Kept Light Photography

Lightroom has had some weaknesses when it came to processing infrared images like channel swap and white balance. The primary problem has been and continues to be the range of white balance options not being wide enough into the blue end of the slider. That has had a fix for quite some time which I will quickly outline here for completeness. The second shortcoming, although not an issue for me, is the inability to swap the red and the blue channels which results in blueish skies and yellowish foliage. That had to be done in Photoshop, until the latest release of Lightroom.

The stacked images you see in the opening of this article are all done in Lightroom, including the one that has the blue sky. That is the result of the newly added capability to Adobe Camera Raw to create extensive and flexible camera profiles that can also optionally make use of the Lookup Tables (LUT.) It is this newly acquired capability allowed me to create a camera profile for my infrared-modified Canon M5 that allows me to swap the red and the blue channels without constantly going to Photoshop and retaining the workflow completely nondestructive because there is no need to open a pixel version of the image in Photoshop. Interested? Read on! Although the content may conceptually sound geeky, procedurally it is a breeze to follow, don’t let the jargon fool you. The steps are very easy to follow. 

A Camera Profile for Better White Balance Control

Although the following part can be done without this first step, going through this simple procedure will give you much better control on the white balance of your IR images. Even if you create a custom white balance in camera by photographing green grass or foliage, the white balance sliders in Lightroom do not have the range of adjustment to display that or even tweak further. Follow these steps with no thinking, at least initially:

  1. Take a photograph of a grassy patch or green foliage of a plant with good coverage
  2. Using your camera controls, set this image to be used for Custom White Balance
  3. Take a few photographs showing some foliage and other subjects
  4. Download Adobe DNG Profile Editor from their site, Mac, and Windows versions, even a short tutorial available there. It is an oldie but goodie! We are interested in doing one thing here, extending the range of the Color slider in Lightroom, nothing else
  5. If you have not yet done it yet, in Lightroom, select the image you want to use for this purpose and export it to DNG, note the file location on your drive.
  6. Open the IR photograph you prepared in step 5 from your camera in the DNG Profile Editor, any photo you took in step 3 will do. Depending on your camera brand and the white balance settings you will see something similar but not exactly identical to what I show in the images below.
  7. Look for a tab on the top right “Color Matrices” and click on it to show the sliders
  8. Move the “White Balance Calibration” Temperature slider down to -100 (Note: My original instructions indicated to move the Blue Primary Saturation slider to -100 and I did my work that way. However, for some reason, that does not work anymore! Sorry for the confusion I might have created. The profiles I created at the time of writing the original article look and work differently from the one I created in this “corrected” process. I will further study what might have changed and will update the post accordingly.)
  9. Click on the “Options” tab and write a descriptive name for this profile
  10. Now, click on File/Export and export this profile to a known folder
  11. Close the DNG Profile Editor
  12. Open the File Explorer and go to the folder where you saved the new profile and highlight it by clicking on it once
  13. Press Ctrl-C to copy it to the clipboard
  14. Navigate to C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles
  15. Press Ctrl-V to paste the file into this folder
  16. Restart Lightroom

Now in Lightroom, navigate to one of your IR images taken in step 3. How it will look is anybody’s guess, but navigate to the Profile Browser in its new location of the Basic Panel. You should see under the “Profiles” group, the new profile you created similar to my screen capture shows. You will see in my screen capture other profiles, stay tuned for those. Click on the new profile you created and then on “Close” to exit the profile browser. You should now see a very usable set of white balance sliders most likely showing “As Shot” setting. The following images should help following the steps above:

Open an IR image in DNG Profile Editor
In Color Matrices lower the Blue Primary Saturation to -100
In Options panel give it a name
Export the profile
Give it a descriptive name
Profile Browser in Lightroom

Up to this point, we have converted the unusable white balance sliders to fully functional ones that reflect the camera settings. Now, let us see how we can do the red-blue channel swap. I will not go too much into creating and using camera profiles in Lightroom and ACR as plenty have been written on the subject. I will mainly focus on one specific profile creation that will bring the ability to swap the Red and the Blue channels to achieve results like the ones below. All three images are direct export from Lightroom virtual copies of the same raw file.

