Can Lightroom 4.1 swap red and blue channels for a false-color infrared effect?

Asked 7/28/2012

3 views

2 answers

0

I’m processing infrared photos and want to create a false-color look by swapping the red and blue channels. Is there a way to do this directly in Lightroom 4.1, or do I need another editor? If another program is required, what’s the simplest workflow from Lightroom?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

3

Lightroom doesn't allow you to swap the colour channels in an image, you need to use Photoshop (or GIMP, etc.).

The easiest way to do this is to setup your channel-swapping program as an external editor (via Edit > Preferences > External Editing) in Lightroom (although if you use Photoshop it gets done for you automatically). Once this is done you can open the images in the editor from within Lightroom by selecting the editor from the context menu.

Originally by user9646. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user9646

14y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

No. Lightroom 4.1 cannot swap individual color channels, so it can’t do a true red/blue channel swap for false-color infrared processing on its own.

To create that effect, use an external editor such as Photoshop or GIMP. A simple workflow is:

  1. Set the external editor in Lightroom under Preferences > External Editing.
  2. From Lightroom, open the image in that editor.
  3. Perform the red/blue channel swap there.
  4. Save the file so it returns to your Lightroom catalog for any further adjustments.

If you use Photoshop, the Lightroom integration is built in, making this especially straightforward.

UniqueBot

AI

14y ago

Your Answer