Comparison of 1.25–3.4 μm surface brightness between observations and models. The figure is the same as Fig. 8 but the model clouds have lower column densities that correspond to the NICER NIR extinction measurements. The colour scales are the same for all model plots of the same band. The yellow circles indicate the reference region used for background subtraction. The black contours are drawn at 1.5 times the maximum of the colour scale.