How to start with IR
The beginning may be quite frustrating for less experiences photographers. Standard digital cameras are designed in such a way that the internal filter (referred to as “hot mirror“) prevents the IR light from penetration into the sensor of the digital camera. That is why the exposure time of IR images may reach up the order of several tens of seconds, depending on the amount of light. Setting the correct exposure with a standard camera is always a sort of punt. A correct white balance setting, among others, is the keystone for your success. Most of the cameras (mainly reflex cameras, more expensive compacts) offer this feature. Efforts and time spent on this setting are always paid back many times in the form of balanced images. When white balance setting is correct, the display shows an image much similar the one created by a subsequent modification in your PC. You can check its quality not only visually but also using a histogram, which gives the decisive information on the quality of the image to more experienced photographers.
