IR Help...Tutorial?

I recently had my 20D converted to Enhanced Color IR by Life Pixel.

My colors just don't look right and when I try to follow Life Pixel's
instructions, it just looks worse. The image is almost brown to me.

When I try Life Pixels instructions on changing the sky blue, because
(I think) the colors are so close, everything ends up with a blue cast.

Maybe its my custom white balance?

Here's what I'm doing...

Because there's no real green in the grass yet, I'm using the dark
green of my house as the custom white balance.

Then I take the photograph and get what you see below.

If anyone has any hints and/or step by step in what they do from
setting the WB on would save my sanity :)

Thanks
Doug

Hi Doug, I wish i could be of more help to you at this point, but as you can see from a few threads below I am beginning with IR also. I'll offer what I can here. You say that you followed the tutorial on Lifepixels, so I'm assuming that you did the red and blue channel swap in PS. You also say that you had the enhanced color conversion done where I had the standard conversion. Oddly, your shot looks very close to the enhanced samples on the lifepixel site before the red blue channel swap. When I first went out with my 20d I also didn't have green grass to set the white balance. In your shot I belive I see some fir trees that could get you fairly close also (I have used Pine trees for white balance also). You didn't say if you shot in raw, and that would also give you a chance to adjust the WB to see if that is where your problem lies. As I said, I'm just really starting with this also, but wanted to offer what I could. I'm sure the experts will jump in here soon to help out. By the way, you have some great shots in your gallery.

Doug, I only do IR in PP. I don't have a camera that has been converted but I am considering doing it to my 30D -So this thread interests me. I'll be eager to hear what Michael or others have to say.

PS-Your web-site is amazing!

Thanks everyone.

I did some searching and found a Photoshop Action that seems to be
what I'm looking for. I just have to tweak it more to my taste.

I think alot of it to is my subject. I was just taking pictures of my
street. I'll have to get out and find something more suitable to bring
out this effect.

Doug

Doug, vegetation is supposed to look white.
You should custom white balance in midtone green.
When you are going to convert in ACr, set the white point with the eye dropper so your image turns brown instead of red.
Then sweep the channels. If white is too blue, play with the blue channel is Hue/Saturation.

Hope this helps.

come down to Florida Doug, perfect IR photo ops down here ....

What tool did you use in PS to switch the colors around?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Caleb Royer

What tool did you use in PS to switch the colors around?

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You use the Channel Mixer.

Go to the red channel and invert 100 to 0 and viceversa with the blue channel.
Go to the blue channel and invert again.

Disregard the green channlel

Hope this helps!