A journey to Infrared Portrait Photography

Author: Sigrid Johns

I like people and I like portraits of people. They are even more interesting in infrared light. AND people embedded in nature are an absolute, harmonious and deeply touching appearance. 

But before I could take such enchanting photos, it took a lot of experimentation, perseverance and patience. With most people, the veins just under the skin become visible as dark lines through the IR filter, eyes become dark, lifeless and dull and a smile usually looks somewhat alienating.

Are you wondering why I don't retouch the veins, lighten the eyes and only take the portraits with a slight smile and closed mouth? Well, it's very time-consuming and is more like a punishment than a pleasure. You could also counteract this with the right make-up, but here too, precise tests of the make-up variants are necessary in advance, as each make-up has different effects on the IR wavelength.

There must be another way! So I did some research on the Internet. Klaus Mangold's book "Digitale Infrarotfotografie" (Digital Infrared Photography) goes into a little more detail. Unfortunately, the results were not really to my satisfaction.

What now? Keep looking or quiting Giving up was not an option for me, so I decided to keep looking... After three more infrared photographers that I stumbled across on the Internet, but who unfortunately couldn't give me any satisfactory answers to my questions, I finally found Sven.  

"Try a weak IR filter," was his answer - and lo and behold, no annoying veins. Thank you for this valuable tip! Now we had to get a sparkle in our eyes. If the sun is not too high, but the sun's rays fall a little flat, the eyes start to glow. 

Try it out! It's great fun. And don't worry, the surprise effect is still there. I still can't tell in advance whether the eyes will appear light or dark in the photo. Light eyes can look very light or dark in the photo. It's the same with dark eyes. I once had a young woman with very dark brown eyes, I would say the eyes were black, but there are no black eyes. These eyes were really bright in the portrait photo. Yes, IR photography is always good for a surprise. That's exactly what I think makes this type of photography so interesting.

Now a few words about studio photos with the IR camera. I had many unsuccessful and sometimes frustrating results with the flash unit. The photos had no contrast. Even Photoshop couldn't conjure up anything because the contrast was so low. It was a gray soup without any excitement or charm. Apparently a considerable part of the IR wavelength was missing. Even using normal reflectors without a softbox didn't produce any exciting images. This beautiful soft, gentle alabaster-like character was not there. 

How do I get more of the infrared wavelength into my studio? Exactly, with infrared heat pain lamps... That was the solution to the riddle. I quickly bought a few used lamps and off I went... Now nothing stands in the way of an extended session in the studio or in nature.

Please visit me at my next exhibition on September 7, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in 1180 Vienna, Gymnasiumstraße 33 in my photo studio "Das Portrait" or book an appointment at www.dasportrait.com and 0043 1 479 64 26.

More information and pictures of Sigrid Johns can also be found on the website and social media:

Website: dasportrait.com

Instagram: the_portrait

Facebook: The Portrait, Studio for Photography