Color Lookup Tables (LUT)

The idea of using LUTs for various purposes has been around from monitor profile and calibration to applying particular looks to video files. A LUT consists of a series of color values that link the measured to desired with the necessary adjustment so that they look as desired. It is a color mapping process. The new profiling capabilities in Adobe Camera Raw along with the ability to export a series of adjustments in Photoshop as Color Lookup Tables give us the ability to apply a set of adjustments once in the exclusive domain of Photoshop to the images in Lightroom. Although I will focus on processing infrared images, the same concept can be used to create profiles for other purposes as well.

Let us create first the necessary lookup table in Photoshop. For this purpose, I used three different images with no visible difference in the exported LUT, a regular color photograph, an infrared photograph, a file with a simple black background. Photoshop seems to be exporting the changes contained in the adjustment layers rather than any image content which probably makes sense. That said, for the purpose of visual consistency, I will use the same infrared image shown above as my base image, either raw or any other format.

  1. Open the image you want to use for this purpose in Photoshop
  2. Add a Channel Mixer adjustment layer
  3. Select the Red channel, lower the Red value to zero and increase the Blue value to +100
  4. Select the Blue channel, lower the Blue value to zero and increase the Red value to +100
  5. You should now see the image with the altered colors
  6. Now go to File/Export/Color Lookup Tables
  7. Add a description, optionally add a copyright notice, leave other options as you see in the screen capture
  8. Click to save and give it a descriptive name in a folder you can easily locate. Congratulations you now have the Channel Swap LUT ready to use
  9. Open the raw image in Adobe Camera Raw by noting the file name and directly opening it from Photoshop rather than sending it from Lightroom. This will launch ACR and load the raw image
  10. Click on the Presets tab at the top, and while holding the Alt key, click on the New Profile icon (next to the trash can, be careful) at the bottom
  11. In the pop-up dialog window, give the profile a name, leave the default location as User Profiles, and put a checkmark in the box next to Color Lookup Table in the bottom block
  12. Navigate to the folder where you saved the LUT in step #8 and load that file
  13. Click OK to save the profile, it is now ready to use instantly in ACR
  14. Load Lightroom and find the raw file you have been working with
  15. In the Basic Panel, click on Profile Navigator, scroll down to see User Profiles, locate the new profile
  16. As you move your cursor over the profile preview thumbnail you will see your image assuming that look. Now, click on that thumbnail to apply the profile.
  17. You are now working with the image with its Red and Blue channels swapped. Adjust to taste.

Here are the sequential screen captures that correspond to the steps in this section for reference.

Open a raw image in Photoshop
Add a Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer, adjust R - B values for Red
Adjust R - B values for Blue
Export Color Lookup Table
Use your description and copyright, leave other settings alone
Save the LUT file in a folder with a suitable name
Load the raw image to ACR
Switch to the Profiles tab, hold Alt, click on New Profile icon
Add the profile name, click on Color Lookup Table box
Load the Color Lookup table you saved
Restart Lightroom, select the image, profile browser, User Profiles
Hover over then click on the new profile to apply Channel Swap of R and B

Additional Notes

I have experimented with several options and would like to share my conclusions. You may or may not agree with them, but they may point you in some additional directions to try different settings.

  1. In creating the initial camera profile using the DNG Profile editor, the recommended setting for the Blue Primary saturation is -100 in many articles I have read. I did try other values, -50 and -75 and have seen subtle differences. Simply create three different DCP profiles and see how they behave in Lightroom for your taste. The only cost is the few extra minutes of saving them.
  2. Read the DNG Profile Editor tutorial, it has many other paths to follow for different and even better results in your IR camera profiles. There is a very short segment about this in the manual/tutorial.
  3. The creation of a Color Lookup Table in Photoshop will accommodate multiple adjustment layers and their impact on the image. I thought it might be a good idea to add a curves adjustment layer and apply different levels of contrast on top of the Channel Mixer. I found this to be helpful with moderate and strong contrast curves for quick results.
  4. Additional settings may be applied in the ACR to be saved as part of the same profile such as pulling all the saturation sliders in the HSL panel to -100 to save time in Lightroom to convert the image to B&W. I found this to be a little confusing because all the sliders will remain in the middle but there will be no saturation. To regain the saturation they need to be pushed to +100 essentially shortening the slider travel distance. Sliders remaining unmoved in Lightroom may be of benefit for some sliders but not all, at least not for me.
  5. If you apply the Channel Swap profile and then want to adjust the darkness of the sky or other color channels, remember they are no longer where they were before. To darken the sky you will most likely use the Red, Orange, and Yellow sliders. Likewise, the foliage may be found in the Blue, Purple, or Magenta.

