Art and Soul of Photography: January 2023

As I mentioned last month, I love photographing in the infrared spectrum all year. This month, I would like to discuss photographing people during the winter.

Infrared can be very challenging in the winter as there is little to no IR reflective light. But once you know the stories you want to tell, you will be able to shoot in infrared all year long. My favorite IR subject is the female form in the landscape, which was the topic of my second book.

A few years back, I did a series with Paige, whom I had mentored for years. We decided to create our story in Central Park during a snowstorm. I asked her to bring a black velvet cape, which I knew would come out light colored because of the dyes used in the fabric. I also asked her to apply a dramatic makeup look, including black lipstick, because I knew it would look dark in infrared. Often, red lipstick appears very light, causing the lips to lose their drama.

Shooting in 720nm, I often will not perform a channel swap to my images. I love the warm and cool tones that co-exist in the native colors of a 720nm image.