Dslr Techniques get the glow

Don’t overcomplicate your composition! Follow these steps for lovely leaves

01 on arrival

You don’t need bright sunlight for the effect, but you should shoot in a location with foliage. Before setting up, mount your Canon on a tripod to avoid camera shake – the IR filter blocks out light and requires longer shutter speeds.

02 on framing

Contrasting aspects in the frame can add to a shot. Include light and dark subjects that are close to each other, such as trees against a bright sky. Leaves and skin tones reflect the most infrared light, so will appear as the whitest parts of your image.

03 camera Settings

In Manual exposure mode set the aperture to around f/8, keep the ISO at 100 and set the White Balance to Daylight. Set an appropriate shutter speed. Also, try activating exposure bracketing of +/-1 EV to increase chances of a perfect exposure.

04 get Screwed

Next, add your filter to the setup. For this shoot we used a screw-on Hoya R72 Infrared filter. If you have a slide-in filter system from another manufacturer, make sure that you slide it into the slot closest to the camera to prevent light leaking in.

05 focus up

Once the filter is attached, you won’t be able to see through the lens to focus or compose. Switch the lens to manual focus, switch your DSLR to Live View mode, then zoom into the scene on screen. Twist the focusing ring until the scene looks sharp.

06 Sharp Shooting

Fire the shutter using a cable release or remote, to avoid introducing motion blur. Take several test shots and check the exposure and focus by reviewing the images. You’ll need to take off the filter when you want to recompose and refocus.