Summary

The new Lightroom and ACR updates provide additional capabilities in creating and using camera profiles. The few simple features explored in the article will be welcome by most infrared photography fans. The following photograph is a panoramic stitch done in Lightroom and then adjusted using the processes outlined above without opening it in Photoshop.

Panorama stitched and adjusted fully in Lightroom

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Comments

  1. Vow!
    The very last sentence tells it all.
    I am glad that I do not belong to that group :)

    Cemal, we thank you for a thoroughly written text with lots of information for the specialists. On the other hand, I am not sure if your blog will be too widely admired in facebook-like domains.
    I am sure you did not have that domain only in mind while writing it.

    By the way, I have read every single line and your sharing sure helps and saves time.

    Thanks a lot and take care!

    Haluk

    • Haluk, I know my blog will not be too widely admired in Facebook-like domains as I will no longer feed Facebook. This process I have explained will indeed be welcomed by IR shooters although the general ideas are perfectly applicable to other modes of photography.

      Take care, and keep in touch,

      Cemal

  2. Cemal,
    Clearly written and helpful article. Thank you. I do have one question though. I have created an extended WB profile, and I have created a channel swap profile. What I can’t figure out is how to create 0ne profile that does both. Since only one profile can be applied to any one image, having two separate profiles does not get me where I want to be. Any ideas?

    • Robert,
      The purpose of the first step where the blue channel saturation is pulled all the way back is to allow for the WB sliders to move sufficiently so that the proper WB can be obtained. It is hard to nail down a “correct” WB for infrared images to embed it into a profile. The channel swapping profile is to have the false colors while having a blue(ish) sky. You are right, you can apply only one profile at a time. I am not sure if I fully understand where you want to be when a profile is applied. Even with regular camera profiles, the WB remains a separate adjustment.

      Thanks for stopping,

      Cemal

      • YES, I’m with Robert! I want to do both of the procedures you have outlined here so well. I want a WB profile and I want the R/B color swap. The issue is that when I go the color swap route I still need to tweek the WB, and as usual, the WB sliders are pegged out on the blue side and I can make the image any bluer.

        I have tried setting up an image with the WB fix, but then when I export it as a color swap lut the WB profile disappears.

        • Larry, I think you may be skipping the step in Adobe Camera Raw after you tweak the white balance in DNG Profile Editor. The first step handles the behavior of the color slider the second step actually creates a camera profile that both ACR and Lightroom can share and use. Also, remember to copy the files to correct locations when the time comes to do so. Another point to remember is that you once open a file in Photoshop to create the channel swaps and save the LUT. The second time you open a RAW file in ACR and apply the LUT to it and create the channel swapped profile.

          I wish we could do this side by side! Try again and put a check mark next to each step as you do them.

          Cemal

          • Ah! I think we got it! I was unchecking all but the basic boxes in the Profile creation box. Also I had a couple of radial and grad filters that I had forgotten about that were affecting the raw file. I think I have it now. I can use the B/R swap and have the WB adjustment available too. Nice!

            Now how to get that to Lightroom CC mobile…

    • I’m glad that it worked for you Garry. I appreciate the link. It will give me a chance to visit your site and see what else is there.

      Take care,

      Cemal

  4. Thanks for the informative tutorial!! I shoot IR (Raw format) with a converted Sony NEX7. It has a super color conversion. I have used the DNG profile editor to build profiles to correct WB in previous editions of Lightroom and it has worked great. When I use your method of importing a profile into Lightroom CC 7.3. everything works fine except the profile is in Black and White. Do you have an idea what I am doing wrong?

