they read as the one neutral in a coloured world. Synthetic fabrics can flare white under infrared; test them first.
03 LocationAn alpine lake with a treeline and a mountain behind it
04 Palette
SetupNoteFinderShotsLightSave

DIR

Director's note

Believable first, strange second. Real optics, natural depth, weather and leaf detail all stay exactly as a good landscape photograph would have them; only the colour has moved, and it has moved the way Aerochrome moved it: foliage to blush, coral and vermilion, sky and water to cyan, teal and mint, trunks and shadow to charcoal, stone and snow left cool and nearly neutral. Finish with restrained grain, a soft highlight roll-off and a slight fade. No neon, no rainbow heat map, no glossy surfaces, no illustration or CGI, no oversharpening, and no text anywhere in the picture. Keep the interface around the pictures white with black type; the photographs carry every colour.

All 151 director’s notes, printable: Director’s Briefs, $8 →

Viewfinder

Live

Four controls on the brief's own plate · the meter is real, so you can blow a frame

Standby50mmf/5.6 · 1/125 · ISO 400

Aperturef/5.6Shutter1/125ISO400White balance5200K

Use your own photo

Running the list sets the camera for every shot in turn. Load your own photo to light and expose a frame you actually shot.

LGT

Light the set

3 lamps

Drag a lamp and watch the frame above change. The brief's own note is the preset

KeyThe light that makes the pictureSoft, farEye level

FillHow far into shadow you can seeHard, closeEye level

BackRound at the front, where it is just another fillOffEye level

On the brief

Contact sheet

00 / 12

Nothing on the sheet yet. Set the camera, then take a frame.

SEQ

Shot list

00 / 05

Tap a pad to mark the frame shot · saved on this device

Wide editorial landscape of a still alpine lake ringed by pink and coral trees, distant snow-covered mountains in cool near-neutral tones, a pale teal sky, the lake holding a dark teal reflection, strong foreground-to-background depth with one clear focal point and room to cropwide24mmthru glass

A stone arch bridge framed by pink willow foliage over dark teal water, the stonework cool and nearly neutral, architectural detail sharp, willow fronds fine and countabledetail100mm

Coral alpine trees crossing a hillside beneath a snow-covered mountain and a mint sky, a spacious composition with a softer film finish and pale cyan atmosphere between the ridgessetup50mm

A quiet path through a dense grove of blush-pink trees photographed at eye level, trunks in deep charcoal, light falling through the canopy, the path leading into hazesetup50mmatmosphere

A close study of pink fern fronds and leaves beside dark reflective water, fine detail in the fronds, the water almost black-teal, a single soft highlight on the surfacedetail100mm

Rolling

Take it to set: all 151 briefs as one PDF · $8

LOC

Locations

An alpine lake with a treeline and a mountain behind itA stone bridge or aqueduct with willows at the waterA hillside of mixed conifers below a snow lineA dense deciduous grove with a path through itA fern bank beside still dark water

REF

Explore the aesthetic

Style guide Color palette

DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Infrared Photography aesthetic?

Photograph a real landscape in light the eye cannot see, and let only the colour be strange.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Infrared Photography photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

Wide editorial landscape of a still alpine lake ringed by pink and coral trees, distant snow-covered mountains in cool near-neutral tones, a pale teal sky, the lake holding a dark teal reflection, strong foreground-to-background depth with one clear focal point and room to crop
A stone arch bridge framed by pink willow foliage over dark teal water, the stonework cool and nearly neutral, architectural detail sharp, willow fronds fine and countable
Coral alpine trees crossing a hillside beneath a snow-covered mountain and a mint sky, a spacious composition with a softer film finish and pale cyan atmosphere between the ridges
A quiet path through a dense grove of blush-pink trees photographed at eye level, trunks in deep charcoal, light falling through the canopy, the path leading into haze
A close study of pink fern fronds and leaves beside dark reflective water, fine detail in the fronds, the water almost black-teal, a single soft highlight on the surface

What lighting works for Infrared Photography photography?

Natural daylight only, ideally with high thin cloud or late sun so the highlights roll off softly. Infrared rewards open sky and healthy vegetation; overcast flattens it and dead foliage stays grey. Never add a coloured light source. The colour is a property of the light, not of a lamp.

Light

Where should I shoot Infrared Photography photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

An alpine lake with a treeline and a mountain behind it
A stone bridge or aqueduct with willows at the water
A hillside of mixed conifers below a snow line
A dense deciduous grove with a path through it
A fern bank beside still dark water

What wardrobe works for Infrared Photography photography?

Landscapes are the subject. If a figure appears, keep them small and in plain dark or white cloth, so they read as the one neutral in a coloured world. Synthetic fabrics can flare white under infrared; test them first.

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Infrared Photography style

Omoro reads your visual references and generates images in your exact aesthetic. Build a mood board before the shoot or create composite references for your client.

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