White Balancing Color Infrared Photography

Accurate White Balance in Color Infrared Photography

White balanced 590 nm infrared images

Color infrared photography offers stunning results, with golden skies, brilliant white clouds, and baby blue foliage. However, getting the white balance right can be a tricky process. Many raw editors aren’t equipped to handle the unique characteristics of infrared light. Let’s break down why and show how you can achieve truly vibrant color in your infrared images.

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Infrared Light & White Balance

The white balance settings in many raw photo editors are designed for visible light. They support a range of color temperatures from 2,000 to 50,000 Kelvin. However, infrared light has a much lower temperature of around 900 Kelvin. This difference can lead to unwanted red casts in your color infrared images if you rely solely on standard white balance adjustments. Infrared images captured with a 590 nm, 665 nm, or 720 nm filter are particularly susceptible to this issue.

Custom Profiles

For some raw editors, the solution is to use custom profiles. These raw editors can benefit from custom profiles.

• Adobe Lightroom
• Adobe Lightroom Classic
• Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw
• DxO PhotoLab 8
• Exposure X
• Skylum Luminar Neo

These raw editors can set a good white balance for infrared images, without the need for custom profiles.

• Capture One
• darktable
• ON1 Photo RAW
• Photomator
• Pixelmator Pro
• RawTherapee
• Serif Affinity Photo 2

Info For more information, check out Raw Editors for Infrared Photography.

Creating Custom Profiles

The traditional method for creating a custom profile is using the Adobe DNG Profile Editor. However, the DNG Profile Editor is unsupported by Adobe. It hasn’t been updated since 2012. Additionally, it doesn’t work on recent versions of macOS, preventing Mac users from creating custom profiles.

The Infrared Profile Pack

Fortunately, there’s a straightforward solution: the Infrared Profile Pack. This free pack of profiles is designed for color infrared photography and addresses this challenge directly.

• What it Does: These profiles enable you to adjust the temperature and accurately set the white balance for your color infrared images shot with 590 nm, 665 nm, or 720 nm filters.
• Raw Editor Compatibility: The profiles work with Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop Camera Raw, DxO PhotoLab 8, Exposure X, and Skylum Luminar Neo.
• Camera Coverage: The pack includes profiles for over 400 cameras!

How to Use the Infrared Profile Pack with Lightroom

1. Install the Profiles: Download and install the Infrared Profile Pack.
2. Access the Profile Browser: Within the Lightroom Edit panel, find the Profile Browser icon. Expand the Profiles Group.
3. Select a Profile: Choose either Infrared Temp -50 or Infrared Temp -100. Start with -100 for a more significant temperature shift.
4. Adjust White Balance: Use the white balance picker and click on a neutral element in your image, such as clouds or pavement.

Don’t Worry About the Numbers!

Since the profile has shifted the temperature scale, the values no longer represent actual Kelvin values. This isn’t as important as achieving a white balance that cleanly separates the colors of your sky and foliage. As long as you can get your desired result, the numerical value is less important.

Ready to Create Stunning Color Infrared Images?

Download the free Infrared Profile Pack today and start creating breathtaking images!

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