But it reflects, so you can usually have it go anywhere in the room and face anywhere. Ideally, you want to get it up high and have it spill down on you. Lower ceilings make this very difficult. There are a lot of little tricks to beam and bounce it, which is why you need an expert to install it. Infrared is a different wavelength and doesn't reflect off surfaces the same as visible light.
Colors can affect infrared.
It bounces well off black, while red absorbs more of the infrared light than darker colors. It can be partially absorbed by a mirror. Infrared can be used outdoors. The reason we haven't been able to use it in the past is because we couldn't generate enough light to compete with the sun. With newer diodes and filtering technology, infrared can now be used in daylight.