    Thanks Ian

    • Ian, I am glad you found the post informative. Regarding the profile ending up in B&W, it is hard to tell but I would suspect somewhere in the chain there is a conversion option may be selected. Are you starting with the profile created in DNG Profile Editor? Is that in B&W? I would trace my steps once more.

      Cemal

    • I don’t believe it will work with Adobe Elements. But, so long as you have Lightroom Classic CC, you could do a couple of steps on a friend’s computer and get the files you need from that. After that, everything happens in Lightroom anyway.

      Enjoy,

      Cemal

  6. Cemal

    I think I’m being a little stupid ;-)

    Is there away to get both the channel swap and the WB adjustment in a single profile?

    Cheers

    • Not at all Garry. Handling the WB in Lightroom for IR images is almost impossible because of the sliders being almost to the end of the blue. The first step of handling WB is to expand that range in LR. Beyond that, the actual WB, whatever that may mean in infrared, cannot be handled in this process because it is image and light dependent. That said if you find that you keep setting the WB at the same spot for most of your IR work you can incorporate that into your image intake stage easily. Here is my preferred way of doing it as I explained it a couple of years ago:

      https://www.keptlight.com/set-lightroom-for-your-camera/

      Cemal

    • Jeff, I am very glad that the process worked for you. Your work does indeed have the look and feel of Aerochrome and very compelling. Thank you for sharing your post and site, definitely worth a visit.

      Take care,

      Cemal

  8. Hi Cemal,
    First I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge. I do seem thought to be facing an issue. When I’m about to save the new profile in Camera Raw using the LUT file, in the “Current image settings to include” I cannot seem to enable “Basic”. Instead I only get “Point Curve”. This results in a profile that turns pictures extremely blue, almost purple. If I choose to disable “Point Curve”, the resulting profile is much better, but still too blue.
    Any idea why I cannot toggle the “Basic” settings?

    • Hello Frederick, a couple of other readers had a similar problem and after our conversation here found out that they were skipping a step in ACR. I don’t quite know where exactly are you looking for the “Basic” to enable. Give me a little more clue, or look through the comments here. This is a straight forward process but still has a few twists in it that are easy to skip.

      Cemal

  9. Hi Cemal,
    I’d also like to thank you for this. I’ve quickly become a fan of infrared photography and, as a Lightroom user, it was bothering me that I had to jump out of LR to PS channel swap, thus creating a TIF file when going back to LR. I followed your very clear instructions several times but kept getting hung up on the actual application of the LUT. I would first use, in Lightroom, the WB profile I created with the DNG editor, then try to apply the LUT profile and it just didn’t work, one profile seemed to negate the other and the color was way off. I finally came across a YouTube video where the videographer went through this same process from start to finish, but with one difference. After creating the WB profile in the DNG editor, he applied it in ACR to the actual file he was going to use to create the LUT. Then he used a hue/saturation layer in PS to adjust the colors to exactly the effect he wanted, i.e., the correct shades of blue and yellow. I tried this and it worked perfectly. When I selected the LUT profile in LR it applied those exact colors to my RAW file, and it also seemed to pick up the WB settings, as there was no need for me to re-white balance the photo. Perhaps this is the way your instructions work as well, but I was not able to get this result after following your instructions several times. I’m just wondering if you need to add something that clearly states that you need to adjust the WB on the photo you are using, in ACR, to create the LUT and that you won’t be able to use it in LR. Or perhaps I just missed something in your instructions. Either way, you got me on the right path and I’m very happy that I can now “channel swap” in LR, so thanks again!

    Best, Cindy

    • Thank you, Cindy, for writing and sharing your thoughts. I will follow my steps once more and see what may need further clarification and correction. To this date, I use the profiles I created using the process above. However, a friend told me that another point was a stumbling block for her. I tried it, and sure enough, it did not work and I added a note about that. Part of this may be happening due to internal changes they make in Lightroom or ACR. I carefully outlined my steps when I wrote the original article but a year or so later parts of it did not work. Back to the drawing board!

      Infrared photography can be full of surprises but the processing them should not be one of them. Take care, and enjoy the experience of IR photography.

      Cemal