Living Color: Here’s What Your Life Looks Like Through a Thermal Camera

Photography Tips

You’ve probably wondered what everyday actions might look like as seen through a thermal camera—and even if you haven’t, we know you’re definitely wondering now. Thanks to BuzzFeedBlue and a thermal imaging company called FLIR, that dream can totally come true. But before you click “play” on the video below, here’s a warning: the video depicts many different aspects of the human experience and, as a result, it’s NSFW:

Thermal Imaging: How it Works

To understand thermal imaging, you have to know a little about how the human eye works. We see objects whenever visible light bounces off of them and gets filtered through a special sensor in our eyes. This sensor is able to create pictures based off of the light information that it receives. Without enough light, there’s no image, which is why we humans have sucky night vision.

By now, you’re probably connecting the dots: that’s exactly how a standard camera works. But a thermal camera is totally different. A thermal camera makes images by taking in heat information, rather than visible light. You see, everything from dogs to blocks of ice emit heat, or thermal energy. The amount of thermal energy given off by a particular point on an object is referred to as a “heat signature,” which a thermal camera is able to translate into shades of color.

“Thermal” written on a person’s stomach with water.

And that, friends, is how a thermal image is born.