Thermal Camera effect

A false-colour heat read of the subject, driven by its form rather than just its brightness.

Made with the Thermal filterWorks in

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a woman with copper red hair, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (True Heatmap preset)

BeforeAfter

Thermal paints your subject in a heat camera's palette. Instead of just mapping brightness, it reads the form, so heat hugs the silhouette and follows hair and fabric the way a real thermal camera sees a body. Palettes include scope, heatmap, ember, cold body and ironbow.

6presets
26settings
3apps

Same effect, different presets.

8 photos, each with its own preset. Try it on yours

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a woman in a red jacket on a blue background, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (Scope preset) — Scope

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a woman with silver hair and blue sunglasses by the sea, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (Ember preset) — Ember

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a woman with black hair, hands on her head, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (Ironbow preset) — Ironbow

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a woman with silver chains on a grey background, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (Cold Body preset) — Cold Body

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a woman in white sunglasses with a lollipop, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (Scan preset) — Scan

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a man with spiky red hair on a blue background, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (True Heatmap preset) — True Heatmap

Thermal camera effect on a portrait of a laughing woman with pink curly hair, made with the Thermal filter in Filter Archive (Ember preset) — Ember

Use the thermal camera effect in Photoshop, Affinity or Figma.

One licence covers all three: $9.99 a month or $59.99 once. See pricing

Photoshop

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu, pick Thermal and press Apply. The result lands on a new layer above your original.

Mac & Windows · Photoshop 2024+

Affinity

Choose Filters, Plugins, Filter Archive on a pixel layer, pick Thermal and apply it to that layer.

Mac & Windows · Affinity 3

Figma

Select an image, frame or shape, run Filter Archive and apply Thermal as a new layer or in place.

Figma Community

Settings worth touching.

Edge HeatHeat: Puts the hot colours where the surface turns away: along the silhouette, hair and fabric.
ThresholdHeat: How much of the surface carries heat. Left keeps only the hottest spots; right brings the midtones in.
Auto RangeHeat: Spreads the heat across the whole palette, the way a camera re-ranges every frame.

Plus 23 more in the panel, all editable after you pick a preset.

Thermal Camera Effect questions.

What is a thermal camera effect?

A thermal camera effect recolours an image in false colour like an infrared camera, with warm areas in reds, yellows and whites and cool areas in blues and purples.

How do I make a thermal camera effect in Photoshop?

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu and choose Thermal. Start from a preset such as Scope or True Heatmap, adjust the settings while the preview updates, then press Apply. The result goes on a new layer and your original stays untouched.

Can I use it in Affinity or Figma?

Yes. The same Thermal filter runs in Affinity 3 on Mac and Windows, from Filters, then Plugins, then Filter Archive on a pixel layer, and in Figma on an image, frame or shape. One licence covers Photoshop, Affinity and Figma.

Which presets come with Thermal?

6 presets: Scope, True Heatmap, Scan, Ember, Cold Body and Ironbow. Every setting stays editable after you pick one, and you can save a stack of filters to use again.